By John Kenny Funerals will take place this week for two well-known Australian cycling identities,...
Hector Salas
By John Kenny
Funerals will take place this week for two well-known Australian cycling identities, Hector Salas and Michael Martin.
Hector Salas rode for Uruguay for many years in the 1960s before migrating to Australia in 1971. He raced as an A grade rider for many years in Australia whilst coaching many young local riders. He often organised racing teams to compete in South America.
"Hector was a fantastic cyclist, but he also fostered good relations between Australia and Uruguay through cycling," said Ron Bonham, Australian Cycling Federation national coaching director.
His son Eddie is also a highly successful cyclist, winning 10 Australian championships. Eddy finished sixth in the road race at the Seoul Olympics and was a professional with the Italian teams Fanini and Amore e Vita from 1989-91.
"My father was an inspiration to us," Eddie Salas told Cyclingnews, "not only in the way that he brought us all up but also in the sacrifices he went through to bring us to Australia a country he knew nothing of at the time, without speaking the language and having no-one that he knew here for support. He did this to give us a better way of life than that we would have had. He was always there whenever we needed him, whether it was to go training or to help me out at work, I will dearly miss him."
Michael Martin was a multiple Australian junior and senior track champion. He was an outstanding cyclist whose career overlapped world champions Gary Sutton and John Nicholson.
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Martin won the under-18 sprint and kilometre titles in the same year and went on to represent Australia at the Oceania Games, "He won every under-17 event on the track in the same year, I'm pretty sure about that," said Gary Sutton. "I roomed with Mick and he was a beautiful man with a beautiful family. This is such a sad day, he was such a personality of the sport."
Hector Salas' funeral takes place at 10.00am Friday, August 4 at North Chapel, Pinegrove Crematorium, Eastern Creek. Michael Martin's funeral takes place on Saturday in Dubbo.
The staff at Cyclingnews offer their condolences to the families of Hector Salas and Michael Martin.
