Road Race, Men

Under the shadow of Windsor Castle, the race was 17 laps in Windsor Great Park, on a relatively flat 11.45 km course. The event had not originally been intended for Windsor, but was to be held at Richmond Park, in Surrey. However, a law was discovered that prohibited any activity there at more than 20 miles per hour, so the event had to be moved to Windsor. The race started in a torrential downpour, which limited the spectators, who braved the weather. The biggest problem with the course was the loose gravel roads, which caused over 100 punctures in all.

It was difficult to pick a favorite as international racing had been stalled by the war. The 1947 World Championships had been won by Italy’s Alfo Ferrari, who raced at Windsor, but trailed in only in 9th place, the leader of the chasing group. On the second lap of the race, three riders – Nils Johansson, Gerrit Voorting, and Henk Faanhof – dropped the peloton. Johansson punctured on the 9th lap and was caught by the pack. On the 12th lap, a group of nine riders caught the leading pair. Two punctures and a crash left a group of eight leading riders to contest the final lap. On the last lap, shortly before the top of Breakheart Hill, a short climb of no more than 25 metres elevation, José Beyaert broke away and opened up a gap of eight bike lengths with less than 800 metres remaining. He was not caught and won the gold medal, with Voorting outsprinting the group to win the silver medal.

In 1947, Beyaert had won Paris-Briare, and finished eighth at the World Championships. He had only finished third in the French selection race for the 1948 Olympics, but he had had a solid year, finishing second at Paris-Cayeux, Paris-Briare, and Paris-Saint-Valéry.