Cycling at the 1908 Summer Olympics – Men's 20 kilometres


The men's 20 kilometres was one of seven track cycling events on the Cycling at the 1908 Summer Olympics programme. Its distance was the second longest of the individual event distances. Each nation could enter up to 12 cyclists.

Competition format

The 20 kilometres in 1908 was a unique race in Olympic history. It was in some ways like a very long sprint but with elements of a points race. Each race consisted of slightly over 33 laps of the 660 yard track. The time limit for the race was 40 minutes. The competition was held in two rounds. There were 6 semifinals. The winner of each semifinal advanced to the final, encouraging tactical riding similar to a sprint race despite the long distance. However, for the three fastest semifinals, the cyclist who led for the most laps would also advance. The final comprised 9 cyclists.

Results

Semifinals

There were two methods of qualifying for the final. A cyclist could either finish first in one of the six semifinals or be the leader "of the greatest number of laps in the three fastest heats."

Semifinal 1

Flynn had a puncture at about the halfway mark.
RankCyclistNationTimeNotes
1Leon Meredith33:21.0
2Hermann Martens33:21.2
3Joseph Werbrouck33:21.4
4André LapizeUnknown
5Georgius DamenUnknown
6Frederick McCarthyUnknown
7–8Pierre HosteinUnknown
7–8Rudolf KatzerUnknown
Daniel Flynn

Semifinal 2

RankCyclistNationTimeNotes
1Clarence Kingsbury32:33.8
2Charlie Brooks32:34.0
3Floris Venter32:34.4
4Georges LutzUnknown
5Gerard Bosch van DrakensteinUnknown
6François BonnetUnknown
7–9Walter AndrewsUnknown
7–9Jean van BenthemUnknown
7–9Paul SchulzeUnknown

Semifinal 3

RankCyclistNationTimeNotes
1Louis Weintz33:39.8
2Frank Shore33:40.0
3Harry Young33:45.2
4Herbert BoufflerUnknown
5Max TriebschUnknown
6–7Henri CunaultUnknown
6–7Dorus NijlandUnknown
Frederick Hamlin

Semifinal 4

RankCyclistNationTimeNotes
1Benjamin Jones32:39.0
2George Cameron32:39.2
3T. H. E. Passmore32:39.4
4Octave LapizeUnknown
5Henri BaumlerUnknown
6–7Alwin BoldtUnknown
6–7Johannes van SpengenUnknown
W. Lower

Semifinal 5

Santorinaios and Texier crashed with half a lap remaining; Robertson was slowed by having to ride around them.
RankCyclistNationTimeNotes
1Andrew Hansson34:53.6
2David Robertson34:53.8
3William Anderson34:55.6
Ioannis Santorinaios
Pierre Texier

Semifinal 6

"With nine laps to go, Coeckelberg's tyre punctured, and two laps further on the Belgian was again unlucky. He left the track, cut across the grass, seized another machine, and remounted, but was disqualified."
RankCyclistNationTimeNotes
1Albert Denny33:40.6
2Charles Avrillon33:40.8
3Gustaf Westerberg33:41.4
4Guglielmo MorisettiUnknown
Léon Couckelberg

Final

Meredith and Denny suffered punctures early on. Hansson fell near the end. Bonnet led most of the first half of the race. Kingsbury started his sprint shortly after the bell, "hotly challenged" by Jones, Werbrouck, and Weintz for "one of the most exciting finished of the Games, which Kingsbury just won by three inches."
RankCyclistNationTime
Clarence Kingsbury34:13.6
Benjamin JonesUnknown
Joseph WerbrouckUnknown
4Louis WeintzUnknown
5–9François BonnetUnknown
5–9Arthur DennyUnknown
5–9Andrew HanssonUnknown
5–9Octave LapizeUnknown
5–9Leon MeredithUnknown