Cycling Track at the 1908 Summer Olympics

Dates 13 – 18 July 1908
Medal Events 7

The cycling events were conducted during the first week of the stadium events at the 1908 Olympics. As The Sporting Life noted, “ . . . the weather was the reverse of pleasant. As a matter of fact, it was the rule rather than the exception for thetrack to be flooded.” The track in question was at the large White City Stadium, which had been constructed for the 1908 Olympic Games. It was a concrete track measuring 660 yards (603.5 metres) in length and surrounded the running track.

Six different track cycling events were contested, with five of them won by British riders, while France took the tandem sprint. There were two match sprint events, one over 660 yards (one lap of the velodrome), and one over the more traditional 1,000 metres. Britain’s Victor Johnson won the 660 yd sprint, but in the 1,000 metre event, no medals were awarded because the riders exceeded the time limit in the final.

Events

Event Status Date Participants NOCs
Sprint, 660 yards, Men Olympic 14 – 15 July 1908 46 9
Sprint, 1,000 metres, Men Olympic 16 July 1908 40 9
Tandem Sprint, 2,000 metres, Men Olympic 13 – 15 July 1908 34 7
Team Pursuit, 1,980 yards, Men Olympic 17 July 1908 20 5
5,000 metres, Men Olympic 17 – 18 July 1908 42 8
20 kilometres, Men Olympic 14 July 1908 44 11
100 kilometres, Men Olympic 15 – 18 July 1908 43 11
97 (97/0) 11 (11/0)

Medals

Event Gold Silver Bronze
Sprint, Men Victor JohnsonGBR Émile DemangelFRA Karl NeumerGER
Tandem Sprint, 2,000 metres, Men FranceFRA Great BritainGBR Great BritainGBR
Team Pursuit, 1,980 yards, Men Great BritainGBR GermanyGER CanadaCAN
5,000 metres, Men Ben JonesGBR Maurice SchillèsFRA André AuffrayFRA
20 kilometres, Men Clarrie KingsburyGBR Ben JonesGBR Joseph WerbrouckBEL
100 kilometres, Men Charles BartlettGBR Charlie DennyGBR Octave LapizeFRA

Medal table

NOC Gold Silver Bronze Total
Great Britain GBR 5 3 1 9
France FRA 1 2 2 5
Germany GER 0 1 1 2
Belgium BEL 0 0 1 1
Canada CAN 0 0 1 1