A POPULAR sportsman, and co-founder of cycle club Welwyn Wheelers, has died aged 80.

A POPULAR sportsman, and co-founder of cycle club Welwyn Wheelers, has died aged 80.

Karl Gough died at the QE2 Hospital in WGC on Sunday, after a long illness.

Mr Gough was one of the principal members of the Welwyn Wheelers when it was formed in 1947, and his achievements over the years have been well documented in the WHT.

This week, family and friends paid tribute to the man described as a “legend” by Welwyn Wheelers chairman Peter Waghorn.

“He was a real character, well known and loved by everybody who knew him,” Mr Waghorn said.

“He was a laugh a minute, full of jokes, but in his day he was a very, very good rider.”

Mr Gough was born in Manchester in 1930 and moved to WGC at the age of five.

Speaking to the WHT in 1992, Mr Gough recalled his formative years in the town, saying: “It was an era where you had to have a bike to get around and I cycled everywhere as a boy and later it was the only way to get to work.”

In a glittering amateur career, Mr Gough represented England and also took part in the 1957 Prague-Berlin-Warsaw Peace Race.

He regularly won trophies with Welwyn Wheelers, and could still be seen cycling around WGC up until only a few years ago.

“He was a very strong and committed rider,” Mr Waghorn said.

Mr Gough is survived by his five children, eight grandchildren and his wife Jean.

Mr Gough’s son Jim said: “He was a great dad and he raised us all brilliantly.

“Among the local cyclists he was a bit of a celebrity.”

“We’re very proud of him.”