# Cycling at the 1900 Summer Olympics – Men's sprint

The men's sprint was one of the three cycling events, all track cycling, now regarded as "Olympic" on the Cycling at the 1900 Summer Olympics programme. It was held on 11 September and 13 September. The sprint, a 2000-metre race with 1000-metre heats, was conducted in four rounds. 69 of the 72 cyclists competed in the sprint, including cyclists from all six competing nations. The event was won by Albert Taillandier of France (the nation's second consecutive victory in the men's sprint), with his countryman Fernand Sanz in second place. John Henry Lake of the United States won the nation's first cycling medal with his bronze.

## Background

This was the second appearance of the event, which has been held at every Summer Olympics except 1904 and 1912. None of the cyclists from 1896 returned. Two of the three top sprinters in 1900 were French and competed: Ferdinand Vasserot and Albert Taillandier. (The third, Alphonse Didier-Nauts of Belgium, did not compete). An American, John Henry Lake, however, had finished second in the world championships to Didier-Nauts and was the most significant non-French competitor in the field.
Belgium, Bohemia, Italy, and the United States each made their debut in the men's sprint. France and Germany made their second appearance, having previously competed in 1896.

## Competition format

Unlike modern sprint events (which use a flying 200 metre time trial to cut down and seed the field, followed by one-on-one matches), the 1900 sprint used very large initial heats of up to eight cyclists each before smaller quarterfinals, semifinals, and final with three cyclists in each race. For the first round, the top three cyclists in each heat advanced; in the quarterfinals and semifinals, only the fastest man moved on. The distance for each race was 1 kilometre.

## Records

The records for the sprint are 200 metre flying time trial records, kept for the qualifying round in later Games as well as for the finish of races.
| World record | Unknown | Unknown$^*$ | Unknown | Unknown |
| Olympic record | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
$^*$ World records were not tracked by the UCI until 1954.
Lloyd Hildebrand set the initial record of 15.4 seconds in the first heat. Adolphe Cayron improved on that in the second heat, to 14.2 seconds. John Henry Lake dropped the record to 14.0 seconds in heat 6. Antonio Restelli finished the first round with a 13.6 second time in the ninth heat. Lake responded with 13.2 seconds in the first quarterfinal, only to see Restelli go 13.0 seconds in the fourth. Albert Taillandier dropped below that to 12.6 seconds in the next quarterfinal, a time that held through the rest of the 1900 Games.

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Round |
| Tuesday, 11 September 1900 | 9:00 14:00 | Round 1 Quarterfinals |
| Thursday, 13 September 1900 | | Semifinals Final |

## Results
### Round 1

The first round was held on 11 September. It began at 9 a.m. The top three cyclists in each of the 9 heats advanced to the quarterfinals.

#### Heat 1

Stratta was a wheel behind Hildebrand, with Vasserot very close after that.
| Rank | Cyclist | Nation | Time | 200 m | Notes |
| 1 | Lloyd Hildebrand | France | 1:34.2 | 15.4 | Q, OR |
| 2 | Giacomo Stratta | Italy | — | — | Q |
| 3 | Ferdinand Vasserot | France | — | — | Q |
| 4–8 | Émile Dubois | France | — | — | |
| 4–8 | Dubourdieu | France | — | — | |
| 4–8 | L. Dumont | France | — | — | |
| 4–8 | František Hirsch | Bohemia | — | — | |
| 4–8 | Pouget | France | — | — | |

#### Heat 2

Coindre was a wheel behind Cayron; Daumain was not close.
| Rank | Cyclist | Nation | Time | 200 m | Notes |
| 1 | Adolphe Cayron | France | 1:34.2 | 14.2 | Q, OR |
| 2 | Georges Coindre | France | — | — | Q |
| 3 | Auguste Daumain | France | — | — | Q |
| 4–8 | Alfred Boulnois | France | — | — | |
| 4–8 | Romulo Bruni | Italy | — | — | |
| 4–8 | Saignier | France | — | — | |
| 4–8 | Émile Vadbled | France | — | — | |
| 4–8 | Vianzino | Italy | — | — | |

#### Heat 3

Sanz was a half-length behind Gottron.
| Rank | Cyclist | Nation | Time | 200 m | Notes |
| 1 | Paul Gottron | Germany | 1:32.4 | 14.4 | Q |
| 2 | Fernand Sanz | France | — | — | Q |
| 3 | Paul Rosso | France | — | — | Q |
| 4–8 | Charles Amberger | France | — | — | |
| 4–8 | L. Boyer | France | — | — | |
| 4–8 | Georges Neurouth | France | — | — | |
| 4–8 | A. Roger | France | — | — | |
| 4–8 | Ruez | France | — | — | |

#### Heat 4

| Rank | Cyclist | Nation | Time | 200 m | Notes |
| 1 | Paul Legrain | France | 1:30.4 | 14.4 | Q |
| 2 | Ernesto Mario Brusoni | Italy | — | — | Q |
| 3 | Théophile Fras | France | — | — | Q |
| 4–8 | Omer Beaugendre | France | — | — | |
| 4–8 | Octave Coisy | France | — | — | |
| 4–8 | Franzen | France | — | — | |
| 4–8 | Pichard | France | — | — | |
| 4–8 | L. Saunière | France | — | — | |

#### Heat 5

Davis was a length behind Maisonnave.
| Rank | Cyclist | Nation | Time | 200 m | Notes |
| 1 | Léon Maisonnave | France | 1:35.8 | 14.4 | Q |
| 2 | Will Davis | France | — | — | Q |
| 3 | Chaput | France | — | — | Q |
| 4–8 | Fernand Boulmant | France | — | — | |
| 4–8 | Georg Drescher | Germany | — | — | |
| 4–8 | Guillot | France | — | — | |
| 4–8 | Lohner | France | — | — | |
| 4–8 | Longchamp | France | — | — | |

#### Heat 6

| Rank | Cyclist | Nation | Time | 200 m | Notes |
| 1 | John Henry Lake | United States | 1:35.8 | 14.0 | Q |
| 2 | Paul Espeit | France | — | — | Q |
| 3 | Gaston Bullier | France | — | — | Q |
| 4–8 | J. Bérard | France | — | — | |
| 4–8 | Maxime Bertrand | France | — | — | |
| 4–8 | Vladislav Chalupa | France | — | — | |
| 4–8 | Jacques Droëtti | Italy | — | — | |
| 4–8 | M. Steitz | France | — | — | |

#### Heat 7

Dohis was a wheel behind Taillandier, with Germain a close third.
| Rank | Cyclist | Nation | Time | 200 m | Notes |
| 1 | Albert Taillandier | France | 1:36.8 | 15.0 | Q |
| 2 | Marcel Dohis | France | — | — | Q |
| 3 | Germain | France | — | — | Q |
| 4–7 | Georges Augoyat | France | — | — | |
| 4–7 | G. Bessing | France | — | — | |
| 4–7 | Luigi Colombo | Italy | — | — | |
| 4–7 | Maurice Monniot | France | — | — | |

#### Heat 8

| Rank | Cyclist | Nation | Time | 200 m | Notes |
| 1 | Karl Duill | Germany | 1:35.4 | 14.4 | Q |
| 2 | Léon Ponscarme | France | — | — | Q |
| 3 | Thomann | France | — | — | Q |
| 4–6 | Édouard Maibaum | France | — | — | |
| 4–6 | Pilton | France | — | — | |
| 4–6 | Maurice Terrier | France | — | — | |
| — | A. Porcher | France | DSQ | — | |

#### Heat 9

Wick and Hubault fell and did not finish.
| Rank | Cyclist | Nation | Time | 200 m | Notes |
| 1 | Antonio Restelli | Italy | 1:37.6 | 13.6 | Q, OR |
| 2 | Vincent | Belgium | — | — | Q |
| 3 | Joseph Mallet | France | — | — | Q |
| 4–5 | Caillet | France | — | — | |
| 4–5 | Mossmann | France | — | — | |
| — | P. Hubault | France | DNF | — | |
| — | Édouard Wick | France | DNF | — | |

### Quarterfinals

The quarterfinals were also held on the first day of competition, 11 September. They began at 2 p.m. Only the winning cyclist of each of the 9 quarterfinals advanced to the semifinals.

#### Quarterfinal 1

Stratta was three lengths behind Lake.
| Rank | Cyclist | Nation | Time | 200 m | Notes |
| 1 | John Henry Lake | United States | 2:02.0 | 13.2 | Q, OR |
| 2 | Giacomo Stratta | Italy | — | — | |
| 3 | Chaput | France | — | — | |

#### Quarterfinal 2

Bullier was two lengths behind Sanz.
| Rank | Cyclist | Nation | Time | 200 m | Notes |
| 1 | Fernand Sanz | France | 2:00.0 | 14.0 | Q |
| 2 | Gaston Bullier | France | — | — | |
| 3 | Paul Rosso | France | — | — | |

#### Quarterfinal 3

Duill was a wheel behind Coindre.
| Rank | Cyclist | Nation | Time | 200 m | Notes |
| 1 | Georges Coindre | France | 1:50.0 | 14.4 | Q |
| 2 | Karl Duill | Germany | — | — | |
| 3 | Germain | France | — | — | |

#### Quarterfinal 4

Hildebrand was a wheel behind Restelli.
| Rank | Cyclist | Nation | Time | 200 m | Notes |
| 1 | Antonio Restelli | Italy | 1:52.4 | 13.0 | Q, OR |
| 2 | Lloyd Hildebrand | France | — | — | |
| 3 | Auguste Daumain | France | — | — | |

#### Quarterfinal 5

Vincent was two lengths behind Taillandier.
| Rank | Cyclist | Nation | Time | 200 m | Notes |
| 1 | Albert Taillandier | France | 2:00.6 | 12.6 | Q, OR |
| 2 | Vincent | Belgium | — | — | |
| 3 | Thomann | France | — | — | |

#### Quarterfinal 6

In a very close race, Brusoni was a quarter-wheel behind Mallet.
| Rank | Cyclist | Nation | Time | 200 m | Notes |
| 1 | Joseph Mallet | France | 2:45.0 | Unknown | Q |
| 2 | Ernesto Mario Brusoni | Italy | — | — | |
| 3 | Théophile Fras | France | — | — | |

#### Quarterfinal 7

Ponscarme was three lengths behind Maisonnave.
| Rank | Cyclist | Nation | Time | 200 m | Notes |
| 1 | Léon Maisonnave | France | 1:49.2 | 14.2 | Q |
| 2 | Léon Ponscarme | France | — | — | |
| 3 | Paul Espeit | France | — | — | |

#### Quarterfinal 8

Dohis was a half length behind Vasserot.
| Rank | Cyclist | Nation | Time | 200 m | Notes |
| 1 | Ferdinand Vasserot | France | 2:21.6 | 14.2 | Q |
| 2 | Marcel Dohis | France | — | — | |
| 3 | Will Davis | France | — | — | |

#### Quarterfinal 9

| Rank | Cyclist | Nation | Time | 200 m | Notes |
| 1 | Paul Legrain | France | 2:57.4 | 13.8 | Q |
| 2 | Paul Gottron | Germany | — | — | |
| 3 | Adolphe Cayron | France | — | — | |

### Semifinals

The semifinals were conducted on 13 September. The top cyclist in each of the three semifinals advanced to the final, guaranteeing himself a medal.

#### Semifinal 1

Lake had defeated Vasserot previously in 1900, at the world championships where the two had placed second and third to Léon Didier-Nauts. Lake won again in this match, with Vasserot a short length behind.
| Rank | Cyclist | Nation | Time | 200 m | Notes |
| 1 | John Henry Lake | United States | 2:09.6 | 13.6 | Q |
| 2 | Ferdinand Vasserot | France | — | — | |
| 3 | Léon Maisonnave | France | — | — | |

#### Semifinal 2

Restelli was a half wheel behind Sanz.
| Rank | Cyclist | Nation | Time | 200 m | Notes |
| 1 | Fernand Sanz | France | 2:46.6 | 13.4 | Q |
| 2 | Antonio Restelli | Italy | — | — | |
| 3 | Georges Coindre | France | — | — | |

#### Semifinal 3

| Rank | Cyclist | Nation | Time | 200 m | Notes |
| 1 | Albert Taillandier | France | 2:42.6 | 14.6 | Q |
| 2 | Paul Legrain | France | — | — | |
| 3 | Joseph Mallet | France | — | — | |

### Final

The final was held on the same day as the semifinals, 13 September.
| Cyclist | Nation | Time | 200 m |
| Albert Taillandier | France | 2:52.0 | 13.0 |
| Fernand Sanz | France | — | — |
| John Henry Lake | United States | — | — |

## Results summary

| Rank | Cyclist | Nation | Round 1 | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Final | Notes |
| | Albert Taillandier | France | 1st (15.0) | 1st (12.6) OR | 1st (14.6) | 1st (13.0) | OR |
| | Fernand Sanz | France | 2nd | 1st (14.0) | 1st (13.4) | 2nd | |
| | John Henry Lake | United States | 1st (14.0) | 1st (13.2) OR | 1st (13.6) | 3rd | |
| 4 | Paul Legrain | France | 1st (14.4) | 1st (13.8) | 2nd | Did not advance | |
| 4 | Antonio Restelli | Italy | 1st (13.6) | 1st (13.0) OR | 2nd | Did not advance | |
| 4 | Ferdinand Vasserot | France | 3rd | 1st (14.2) | 2nd | Did not advance | |
| 7 | Georges Coindre | France | 2nd | 1st (14.4) | 3rd | Did not advance | |
| 7 | Léon Maisonnave | France | 1st (14.4) | 1st (14.2) | 3rd | Did not advance | |
| 7 | Joseph Mallet | France | 3rd | 1st (Unknown) | 3rd | Did not advance | |
| 10 | Ernesto Mario Brusoni | Italy | 2nd | 2nd | Did not advance | Did not advance | |
| 10 | Gaston Bullier | France | 3rd | 2nd | Did not advance | Did not advance | |
| 10 | Marcel Dohis | France | 2nd | 2nd | Did not advance | Did not advance | |
| 10 | Karl Duill | Germany | 1st (14.4) | 2nd | Did not advance | Did not advance | |
| 10 | Paul Gottron | Germany | 1st (14.4) | 2nd | Did not advance | Did not advance | |
| 10 | Lloyd Hildebrand | France | 1st (15.4) | 2nd | Did not advance | Did not advance | |
| 10 | Léon Ponscarme | France | 2nd | 2nd | Did not advance | Did not advance | |
| 10 | Giacomo Stratta | Italy | 2nd | 2nd | Did not advance | Did not advance | |
| 10 | Vincent | Belgium | 2nd | 2nd | Did not advance | Did not advance | |
| 19 | Adolphe Cayron | France | 1st (14.2) | 3rd | Did not advance | Did not advance | |
| 19 | Chaput | France | 3rd | 3rd | Did not advance | Did not advance | |
| 19 | Auguste Daumain | France | 3rd | 3rd | Did not advance | Did not advance | |
| 19 | Will Davis | France | 2nd | 3rd | Did not advance | Did not advance | |
| 19 | Paul Espeit | France | 2nd | 3rd | Did not advance | Did not advance | |
| 19 | Théophile Fras | France | 3rd | 3rd | Did not advance | Did not advance | |
| 19 | Germain | France | 3rd | 3rd | Did not advance | Did not advance | |
| 19 | Paul Rosso | France | 3rd | 3rd | Did not advance | Did not advance | |
| 19 | Thomann | France | 3rd | 3rd | Did not advance | Did not advance | |
| 28 | Charles Amberger | France | 4th–8th | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | |
| 28 | Georges Augoyat | France | 4th–7th | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | |
| 28 | Omer Beaugendre | France | 4th–8th | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | |
| 28 | J. Bérard | France | 4th–8th | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | |
| 28 | Maxime Bertrand | France | 4th–8th | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | |
| 28 | G. Bessing | France | 4th–7th | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | |
| 28 | Fernand Boulmant | France | 4th–8th | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | |
| 28 | Alfred Boulnois | France | 4th–8th | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | |
| 28 | L. Boyer | France | 4th–8th | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | |
| 28 | Romulo Bruni | Italy | 4th–8th | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | |
| 28 | Caillet | France | 4th–5th | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | |
| 28 | Vladislav Chalupa | France | 4th–8th | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | |
| 28 | Octave Coisy | France | 4th–8th | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | |
| 28 | Luigi Colombo | Italy | 4th–7th | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | |
| 28 | Georg Drescher | Germany | 4th–8th | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | |
| 28 | Jacques Droëtti | Italy | 4th–8th | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | |
| 28 | Émile Dubois | France | 4th–8th | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | |
| 28 | Dubourdieu | France | 4th–8th | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | |
| 28 | L. Dumont | France | 4th–8th | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | |
| 28 | Franzen | France | 4th–8th | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | |
| 28 | Guillot | France | 4th–8th | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | |
| 28 | František Hirsch | Bohemia | 4th–8th | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | |
| 28 | Lohner | France | 4th–8th | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | |
| 28 | Longchamp | France | 4th–8th | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | |
| 28 | Édouard Maibaum | France | 4th–6th | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | |
| 28 | Maurice Monniot | France | 4th–7th | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | |
| 28 | Mossmann | France | 4th–5th | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | |
| 28 | Georges Neurouth | France | 4th–8th | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | |
| 28 | Pichard | France | 4th–8th | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | |
| 28 | Pilton | France | 4th–6th | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | |
| 28 | Pouget | France | 4th–8th | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | |
| 28 | A. Roger | France | 4th–8th | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | |
| 28 | Ruez | France | 4th–8th | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | |
| 28 | Saignier | France | 4th–8th | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | |
| 28 | L. Saunière | France | 4th–8th | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | |
| 28 | M. Steitz | France | 4th–8th | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | |
| 28 | Maurice Terrier | France | 4th–6th | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | |
| 28 | Émile Vadbled | France | 4th–8th | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | |
| 28 | Vianzino | Italy | 4th–8th | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | |
| — | P. Hubault | France | DNF | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | |
| — | Édouard Wick | France | DNF | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | |
| — | A. Porcher | France | DSQ | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | |