Cycling at the 1908 Summer Olympics – Men's 100 kilometres

Cycling at the Olympics

The men's 100 kilometres was one of seven track cycling events on the Cycling at the 1908 Summer Olympics programme. Its distance was the longest of the individual event distances. A challenge cup was presented by the Prince of Wales to the winner. There were 43 competitors from 11 nations. The event was won by Charles Henry Bartlett of Great Britain, with his countryman Charles Denny finishing second. Octave Lapize earned bronze, making France the only nation to have medalists at both appearances of the 100 kilometres race (Léon Flameng won in 1896).

From 1896 to 1924 (excluding 1912, when no track events were held), the track cycling programme included events at a variety of distances that changed from Games to Games and ranged from the 1/4 mile to the 100 kilometres (and, even longer, the unique 12 hours race in 1896 that saw finishers exceed 300 kilometres). The 100 kilometres was held twice: in 1896 and again in 1908. The favorite in 1908 was Leon Meredith of Great Britain, who had won the world championship in 1904, 1905, and 1907 (and would win again in 1908, 1909, 1911, and 1913). France, Germany, Great Britain, and Greece made their second appearance in the event, having competed previously in 1896 (along with Austria). Belgium, Canada, Italy, the Netherlands, South Africa, Sweden, and the United States made their only appearance in 1908.

The 100 kilometres race was conducted in two rounds, semifinals and a final. Each race was approximately 165.7 laps of the 660 yard track. The time limit for the race was 3 hours and 15 minutes. There were two semifinals. The first 6 cyclists to finish, and the 2 cyclists who led for the most laps, in each semifinal advanced to the final.

Lutz and Hansson broke away to a 300 yard lead at lap 76. Bailey caught them shortly after the halfway mark. The three lapped the field at lap 96. Santorinaios retired at lap 96, McCarthy at lap 103, and Katzer a few minutes later. Lutz tried to break away from the group, but Hansson and Bailey stayed with him. The finish was a sprint among the top three, with Hansson making an inside move with half a lap to go and winning by half a wheel over Lutz. Bailey was two lengths behind. Rank Cyclist Nation Time Notes 1 Andrew Hansson 2:50:21.4 Q (Qualified for final by place) 2 Georges Lutz Unknown Q (Qualified for final by place) 3 Sydney Bailey Unknown Q (Qualified for final by place) 4 Pierre Texier Unknown Q (Qualified for final by place) 5 J. H. Bishop Unknown Q (Qualified for final by place) 6 David Robertson Unknown Q (Qualified for final by place) 7–14 William Anderson Unknown Alwin Boldt Unknown François Bonnet Unknown q (Qualified for final by laps) Georgius Damen Unknown Gerard Bosch van Drakenstein Unknown André Lepère Unknown Harry Mussen Unknown q (Qualified for final by laps) John Norman Unknown — Rudolf Katzer DNF (Did not finish) Frederick McCarthy DNF (Did not finish) Ioannis Santorinaios DNF (Did not finish)

It had rained before the start of the final and continued raining for most of the race. Meredith, Andrews, and Robertson crashed at 13 miles; they all continued but Meredith was behind the field and was lapped at lap 62, after which he retired. Bailey led at the halfway mark, but was lapped with 31 laps to go. The lead pack dwindled to seven riders at lap 115 and was down to four at the final lap. Three were British, allowing them to use teamwork to pace Bartlett for the final sprint. Denny led going into the final lap, with Lapize on the outside. Bartlett came down from the banking and sprinted to the finish, crossing the line a wheel ahead of Denny. Rank Cyclist Nation Time Charles Bartlett 2:41:48.6 Charles Denny Unknown Octave Lapize Unknown 4 William Pett Unknown 5 Pierre Texier Unknown 6 Walter Andrews Unknown 7 D. C. Robertson Unknown 8 Sydney Bailey Unknown — J. H. Bishop DNF (Did not finish) François Bonnet DNF (Did not finish) Guillaume Coeckelberg DNF (Did not finish) Andrew Hansson DNF (Did not finish) G. C. Lutz DNF (Did not finish) Leon Meredith DNF (Did not finish) Harry Mussen DNF (Did not finish) Gustaf Westerberg DNF (Did not finish) Harry Young DNF (Did not finish)