John Allis

John Cotton Allis(born May 31, 1942) is an Americancyclistwho entered into internationalroad cycling competitionin the 1960s. He was one of the strongest competitive cyclists in the United States in the early 1970s, winning theUnited States National Road Race Championshipsin 1974. He is an inductee of theUnited States Bicycling Hall of Fame.

John Allis

Personal information
Full name	John Cotton Allis
Born	(1942-05-31)May 31, 1942 Boston, Massachusetts,U.S.
Height	5 ft8+1⁄2in (174 cm)
Weight	148 lb (67 kg)
Team information
Discipline	Road
Role	Rider
Amateur teams
0	Century Road Club
1964	ACBB

Biography

Born inBoston, Massachusetts,Allis began racing while a student atPrinceton University,and had not yet graduated when he led three of his Princeton teammates to compete in the world road championships inRonse,Belgium. The team performed poorly in the road race, but better in the time trial, where they took 20th place. This was the first American presence in international cycling competition since the era ofMajor Taylor.

Allis stayed to race in Europe when his teammates returned to the United States, signing on as a category 1 amateur with the Paris club,AC Boulogne-Billancourt(ACBB). He was the first English speaker to ride for the team.

Despite the skepticism of French cycling enthusiasts, who informed him that Americans were biologically unfit to compete, Allis did achieve victories, including Paris toCayeux-sur-Merin 1964.The team was so surprised to see their American rider win that they had to scramble to find him a clean jersey to wear on the podium; he had been given the worst one in the shop. His victory was covered inL'Équipeand mentioned inThe New York Times.

Allis returned home to complete his Princeton degree. In the fall of his senior year, he participated in the1964 OlympicsinTokyo,the first of three Games he competed in. After placing fourth in trials inCentral Park,he was selected for the men's individual road race,but was under academic probation and the school almost declined to allow him to attend. However, somebody pointed out to the administration that Harvard and Yale each had two Olympians that year and that, without Allis, Princeton would have had only one (Bill Bradley). Allis produced the best American result in the event that year, 70th out of 126 riders.In the spring of 1965, he placed second in the national collegiate road championship.Allis also raced in the team time trial in the1968 OlympicsinMexico Cityand the road race at the1972 OlympicsinMunich,where he took 63rd. In 2005, Allis said that his failure to gain success at the Olympics was the biggest disappointment of his career.

After a brief stint in theArmy,Allis shone in American racing in the early 1970s, organizing along withDave ChaunertheRaleighteam that dominated American racing, and winning the national road championship in 1974,which he won by applying brutal tactics against the newcomerTommy Officer,the 175-mile (282 km) Quebec-Montreal race in 1973, and two runnings of theMount Washington Auto Road Bicycle Hillclimb.He retired from national competition in 1976.

Allis achieved all his victories as an amateur. He later recounted that in 1969 he raised the possibility of turning professional with ACBB, but they told him he was too old.He was inducted into theUnited States Bicycling Hall of Famein 1993.

As of 2005, Allis lived inBelmont, Massachusetts,where he was a partner at a local bike store, and had been working with theHarvard Universitycycling team for over 20 years.As of 2022,Allis lives inDublin, New Hampshire.

See also

• List of Princeton University Olympians

Other sources

• The Ridemagazine, issue 103, 2002
• History of the Princeton Cycling Team
• Outsidemagazine, September 2004
• conversations with John Allis, 1992