The men's 100 kilometres was one of five

track cycling Track cycling is a bicycle racing sport usually held on specially built banked tracks or velodromes using purpose-designed track bicycles. History Track cycling has been around since at least 1870. When track cycling was in its infancy, it wa ...

events on the

Cycling at the 1896 Summer Olympics At the 1896 Summer Olympics, six cycling events were contested at the Neo Phaliron Velodrome. They were organized and prepared by the Sub-Committee for Cycling. Events were held on 8 April, 11 April, 12 April and 13 April 1896. Nineteen cycl ...

programme. It was the first race held, on 8 April. It required cyclists to complete 300 circuits of the track. Nine cyclists from five nations competed. The event was won by

Léon Flameng Marie Léon Flameng (30 April 1877 – 2 January 1917) was a French cyclist and a World War I pilot. He competed at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens, winning three medals including one gold. Olympics Flameng competed in four cycling t ...

of France, with

Georgios Kolettis Georgios Koletis ( el, Γεώργιος Κολέτης) was a Greek cyclist. He competed at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens, winning a silver medal. Career Koletis competed in the 10 and 100 kilometres races. He finished second in the 100 kil ...

of Greece coming in second.

Background

From 1896 to 1924 (excluding 1912, when no track events were held), the track cycling programme included events at a variety of distances that changed from Games to Games and ranged from the -mile to the 100 kilometres (and, even longer, the unique 12 hours race in 1896 that saw finishers exceed 300 kilometres). The 100 kilometres was held twice: in 1896 and again in 1908. As with many of the 1896 cycling races, the French team was clearly favored as the strongest cyclists present. However, one of the two Frenchmen (

Paul Masson Paul Masson (1859 – October 22, 1940) was an early pioneer of California viticulture known for his brand of Californian sparkling wine. Biography Masson emigrated from the Burgundy region of France in 1878 (at the age of 19) to Californi ...

) did not start the race and instead served as pacemaker for the other (

Competition format

As the name suggests, the race was 100 kilometres in length. The track was one-third of a kilometre in length, so the cyclists had to complete 300 laps. Pacemakers were allowed in the event, though only Flameng and the Greeks had pacemakers. The nine cyclists started together in a mass start.Official Report, p. 74.

Schedule

The exact time of the event is not known. The day was very cold with a bitter wind that was not significantly affected by the low walls around the velodrome.

Results

Nine cyclists started the race, but only two finished it. During the race

's bike broke down.

stopped and waited for Georgio's bike to be repaired before continuing to race. Flameng had fallen midway through the race but continued on to win the

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have bee ...

. Kolettis of

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

had completed 289 laps at that point, and finished fairly soon after Flameng. While competing, Flameng raced with the French flag wrapped about his leg.

References

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* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cycling at the 1896 Summer Olympics - Men's 100 kilometres Track cycling at the 1896 Summer Olympics