| Date | 2 August 1952 — 11:00 | |
|---|---|---|
| Status | Olympic | |
| Location | Käpylä, Helsinki | |
| Participants | 107 from 28 countries | |
| Format | 190.4 km. mass start race. Total time of nation's three best riders to count for team time. | |
The lead break in the individual race consisted of three Belgians and a German. With the Belgian riders finishing 1st, 2nd, and 4th, there was no contest for the gold medal. Italy won the silver medal, with their riders finishing in order – 5th thru 7th. The rider who did not place for Belgium, Rik Van Looy, later became one the leading riders in the professional peloton.
| Pos | Bib | Competitors | NOC | Time | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | – | Belgium |  BEL | 15-20:46.6 | Gold | ||
| – | André Noyelle | 5-06:03.4 | |||||
| – | Robert Grondelaers | 5-06:51.2 | |||||
| – | Lucien Victor | 5-07:52.0 | |||||
| – | Rik Van Looy | AC/DNF | non-scoring | ||||
| 2 | – | Italy |  ITA | 15-33:27.3 | Silver | ||
| – | Dino Bruni | 5-10:54.0 | |||||
| – | Vincenzo Zucconelli | 5-11:16.5 | |||||
| – | Gianni Ghidini | 5-11:16.8 | |||||
| – | Bruno Monti | 5-11:35.0 | non-scoring | ||||
| 3 | – | France |  FRA | 15-38:58.1 | Bronze | ||
| – | Jacques Anquetil | 5-11:19.0 | |||||
| – | Alfred Tonello | 5-11:20.0 | |||||
| – | Claude Rouer | 5-16:19.1 | |||||
| – | Roland Bezamat | AC/DNF | non-scoring | ||||
| 4 | – | Sweden |  SWE | 15-41:34.3 | |||
| – | Yngve Lundh | 5-12:15.2 | |||||
| – | Stig Mårtensson | 5-13:00.0 | |||||
| – | Allan Carlsson | 5-16:19.1 | |||||
| – | Lars Nordwall | AC/DNF | non-scoring | ||||
| 5 | – | Unified Team of Germany |  GER | 15-43:50.5 | |||
| – | Edi Ziegler | 5-07:47.5 | |||||
| – | Oskar Zeißner | 5-11:18.5 | |||||
| – | Paul Maue | 5-24:44.5 | |||||
| – | Walter Becker | AC/DNF | non-scoring | ||||
| 6 | – | Denmark |  DEN | 15-48:02.0 | |||
| – | Hans Andresen | 5-11:18.5 | |||||
| – | Jørgen Frank Rasmussen | 5-14:09.4 | |||||
| – | Wedell Østergaard | 5-22:34.1 | |||||
| – | Helge Hansen | 5-27:08.8 | non-scoring | ||||
| 7 | – | Luxembourg |  LUX | 15-49:04.0 | |||
| – | André Moes | 5-11:19.0 | |||||
| – | Roger Ludwig | 5-11:20.0 | |||||
| – | Nicolas Morn | 5-26:25.0 | |||||
| – | Jean Schmit | AC/DNF | non-scoring | ||||
| 8 | – | Netherlands |  NED | 15-52:22.7 | |||
| – | Arend van 't Hof | 5-11:19.0 | |||||
| – | Jan Plantaz | 5-16:19.1 | |||||
| – | Adrie Voorting | 5-24:44.6 | |||||
| – | Jules Maenen | AC/DNF | non-scoring | ||||
| 9 | – | Switzerland |  SUI | 15-52:49.4 | |||
| – | Rolf Graf | 5-12:45.3 | |||||
| – | Josef Schraner | 5-15:06.1 | |||||
| – | Fausto Lurati | 5-24:58.0 | |||||
| – | Kobi Scherer | AC/DNF | non-scoring | ||||
| 10 | – | Norway |  NOR | 15-55:01.7 | |||
| – | Erling Kristiansen | 5-17:30.2 | |||||
| – | Odd Berg | 5-17:30.2 | |||||
| – | Lorang Christiansen | 5-20:01.3 | |||||
| 11 | – | Great Britain |  GBR | 15-58:51.0 | |||
| – | Desmond Robinson | 5-18:08.9 | |||||
| – | Brian Robinson | 5-18:08.9 | |||||
| – | Graham Vines | 5-22:33.2 | |||||
| – | Les Ingman | AC/DNF | non-scoring | ||||
| 12 | – | Romania |  ROU | 16-08:03.0 | |||
| – | Constantin Stănescu | 5-20:01.4 | |||||
| – | Marin Niculescu | 5-23:34.1 | |||||
| – | Victor Georgescu | 5-24:27.5 | |||||
| – | Petre Nuță | AC/DNF | non-scoring | ||||
| 13 | – | Uruguay |  URU | 16-08:41.4 | |||
| – | Virgilio Pereyra | 5-22:33.4 | |||||
| – | Luis Ángel de los Santos | 5-22:34.3 | |||||
| – | Hugo Machado | 5-23:33.7 | |||||
| – | Julio Sobrera | AC/DNF | non-scoring | ||||
| – | Australia |  AUS | – | ||||
| – | Peter Pryor | 5-22:33.5 | |||||
| – | Jim Nevin | 5-22:33.6 | |||||
| – | Ken Caves | AC/DNF | |||||
| – | Peter Nelson | AC/DNF | |||||
| – | Austria |  AUT | – | ||||
| – | Arthur Mannsbarth | AC/DNF | |||||
| – | Franz Wimmer | AC/DNF | |||||
| – | Walter Bortel | AC/DNF | |||||
| – | Bulgaria |  BUL | – | ||||
| – | Petar Georgiev | 5-24:34.0 | |||||
| – | Boyan Kotsev | AC/DNF | |||||
| – | Iliya Velchev | AC/DNF | |||||
| – | Milko Rusev | AC/DNF | |||||
| – | Chile |  CHI | – | ||||
| – | Héctor Droguett | AC/DNF | |||||
| – | Héctor Mellado | AC/DNF | |||||
| – | Hernán Masanés | AC/DNF | |||||
| – | Hugo Miranda | AC/DNF | |||||
| – | Finland |  FIN | – | ||||
| – | Raino Koskenkorva | 5-23:34.6 | |||||
| – | Paul Backman | AC/DNF | |||||
| – | Paul Nyman | AC/DNF | |||||
| – | Ruben Forsblom | AC/DNF | |||||
| – | Hungary |  HUN | – | ||||
| – | István Lang | AC/DNF | |||||
| – | István Schillerwein | AC/DNF | |||||
| – | Lajos Látó | AC/DNF | |||||
| – | India |  IND | – | ||||
| – | Netai Bysack | AC/DNF | |||||
| – | Pradip Bose | AC/DNF | |||||
| – | Raj Kumar Mehra | AC/DNF | |||||
| – | Suprovat Chakravarty | AC/DNF | |||||
| – | Japan |  JPN | – | ||||
| – | Kihei Tomioka | AC/DNF | |||||
| – | Masazumi Tajima | AC/DNF | |||||
| – | Tadashi Kato | AC/DNF | |||||
| – | Tamotsu Chikanari | AC/DNF | |||||
| – | Republic of Korea |  KOR | – | ||||
| – | Im Sang-Jo | AC/DNF | |||||
| – | Kim Ho-Sun | AC/DNF | |||||
| – | Gwon Ik-Hyeon | AC/DNF | |||||
| – | Mexico |  MEX | – | ||||
| – | Ángel Romero | 5-24:33.9 | |||||
| – | Francisco Lozano | AC/DNF | |||||
| – | Julio Cepeda | AC/DNF | |||||
| – | Ricardo García | AC/DNF | |||||
| – | South Africa |  RSA | – | ||||
| – | Jimmy Swift | AC/DNF | |||||
| – | George Estman | AC/DNF | |||||
| – | Bobby Fowler | AC/DNF | |||||
| – | Czechoslovakia |  TCH | – | ||||
| – | Jan Veselý | AC/DNF | |||||
| – | Karel Nesl | AC/DNF | |||||
| – | Milan Perič | AC/DNF | |||||
| – | Stanislav Svoboda | AC/DNF | |||||
| – | Soviet Union |  URS | – | ||||
| – | Yevgeny Klevtsov | 5-23:34.0 | |||||
| – | Anatoly Kolesov | AC/DNF | |||||
| – | Nikolay Bobarenko | AC/DNF | |||||
| – | Vladimir Kryuchkov | AC/DNF | |||||
| – | United States |  USA | – | ||||
| – | Don Sheldon | 5-22:33.3 | |||||
| – | Tom O'Rourke | 5-22:33.7 | |||||
| – | David Rhoads | AC/DNF | |||||
| – | Ronald Rhoads | AC/DNF | |||||
| – | South Vietnam |  VNM | – | ||||
| – | Lưu Quan | 5-24:34.1 | |||||
| – | Châu Phươc Vình | AC/DNF | |||||
| – | Nguyễn Đức Hiền | AC/DNF | |||||
| – | Lê Văn Phươc | AC/DNF |
