Road Race, Individual, Men

The event was a 100 km. time trial, which started at Moore Park at 8 AM. The course rode mostly along the ocean on the Roosevelt Highway, finishing at Castellammare, just north of Santa Monica. The defending Olympic champion in the event, Henry Hansen, had won the 1931 World Championships, and was the favorite. But he did not ride well and eventually placed 12th. The other favorites were Frank Southall, who had finished second to Hansen in 1928, and Italy’s Giuseppe Olmo. Olmo did not win, finishing fourth, but the Italians dominated the race, placing 1st, 2nd, 4th, and 7th, led by Attilio Pavesi, who won the gold medal, and runner-up Guglielmo Segato. Pavesi was the 35th and last rider to start but passed six cyclists en route to his gold medal. Segato had been the 27th starter and had been on the same pace as Pavesi until he crashed only a few kilometers from the finish on the Saticoy curve. This was the last time that the Olympic road race was conducted as a time trial, although the time trial returned to the Olympics in 1996 as a separate event. Pavesi turned pro after the Olympics, but never made a big impression, ending up riding six-day events in Argentina.

Only 33 competitors and finishers are listed in the 1932 Official Report, although there are 36 entrants listed in the Official Program and Los Angeles newspapers. Los Angeles newspapers also specifically mention that there were 35 starters. The two “missing” cyclists that we have identified as starting, but not finishing due to flats, were Canadian Ernie Gates and German Henry Tröndle. Their participation has been confirmed by Canadian and German sources.