'An incredible human': Gus Dawson a legendary cycling coach who always had time to help

Instead, Gus Dawson has positioned himself on a bend roughly 400m from the finish.

It was so he could yell his motivation to Brent and urge him to sprint for the final stages, even if it meant he wouldn't get to see the all-important moment himself.

It's instances of dedication and commitment like that best which best sum up the champion cycling coach, who died on December 20 at the age of 72.

Tributes from around the country and overseas have been pouring in for a man who's been remembered as a legend of the Dubbo sporting community.

He coached cyclists to 165 national titles while he was the coach for Megan Reakes (nee Dunn) when she put Dubbo on the map by winning two gold medals at the 2010 Commonwealth Games.

Reakes also rode at world championships and the special bond between the pair led her to give the family one of her rainbow jerseys for Gus to be buried with.

"We won those championships together and it's just for me to know that Gussy always has the rainbows with him and that just gives me great comfort," Reakes said.

"Wherever he is, just knowing that he has the rainbows with him means a lot to me."

Reakes is one of the countless cyclists over the years who benefited from the tireless work of the master coach.

Reakes was only 19 when she won two gold medals at Delhi and while wholly thankful for the work Gus put in with her, it's only been in more recent times she's realised the magnitude of what he was doing.

"The biggest thing now is me being 32 and with my own kids and obviously a career, I look back and Gussy had a job and he had his own family and kids and a busy life," she said.

"I really am just in awe now of the dedication. People talk a lot about the dedication that athletes give to their sport but I really think it's underrated how much someone like Gus put in.

"He volunteered his time. He wasn't paid for it. It was purely because he wanted to."

Garry Arthur 'Gus' Dawson was born in Dubbo on March 16, 1951.

He took up cycling when he was eight and while he went on to earn more acclaim as a coach, he achieved plenty of success of his own on the bike.

In 1964 Gus broke the NSW School Boys cycling record and this was a special moment as it was previously held by his brother, Tom, and would eventually be broken by his younger brother, Percy.

Gus also won a NSW sprint title, was named under 15 cyclist of the year in 1965 and was the youngest ever finalist in the prestigious Austral Cycling Race.

Cycling meant a huge amount to the family but in 1967 tragedy struck when Percy, at just 13 years old, died after being hit while riding his bike.

As difficult a time as that was for the family, Gus would go on to say it made the bonds with his other siblings Tom and Maree stronger.

Those bonds were a major part of Gus' life and something his three children - Brent, Kate and Tim - and all those close to him continue to try and emulate.

Gus did have some time away from cycling - he was part of a Macquarie rugby league side which enjoyed an unbeaten season before losing the grand final to Canowindra - but in 1973 he returned to the sport.

That proved to be an important year for Gus as it was also when he met his future wife, Marg, and they were married two years later.

Gus retired from riding at 28 and it was then when his influence on the Dubbo sporting scene, and wider cycling community, really took off.

As a cycling coach, mechanic and mentor there was none finer. This was recognised in 2010 when Gus was awarded the Australian Cycling Coach of the Year. It is impossible to quantify the entirety of his career off the bike, a brief summary can be provided to reflect the enormity of Gus's influence:

While cycling shot Gus to national and international acclaim, there was much more to the man than that.

He was a lover of boxing, darts and the St George Illawarra Dragons and was a builder when he was younger and ran a successful swimming pool business.

He and the family also moved away from Dubbo for five years at one point after Gus, his wife and brother bought the Narranderra Hotel.

When he returned, Gus worked at what is now Taronga Western Plains Zoo.

It was another of Gus' great joys and he worked there for close to 30 years.

Sneaking people in for a behind-the-scenes look at the zoo may have happened on the odd occasion but the zoo running flags at half-mast following Gus' death was proof of the impact he had there.

But cycling was always the major passion.

Gus travelled all over the country and internationally and assisted as either coach, manager or mechanic at 10 junior world titles.

He made friendships all over the world and met many of the biggest names in the sport.

The respect for Gus within cycling was on show in 2019. While being presented with the Australian Cycling Club of the Year trophy, then Dubbo club president Matthew Gilbert hadn't even shook the hand of Paris-Roubaix winner Mathew Hayman without the Commonwealth Games gold medalist asking "How's Gus?".

While well-known internationally, Gus was most comfortable at home in Dubbo.

It was a common sight to spot Gus on his faithful motor scooter with a line of riders behind him, no matter the season or weather.

"When I spoke to the family, the biggest thing I said to them was thank you for sharing Gus with not only me but so many people over so many years," Reakes said.

"A typical Sunday for Gus and I was going to Wellington at 6.30 in the morning and we wouldn't finish until 12pm or so.

"He was an incredible human."

For all the success and acclaim, making riders better and ensuring they enjoyed what they were doing was what mattered most to Gus. He spoke about that during his time as a coach at the Western Regional Academy of Sport.

"You have to have a balance as a junior, of course. You want to do well but cycling is one avenue of your life and I wanted all our cyclists to enjoy their lives with cycling just one aspect of that," he said.

"That's the good thing about building a great culture in the academy or at a club level, that if the athletes are all good friends, they want to come back and push each other to be better. Plus, as a coach, it makes it more enjoyable to see the cyclists having fun together."

That is a culture Gus created and grew in his time as a coach.

There are countless people in Dubbo and much further afield who benefited from his wisdom, humour, passion and energy.

In a mark of his legacy, in the coming weeks he will have riders who worked under him competing at national and Oceania championships while so many others will simply be going for a leisurely Saturday morning ride.