Morris Foster, known affectionately in Irish cycling as ‘Big Mo’, has sadly passed away. He was 83 years old and is predeceased by his wife Maureen.
An Olympian who also represented Ireland at the World Road Championships and Northern Ireland at the Commonwealth Games, Foster was a giant of the home scene.
After retiring
from racing he continued his involvement in the sport as an administrator and
mentor of many young emerging cyclists.
He was awarded an
MBE by the Queen in 2006 for his services to cycling. He has already been
inducted into the Cycling Ireland hall of fame and in 2005 British Cycling
awarded him its gold medal for services to the sport.
Foster first raced as a 15-year-old back in 1954 in a local club 10 mile TT and then went on to join the Old Beach Cycling Club in Randalstown.
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While he enjoyed
early success and his talent was obvious from the time he was a youth and
junior rider, he drifted away from the sport after his early years only to come
back and prove one of the stars of Irish cycling in the 1960s.
He won an Irish elite road race championship title in 1963, was 25 mile TT Irish champion twice, 50 mile TT champion seven times and 100 mile champion on four occasions.
Big Mo gained
international selection repeatedly and represented Ireland at the Olympics in
Mexico in 1968 as well as the Empire Games, now Commonwealth Games, in 1966 in
Jamaica and in 1970 in Edinburgh.
In the Jamaica Games he took his best international result when he placed 7th in the road race, with another legend of the sport Dave Kane in 5th on the day.
Foster was also selected for Ireland to ride the World Road Championships in 1965 and 1966; in Belgium and Holland respectively.
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As a younger rider he rode the Tour de l’Avenir on the Irish team in the early 1960s and in his pomp he claimed a stage in the British Milk Race in 1966.
Foster won the 1969 Tour of Ireland overall; claiming five stages that year, an incredible performance.
He rode many of
his TTs on a fixed wheel and was the first rider to break the four-hour mark on
a fixie for the 100 mile TT; making the front cover of Cycling Weekly at the
time.
Foster was also very interested in place to place records and at one point he held all of the main records in Ireland.
His Derry to
Dublin record – of 6hrs 26 minutes – set way back in September, 1964, still
stands.
After retiring
from competition in 1972, Big Mo moved in to administration and managed many
Northern Ireland and Ireland teams.
He also managed the Commonwealth Games cycling team from
1978 and was promoted to assistant team manager for the whole Northern Ireland
squad in 1998, a position he held for many years.
He was a familiar figure at Orangefield track in Belfast
where he coached young riders for many years. He circled the track on the derny
at a cracking pace expecting riders to keep up.
Cycling Ulster paid tribute to him, saying it had learned of his death with great sadness.
It added: “On behalf of all our members the Executive of
Cycling Ulster offer sincere condolences to Morris’s wider family circle as we
mourn the death of a legend and a true gentleman. Funeral arrangements will be
posted later.”
Funeral details to follow.
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