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Don Wiseman

News Posted: 14 January 2010

We've just received the sad news that Don Wiseman has passed away. Don was a well-respected member of the London cycling community.

As a cyclist, he was a talented and successful Track sprinter. When his racing career was over, he stayed in the sport, turning his experience to good use as a commissaire. Don was one of the first British UCI International Commissaires. Deeply involved in the organization of the 1970 World Championships in Leicester and Mallory Park, he was one of three men who ran the National Championship Week which began in the early seventies - his partners being Norman Grattage and Benny Foster.

Don was a fully qualified chartered engineer and the the Managing Partner of one of the largest Civil Engineering partnerships in the South of England. He played a key role in the design and construction of both the Hillingdon and Eastway circuits in London, two venues which have contributed so much to cycle sport in this country, providing safe year-round racing, especially for grass-roots riders.

His technical skills equipped him for precise tasks such as Track measuring - in recent years he measured the new track in Newport, South Wales, during the track's homologation process, prior to the first races at the venue. He also measured the original track at Manchester velodrome and ratified it on behalf of the UCI - with current British Cycling President, Brian Cookson, acting as witness.

Don contributed to numerous other clubs and cycling bodies and was a life member of both Verulam CC and the Pedal Club. He was a life member of British Cycling and a member of the BCF Racing Committee from 1967- 1976. He represented the BCF at the UCI from 1969 - 1976 and was a member of the UCI (FIAC - Amateur) Committe Directeur from 1973 - 1976.

Ron Gray of Verulam CC said of Don, he was "a true gentleman, club mate, and friend. The world will be a sadder place for his passing, fighting his illness, until the end."

Don, who lived in Harpenden in Hertfordshire, died on 13 January, just 8 days before his 81st birthday.