Cycling at the 1896 Summer Olympics – Men's individual road race

The men's road race was the only road cycling event in the 1896 Summer Olympics. The course was 87 kilometres long. It was on 12 April. 7 cyclists from 3  nations were in the race. The event was won by Aristidis Konstantinidis of Greece. August von Gödrich was in second. Edward Battell was in third.

Background

This was the first time that this race was held in the Olympics. It would not be held again until 1936. Since 1936, this race has been held at every other Summer Olympics. The cycling race had the same course as the marathon. 7 cyclists were in the event. The German athlete August von Gödrich, the British athlete Edward Battell, and five other Greek athletes were in the race. Battell worked in the British Embassy and was almost not allowed to compete.Official Report, p. 100.

Competition

The race was on an 87 kilometres course. The course went from Athens to Marathon and back. At Marathon, the cyclists had to sign a document that showed that they were there. The end of the course was at the velodrome. Along the road, there were many Officials.

Schedule

 Date Time Round Gregorian Julian Sunday, 12 April 1896  Sunday, 31 March 1896  12:00  Final

Race

Aristidis Konstantinidis was in the front of the race until the turn at Marathon. His bicycle broke when he was riding back to Athens. This allowed Edward Battell to pass Konstantinidis before he was able to get another bicycle. Battel fell afterwards, however. This allowed both Konstantinidis and August von Gödrich to pass Battell. Battell finished in third place.

 Results 
 Rank  Cyclist  Nation  Time   Aristidis Konstantinidis   3:22:31   August von Gödrich   3:42:18   Edward Battell   Unknown 4–7  Georgios Aspiotis   Unknown Miltiades Iatrou   Unknown Konstantinos Konstantinou   Unknown Georgios Paraskevopoulos   Unknown

References

  (Digitally available at  )
  (Excerpt available at  )


Category:Cycling at the 1896 Summer Olympics