Les West's 1970s Holdsworth

(Image credit: Future)

This rare 1969 Holdsworth Professional team bike, raced by legendary rider Les West in the early 1970s, was a hand-me-down from former Holdsworth-Campagnolo pro team teammate Alan Bridges. As the ’70s dawned, West lost a riding companion but gained a bike, proving that there’s always a silver lining.

As an amateur, West was seemingly glued to the top step of every podium, winning, among numerous other titles, the British National Road Championship in 1965 and 1978 and the Milk Race in 1965 and 1967. Returning home uncharacteristically empty-handed from the 1968 Mexico Olympics, he made the leap to pro by joining Roy Thame’s Holdsworth team.

Cinelli handlebar and stem on Les Wests 70s Holdsworth — Cinelli bars and stem were de-rigueur on the pro race scene in the 70s (Image credit: Future)

“I met Les at this year’s Tom Simpson Cycling Festival,” says owner Richard Hoddinott of vintage specialists Velo Pages. “Although he couldn’t remember exactly which races he rode this Holdsworth on, he fondly recalled racing it many times.”

One of those high-profile races might have been the 1970 Cycling World Championships in Leicester, though team mechanic Dick Brodrick believes the bike may have been a spare. In a tight, six-way sprint to the finish, West, suffering from severe cramp, had to settle for a heroic fourth place, conceding to Belgian Jempi Monseré.

Campag downtube shifters on Les West's Holdsworth — Campag downtube shifters still with some 1970s road dirt on them (Image credit: Future)

To ensure they were readily accessible to the buying public, the Holdsworth-Campagnolo team bikes were supposed to have been mass-produced in the Holdsworthy factory.

However, while the factory was gearing up for production, pre-1970 bikes like this one were meticulously crafted in tiny numbers by master frame builder Reg Collard at the W.F. Holdsworth shop in Putney.

Wraparound seat stays on Les West's Holdsworth — The Holdsworth team bikes featured the classic wraparound seat stays (Image credit: Future)

Built with Reynolds 531 tubing and Campy throughout, many of the team riders, including West, continued to compete on them years after the factory bikes were made available.

Interestingly, this bike features exceptionally rare early unbranded Campagnolo side-pull calipers. The redundant hanger for a centre-pull brake, which would have been positioned beneath the seat post pinch bolt, has been unceremoniously hacked off, probably by Collard or Brodrick.

Campag water bottle / bidon — The bike now has a classic Campag water bottle in it's cage (Image credit: Future)

Simon spent his childhood living just a stone’s throw from the foot of Box Hill, so it’s no surprise he acquired a passion for cycling from an early age. He’s still drawn to hilly places, having cycled, climbed or skied his way across the Alps, Pyrenees, Andes, Atlas Mountains and the Watkins range in the Arctic.

Simon now writes for Cycling Weekly as a freelancer, having previously served as Tech Editor. He’s also an advanced (RYT 500) yoga teacher, which further fuels his fascination for the relationship between performance and recovery.

He lives with Jo, his yoga teacher wife, in the heart of the Cotswolds, with two rescue cats, five bikes and way too many yoga mats. He still believes he could have been a contender if only chocolate weren’t so moreish.

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