There was a special presentation to Mike O’Hare at the Fellowship of Manx Veteran Cyclists’ Christmas lunch at the Palace Hotel on Thursday.

The Isle of Man Cycling president received a North-West Regional gold badge of honour by two leading British Cycling officials in recognition of his long association with the sport in general and Manx International Cycling Week in particular.

Also president of Manx Viking Wheelers, the club behind the organisation of the event that began in the 1930s and lasted until 2003, Mike took over the roll of chief organiser from founder Curwen Clague in 1978.

In its heyday, Manx International Cycling Week attracted the world’s greatest road cyclists, notably names like Eddy Merckx, Fausto Coppi, Jacques Anquetil and Tommy Simpson. The latter man won his last race in the Isle of Man (the Manx International three-lapper) only a few weeks before his much-documented death on Mont Ventoux in July, 1967.

At its peak, Manx International Cycling Week involved an incredible 26 events in a six-day period, attracting riders from more than 27 countries worldwide.

During Mike O’Hare’s rein, star names like Chris Boardman, Graeme Obree, Sean Kelly and Robert Millar were to the fore, indeed the swansong to Millar’s career came when he scored a memorable win in the British Road Race Championship event over three laps of the Mountain Course in 1995. It just happened to coincide with Mike’s retirement from the position as chief organiser.

Surprised by the presentation, he said: ’My old mate Stuart Slack and I did a lot of the work together in the early days, but 80 per cent of the team came from the Liverpool area.

’We all just got stuck in and somehow produced it. All the administration work was done with a pen or a pencil in those days, we’d be up to three or four o’clock sorting the entries out. They were great days.’

Mike O’Hare was also the driving force behind the Shoprite Cycle for Life, which raised approximately £200,000 for local charities in recent years.’