Danny Horton RIP

Falcon in 1970, the year that Danny Horton (in orange)
joined the team.

Few people today will be aware of Danny Horton, who has died at the age of just 66. However, during the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s he enjoyed a nine-year period in which he achieved notable cycling success, racking up a very respectable palmares that included good results in several British races and became National Road Race Champion; ensuring his status as a household name among cyclists and cycling fans of the day.

Danny was born in Yeadon, West Yorkshire, in 1946 and began to make his presence felt in the sport in 1968 when he won the Tour of the East Midlands. He went on to take third place in Stage 12 of the Milk Race the following year and was offered a place on the Falcon team by manager Ernie Clements in 1970, remaining with the team through 1971 when he won his National title and scored podium places in several other events. More success came over the following years, including a stage win in 1978's Cherry Blossom Tour in the USA.

He didn't ride as much in later life as he had in his youth and instead took up golf, moving to Spain to enjoy the excellent courses and weather found there, but those who knew him in the last years of his life say that he had redeveloped an enthusiasm for the sport and had been riding more often than he had done for some years.