Cycling Track at the 1896 Summer Olympics

The 1896 cycling events were held on the Neo Phaliron Velodrome, which was built specially for the Olympics near the sea in Piraeus. The Podilatodromio Neou Falirou was built at a cost of 100,000 Greek drachma and was fairly modern in appearance with banked turns, and measured 333.33 metres in length. Seating was available for 7,000 spectators. Coubertin had looked in Paris for the design of the velodrome, but before he could find one, Crown Prince Constantine of Greece found a design in København, and used it to design the track, which was built by the Greek Vellinis. The velodrome also contained tennis courts in the infield, where some of the 1896 tennis matches were played. The 1896 cycling events were not well attended by cyclists, as only five nations took part. However, photographs of the events do exist, and it appears that very large crowds watched the 1896 cycling competitions.

A royal box was constructed on the west side of the stadium, from which King Giorgios watched the events. He was accompanied by Prince Constantine, King Alexandros of Serbia, Queen Olga, and Prince Andreas. French cyclist Paul Masson, no relation to the wine company, won three gold medals on the track.