The men's 20 kilometres was one of seven track cycling events on the Cycling at the 1908 Summer Olympics programme. Its distance was the second longest of the individual event distances. Each nation could enter up to 12 cyclists.Official Report, p. 33.
Competition format
The 20 kilometres in 1908 was a unique race in Olympic history. It was in some ways like a very long sprint but with elements of a points race. Each race consisted of slightly over 33 laps of the 660 yard track. The time limit for the race was 40 minutes. The competition was held in two rounds (semifinals and a final). There were 6 semifinals. The winner of each semifinal advanced to the final, encouraging tactical riding similar to a sprint race despite the long distance. However, for the three fastest semifinals, the cyclist who led for the most laps would also advance. The final comprised 9 cyclists.
Results
Semifinals
There were two methods of qualifying for the final. A cyclist could either finish first in one of the six semifinals or be the leader "of the greatest number of laps in the three fastest heats.Olympic Report, p. 120"
Semifinal 1
Flynn had a puncture at about the halfway mark.Official Report, p. 118.
Rank Cyclist Nation Time Notes 1 Leonard Meredith 33:21.0 2 Hermann Martens 33:21.2 3 Joseph Werbrouck 33:21.4 4 André Lapize Unknown 5 Georgius Damen Unknown 6 Frederick McCarthy Unknown 7–8 Pierre Hostein Unknown Rudolf Katzer Unknown Daniel Flynn
Semifinal 2
Rank Cyclist Nation Time Notes 1 Clarence Kingsbury 32:33.8 2 Charlie Brooks 32:34.0 3 Floris Venter 32:34.4 4 Georges Lutz Unknown 5 Gerard Bosch van Drakenstein Unknown 6 François Bonnet Unknown 7–9 Walter Andrews Unknown Jean van Benthem Unknown Paul Schulze Unknown
Semifinal 3
Rank Cyclist Nation Time Notes 1 Louis Weintz 33:39.8 2 Frank Shore 33:40.0 3 Harry Young 33:45.2 4 Herbert Bouffler Unknown 5 Max Triebsch Unknown 6–7 Henri Cunault Unknown Dorus Nijland Unknown Frederick Hamlin
Semifinal 4
Rank Cyclist Nation Time Notes 1 Benjamin Jones 32:39.0 2 George Cameron 32:39.2 3 Thomas Passmore 32:39.4 4 Octave Lapize Unknown 5 Henri Baumler Unknown 6–7 Alwin Boldt Unknown Johannes van Spengen Unknown William Lower
Semifinal 5
Santorinaios and Texier crashed with half a lap remaining; Robertson was slowed by having to ride around them.Official Report, p. 119.
Rank Cyclist Nation Time Notes 1 Andrew Hansson 34:53.6 2 David Robertson 34:53.8 3 William Anderson 34:55.6 Ioannis Santorinaios Pierre Texier
Semifinal 6
"With nine laps to go, Coeckelberg's tyre punctured, and two laps further on the Belgian was again unlucky. He left the track, cut across the grass, seized another machine, and remounted, but was disqualified."
Rank Cyclist Nation Time Notes 1 Albert Denny 33:40.6 2 Charles Avrillon 33:40.8 3 Gustaf Westerberg 33:41.4 4 Guglielmo Morisetti Unknown Léon Couckelberg
Final
Meredith and Denny suffered punctures early on. Hansson fell near the end. Bonnet led most of the first half of the race. Kingsbury started his sprint shortly after the bell, "hotly challenged" by Jones, Werbrouck, and Weintz for "one of the most exciting finishes of the Games, which Kingsbury just won by three inches."Official Report, p. 120.
Rank Cyclist Nation Time Clarence Kingsbury 34:13.6 Benjamin Jones Unknown Joseph Werbrouck Unknown 4 Louis Weintz Unknown 5–9 François Bonnet Unknown Arthur Denny Unknown Andrew Hansson Unknown Octave Lapize Unknown Leon Meredith Unknown
Notes
Sources
De Wael, Herman. Herman's Full Olympians: "Cycling 1908". Accessed 7 April 2006. Available electronically at .