Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-12-13
Contestants Only Five Feet Apart.
Total Distance, 2,727 Miles One
Lap in 142 Hours.
RECORDS OF RACERS.

MADISON SQUARE GARDEN. NEW
YORK. December 12.-Floyd MacFarland
| the veteran bicycle racer of California
won the sixteenth International siX-day
race for the team Of mcfarland and
Moran at Madison Square Garden tonight
and set a new distance record. Rutt OF
the Rutt-Stol German-Holland team fin
ished second and Demara Of the Demara'
Hill combination. the former of Califor-
mia and the latter Of Boston. was third
The final sprint of one mile was between
the representatives of these three teams
which were on equal terms as to distance
| covered. the others Withdrawing to give
them clear track. The three teams thai
took part i'll the0nal dash covered ., 737
miles 1 lap in 142 hours. which is three
miles seven laps ahead Of the record SET
by Miller and Waller in 1899.
All the riders except Mcfarland. Rutt
and Demara left the track at 10 O'clock
and one minute later these three riders
who had led the others by one or more
laps for the past three days, began the
decisive mile.
They started at good clip and sprinted
desperately for the last three laps. Mac
Farland got the lead and finished scarcely
five feet ahead Of Rutt, who was the same
distance ahead of Demara.
The money prizes that went to the sur
viving teams were divided as follows:
fourth. $500: fifth, $500; sixth, $3.50, and
seventh. 500.
Great Crowd Sees Finish.
Early in the evening an enormous crowd
gathered In the big amphitheater to wit
ness the final hours of one of the most
keenly contested bicycle races held in the
ten years history of six-day contests
Probably 1900 persons filled every seat
in the garden and crowded every foot OF
standing room that afforded view of the
ellipse around which the riders of the
eight remaining teams steadily ctrcleo
until the bell sounded for the final sprint
between the leaders.
AS the score stood when the night
crowds began to gather it was q virtual
cert ainty that the teams represented In
would decide the race and determine the
1908 championship would be the Rutt-
Stol, McFarland-M Moran and Hill-Demara
combinations. Attention was largely CEN
ttered upon the riders Of these teams who
were tied for the lead as they wound
around the course. warily watching
one another for the least sign Of an
attempt to gain a lap. At the same
time the three leaders were constantly
on the alert to prevent their neares,
rivals. the Walthour-Root team, from
gaining the one short tenth of q
mile that meant the addition Of another
man to the list of starters in the deciding
mile rush. There were many short
sprints during the evening under the in
spiration of big enthusiastic crowd, but
all proved fruitless. as there was no
change in the relative positions of the
teams. During hard sprint started by
Moran, Walthour collided with Demara
and both fell, but neither was injured.
and no one gained or lost in consequence.
Pace Fast From Start.
The pace was fast one from the
opening day. Throughout the week al
most every succeeding hour showed new
records over those established by Miller
and Waller in 1899 and Elkes and Mac
Farland in 1900. The pace was too fast
for several Of the teams and they were
forced to drop out under the pressure.
Accidents eliminated other combinations.
For the past four days. however, the
leaders were those of the closing hours.
All three pairs showed remarkable stay
winners, being picked on form by many
from the start, to close in the lead and
win out in the sprint. The veteran. Nc
Farland. on a previous winning team.
riding with the steady-going Moran, was
another strong favorite. Hill and De-
mara, hitherto unknown to the six-day
racing enthusiasts here. Won popular ap-
prevail by clever and game riding.
Walthour and Root lost d lap in mid
week. and for the last three days they
logged the heels of the leading teams
with steady persistence. using every
trick Of the cycle track to get upon even
o. wit IA fria