Hefty Stuart
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Nickname | Hefty, Wonthaggi Wonder |
| Born | c. 1912 Warburton, Victoria, Australia |
| Died |
(aged 26) Melbourne, Victoria, Australia |
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (178 cm) |
| Weight | 11 st 10 lb (74 kg) |
| Team information | |
| Discipline | Road |
| Professional team(s) | |
| 1929 - 1938 | Malvern Star |
| Major wins | |
| 1933 Australian National road race champion | |
Walter “Hefty” Stuart (1912 - 1938) was an Australian cyclist who competed on both road and track, as was typical of Australian cyclists of the era such as Hubert Opperman and Richard Lamb.
Stuart grew up in Gippsland and won the Gippsland track championships in 1930 and 1931. Stuart's first cycling coach was Alf Bishop and the Les Jabara. In the 1930 Tour of Gippsland Stuart, aged 18, had a handicap of 20 minutes over seasoned riders Opperman, Lamb, Frankie Thomas and Ossie Nicholson. By 1933 Stuart was riding from scratch and set the fastest time in the 140 miles (230 km) Tour of Gippsland in a course record. Bob Amott and Stuart were accused of doping and samples were taken from their at the start of the 1934 tour of Gippsland.. Stuart went on to set the fastest time in the 140 miles (230 km) race. Analysis later confirmed the contents were water, rum and caffeine.
In 1932 Stuart teamed with Nicholson in the Brisbane six day race. Nicholson was injured and they were only able to finish sixth.
Stuart first rode in the Warrnambool to Melbourne Classic in 1929 at the age of 17, with a handicap of 38 minutes where he finished 33rd. By 1931 his handicap had come down to 16 minutes. He went on in 1933 to win the Blue Riband for the fastest time which carried with it the Australian national road race title.
1933 was a stellar year for Stuart, as well as winning the Warrnambool and the Tour of Gippsland he was 2nd fastest time in Goulburn to Sydney, behind Frankie Thomas, and won stage 3 of the Tour of Tasmania. The Tour of Tasmania was a six-day stage race covering 566 miles (911 km). Stuart was second in stage 4 and finished 7th overall. The race was won by Fatty Lamb with Stuart finishing
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