Date | 29 August 1972 — 10:00 | |
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Status | Olympic | |
Location | Autobahn München - Lindau, Ausfahrt Schäftlarn, Schäftlarn | |
Participants | 140 from 35 countries | |
Format | Four-man teams. |
This race came down to the Soviet Union and Poland. Poland had the fastest split at 50 km., leading by 15 seconds, but the Soviets were almost 45 seconds faster in the second half of the race to win the gold medal. The third-place finisher was the Dutch team, another 40 seconds back of Poland. But the Netherlands was disqualified when Aad van den Hoek failed a doping test, having taken Coramine, a stimulant. The drug was allowed by the Union Cycliste International (UCI), but not by the IOC. Because the fourth-placed Belgium team had not been subjected to doping controls, no bronze medals were awarded in this event.