Simes, Jack III
Cycling
b. 1943, New Jersey
Simes' father and grandfather were both professional bicycle racers. When he was seventeen, he made the 1960 Olympics as a match-race sprinter, paired with Herb Francis, the first black Olympic cyclist from the United States.
In 1962, Simes raced extensively in Europe. He returned to the U. S. to join the 1963 Pan-American Games cycling team, then went back to Europe for more racing and placed second in the Danish Grand Prix.
Simes won national championships in the 1964 road race and the 1965 and 1967 sprint competitions. He was drafted in 1967, joined the U. S. Army cycling team, and began specializing in the 1-kilometer individual time trial. He won a silver medal in that event at the 1967 Pan-American Games.
After being eliminated in the qualifying heats at the 1968 Olympics, Simes won a silver medal at the world championships in 1969. He was the first American to medal since Jack Heid in 1951 He also won the national championship in the 10-mile event in 1969.
Simes turned professional in 1970 and raced in Europe. He had a fist fight with Peter Post of the Netherlands after the two cyclists collided in a 1971 race and was banned from further competition. He later became executive director of the Professional Racing Organization (PRO), which governs pro cycling in the U.S. Now known as USPRO, the organization was taken over by the United States Cycling Federation in 1994.