The men's sprint was one of the three cycling events, all track cycling, now regarded as "Olympic" on the Cycling at the 1900 Summer Olympics programme. It was held on 11 September and 13 September. The sprint, a 2000-metre race with 1000-metre heats, was conducted in four rounds. 69 of the 72 cyclists competed in the sprint, including cyclists from all six competing nations. The event was won by Albert Taillandier of France (the nation's second consecutive victory in the men's sprint), with his countryman Fernand Sanz in second place. John Henry Lake of the United States won the nation's first cycling medal with his bronze.
Background
This was the second appearance of the event, which has been held at every Summer Olympics except 1904 and 1912. None of the cyclists from 1896 returned. Two of the three top sprinters in 1900 were French and competed: Ferdinand Vasserot and Albert Taillandier. (The third, Alphonse Didier-Nauts of Belgium, did not compete). An American, John Henry Lake, however, had finished second in the world championships to Didier-Nauts and was the most significant non-French competitor in the field.
Belgium, Bohemia, Italy, and the United States each made their debut in the men's sprint. France and Germany made their second appearance, having previously competed in 1896.
Competition format
Unlike modern sprint events (which use a flying 200 metre time trial to cut down and seed the field, followed by one-on-one matches), the 1900 sprint used very large initial heats of up to eight cyclists each before smaller quarterfinals, semifinals, and final with three cyclists in each race. For the first round, the top three cyclists in each heat advanced; in the quarterfinals and semifinals, only the fastest man moved on. The distance for each race was 1 kilometre.
Records
The records for the sprint are 200 metre flying time trial records, kept for the qualifying round in later Games as well as for the finish of races.
* World records were not tracked by the UCI until 1954.
Lloyd Hildebrand set the initial record of 15.4 seconds in the first heat. Adolphe Cayron improved on that in the second heat, to 14.2 seconds. John Henry Lake dropped the record to 14.0 seconds in heat 6. Antonio Restelli finished the first round with a 13.6 second time in the ninth heat. Lake responded with 13.2 seconds in the first quarterfinal, only to see Restelli go 13.0 seconds in the fourth. Albert Taillandier dropped below that to 12.6 seconds in the next quarterfinal, a time that held through the rest of the 1900 Games.
Schedule
Date Time Round Tuesday, 11 September 1900 9:0014:00 Round 1Quarterfinals Thursday, 13 September 1900 SemifinalsFinal
Results
Round 1
The first round was held on 11 September. It began at 9 a.m. The top three cyclists in each of the 9 heats advanced to the quarterfinals.
Heat 1
Stratta was a wheel behind Hildebrand, with Vasserot very close after that.
Rank Cyclist Nation Time 200 m Notes 1 Lloyd Hildebrand 1:34.2 15.4 , 2 Giacomo Stratta — — 3 Ferdinand Vasserot — — 4–8 Émile Dubois — — Dubourdieu — — L. Dumont — — František Hirsch — — Pouget — —
Heat 2
Coindre was a wheel behind Cayron; Daumain was not close.
Rank Cyclist Nation Time 200 m Notes 1 Adolphe Cayron 1:34.2 14.2 , 2 Georges Coindre — — 3 Auguste Daumain — — 4–8 Alfred Boulnois — — Romulo Bruni — — Saignier — — Émile Vadbled — — Vianzino — —
Heat 3
Sanz was a half-length behind Gottron.
Rank Cyclist Nation Time 200 m Notes 1 Paul Gottron 1:32.4 14.4 2 Fernand Sanz — — 3 Paul Rosso — — 4–8 Charles Amberger — — L. Boyer — — Georges Neurouth — — A. Roger — — Ruez — —
Heat 4
Rank Cyclist Nation Time 200 m Notes 1 Paul Legrain 1:30.4 14.4 2 Ernesto Mario Brusoni — — 3 Théophile Fras — — 4–8 Omer Beaugendre — — Octave Coisy — — Franzen — — Pichard — — L. Saunière — —
Heat 5
Davis was a length behind Maisonnave.
Rank Cyclist Nation Time 200 m Notes 1 Léon Maisonnave 1:35.8 14.4 2 Will Davis — — 3 Chaput — — 4–8 Fernand Boulmant — — Georg Drescher — — Guillot — — Lohner — — Longchamp — —
Heat 6
Rank Cyclist Nation Time 200 m Notes 1 John Henry Lake 1:35.8 14.0 2 Paul Espeit — — 3 Gaston Bullier — — 4–8 J. Bérard — — Maxime Bertrand — — Vladislav Chalupa — — Jacques Droëtti — — M. Steitz — —
Heat 7
Dohis was a wheel behind Taillandier, with Germain a close third.
Rank Cyclist Nation Time 200 m Notes 1 Albert Taillandier 1:36.8 15.0 2 Marcel Dohis — — 3 Germain — — 4–7 Georges Augoyat — — G. Bessing — — Luigi Colombo — — Maurice Monniot — —
Heat 8
Rank Cyclist Nation Time 200 m Notes 1 Karl Duill 1:35.4 14.4 2 Léon Ponscarme — — 3 Thomann — — 4–6 Édouard Maibaum — — Pilton — — Maurice Terrier — — — A. Porcher —
Heat 9
Wick and Hubault fell and did not finish.
Rank Cyclist Nation Time 200 m Notes 1 Antonio Restelli 1:37.6 13.6 , 2 Vincent — — 3 Joseph Mallet — — 4–5 Caillet — — Mossmann — — — P. Hubault — Édouard Wick —
Quarterfinals
The quarterfinals were also held on the first day of competition, 11 September. They began at 2 p.m. Only the winning cyclist of each of the 9 quarterfinals advanced to the semifinals.
Quarterfinal 1
Stratta was three lengths behind Lake.
Rank Cyclist Nation Time 200 m Notes 1 John Henry Lake 2:02.0 13.2 , 2 Giacomo Stratta — — 3 Chaput — —
Quarterfinal 2
Bullier was two lengths behind Sanz.
Rank Cyclist Nation Time 200 m Notes 1 Fernand Sanz 2:00.0 14.0 2 Gaston Bullier — — 3 Paul Rosso — —
Quarterfinal 3
Duill was a wheel behind Coindre.
Rank Cyclist Nation Time 200 m Notes 1 Georges Coindre 1:50.0 14.4 2 Karl Duill — — 3 Germain — —
Quarterfinal 4
Hildebrand was a wheel behind Restelli.
Rank Cyclist Nation Time 200 m Notes 1 Antonio Restelli 1:52.4 13.0 , 2 Lloyd Hildebrand — — 3 Auguste Daumain — —
Quarterfinal 5
Vincent was two lengths behind Taillandier.
Rank Cyclist Nation Time 200 m Notes 1 Albert Taillandier 2:00.6 12.6 , 2 Vincent — — 3 Thomann — —
Quarterfinal 6
In a very close race, Brusoni was a quarter-wheel behind Mallet.
Rank Cyclist Nation Time 200 m Notes 1 Joseph Mallet 2:45.0 Unknown 2 Ernesto Mario Brusoni — — 3 Théophile Fras — —
Quarterfinal 7
Ponscarme was three lengths behind Maisonnave.
Rank Cyclist Nation Time 200 m Notes 1 Léon Maisonnave 1:49.2 14.2 2 Léon Ponscarme — — 3 Paul Espeit — —
Quarterfinal 8
Dohis was a half length behind Vasserot.
Rank Cyclist Nation Time 200 m Notes 1 Ferdinand Vasserot 2:21.6 14.2 2 Marcel Dohis — — 3 Will Davis — —
Quarterfinal 9
Rank Cyclist Nation Time 200 m Notes 1 Paul Legrain 2:57.4 13.8 2 Paul Gottron — — 3 Adolphe Cayron — —
Semifinals
The semifinals were conducted on 13 September. The top cyclist in each of the three semifinals advanced to the final, guaranteeing himself a medal.
Semifinal 1
Lake had defeated Vasserot previously in 1900, at the world championships where the two had placed second and third to Léon Didier-Nauts. Lake won again in this match, with Vasserot a short length behind.
Rank Cyclist Nation Time 200 m Notes 1 John Henry Lake 2:09.6 13.6 2 Ferdinand Vasserot — — 3 Léon Maisonnave — —
Semifinal 2
Restelli was a half wheel behind Sanz.
Rank Cyclist Nation Time 200 m Notes 1 Fernand Sanz 2:46.6 13.4 2 Antonio Restelli — — 3 Georges Coindre — —
Semifinal 3
Rank Cyclist Nation Time 200 m Notes 1 Albert Taillandier 2:42.6 14.6 2 Paul Legrain — — 3 Joseph Mallet — —
Final
The final was held on the same day as the semifinals, 13 September.
Rank Cyclist Nation Time 200 m Albert Taillandier 2:52.0 13.0 Fernand Sanz — — John Henry Lake — —
Results summary
Rank Cyclist Nation Round 1 Quarterfinals Semifinals Final Notes Albert Taillandier 1st (15.0) 1st (12.6) 1st (14.6) 1st (13.0) Fernand Sanz 2nd 1st (14.0) 1st (13.4) 2nd John Henry Lake 1st (14.0) 1st (13.2) 1st (13.6) 3rd 4 Paul Legrain 1st (14.4) 1st (13.8) 2nd Did not advance Antonio Restelli 1st (13.6) 1st (13.0) 2nd Did not advance Ferdinand Vasserot 3rd 1st (14.2) 2nd Did not advance 7 Georges Coindre 2nd 1st (14.4) 3rd Did not advance Léon Maisonnave 1st (14.4) 1st (14.2) 3rd Did not advance Joseph Mallet 3rd 1st (Unknown) 3rd Did not advance 10 Ernesto Mario Brusoni 2nd 2nd Did not advance Gaston Bullier 3rd 2nd Did not advance Marcel Dohis 2nd 2nd Did not advance Karl Duill 1st (14.4) 2nd Did not advance Paul Gottron 1st (14.4) 2nd Did not advance Lloyd Hildebrand 1st (15.4) 2nd Did not advance Léon Ponscarme 2nd 2nd Did not advance Giacomo Stratta 2nd 2nd Did not advance Vincent 2nd 2nd Did not advance 19 Adolphe Cayron 1st (14.2) 3rd Did not advance Chaput 3rd 3rd Did not advance Auguste Daumain 3rd 3rd Did not advance Will Davis 2nd 3rd Did not advance Paul Espeit 2nd 3rd Did not advance Théophile Fras 3rd 3rd Did not advance Germain 3rd 3rd Did not advance Paul Rosso 3rd 3rd Did not advance Thomann 3rd 3rd Did not advance 28 Charles Amberger 4th–8th Did not advance Georges Augoyat 4th–7th Did not advance Omer Beaugendre 4th–8th Did not advance J. Bérard 4th–8th Did not advance Maxime Bertrand 4th–8th Did not advance G. Bessing 4th–7th Did not advance Fernand Boulmant 4th–8th Did not advance Alfred Boulnois 4th–8th Did not advance L. Boyer 4th–8th Did not advance Romulo Bruni 4th–8th Did not advance Caillet 4th–5th Did not advance Vladislav Chalupa 4th–8th Did not advance Octave Coisy 4th–8th Did not advance Luigi Colombo 4th–7th Did not advance Georg Drescher 4th–8th Did not advance Jacques Droëtti 4th–8th Did not advance Émile Dubois 4th–8th Did not advance Dubourdieu 4th–8th Did not advance L. Dumont 4th–8th Did not advance Franzen 4th–8th Did not advance Guillot 4th–8th Did not advance František Hirsch 4th–8th Did not advance Lohner 4th–8th Did not advance Longchamp 4th–8th Did not advance Édouard Maibaum 4th–6th Did not advance Maurice Monniot 4th–7th Did not advance Mossmann 4th–5th Did not advance Georges Neurouth 4th–8th Did not advance Pichard 4th–8th Did not advance Pilton 4th–6th Did not advance Pouget 4th–8th Did not advance A. Roger 4th–8th Did not advance Ruez 4th–8th Did not advance Saignier 4th–8th Did not advance L. Saunière 4th–8th Did not advance M. Steitz 4th–8th Did not advance Maurice Terrier 4th–6th Did not advance Émile Vadbled 4th–8th Did not advance Vianzino 4th–8th Did not advance — P. Hubault Did not advance Édouard Wick Did not advance — A. Porcher Did not advance
References
International Olympic Committee medal winners database De Wael, Herman. Herman's Full Olympians: "Cycling - track 1900". Accessed 19 March 2006. Available electronically at .