Cycling at the 1900 Summer Olympics – Men's sprint

Men's sprint
at the Games of the II Olympiad
The final: Albert Taillandier (France), Fernand Sanz (France) and John Henry Lake (USA)
VenueVélodrome de Vincennes
DatesSeptember 11 (heats and quarterfinals)
September 13 (semifinals and final)
Competitors69 from 6 nations
Medalists
1st place, gold medalist(s) Albert Taillandier
 France
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Fernand Sanz
 France
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) John Henry Lake
 United States

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.[1]

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.[1]

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 record Unknown Unknown* Unknown Unknown
Olympic record N/A N/A N/A N/A

* 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.[1]

Schedule

Date Time Round
Tuesday, 11 September 1900 9:00
14:00
Round 1
Quarterfinals
Thursday, 13 September 1900 Semifinals
Final

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

The finish of the final race

Stratta was a wheel behind Hildebrand, with Vasserot very close after that.[1]

Rank Cyclist Nation Time 200 m Notes
1 Lloyd Hildebrand  France 1:34.2 15.4 Q, OR
2 Giacomo Stratta  Italy — — Q
3 Ferdinand Vasserot  France — — Q
4–8 Émile Dubois  France — —
Dubourdieu  France — —
L. Dumont  France — —
František Hirsch  Bohemia — —
Pouget  France — —

Heat 2

Coindre was a wheel behind Cayron; Daumain was not close.[1]

Rank Cyclist Nation Time 200 m Notes
1 Adolphe Cayron  France 1:34.2 14.2 Q, OR
2 Georges Coindre  France — — Q
3 Auguste Daumain  France — — Q
4–8 Alfred Boulnois  France — —
Romulo Bruni  Italy — —
Saignier  France — —
Émile Vadbled  France — —
Vianzino  Italy — —

Heat 3

Sanz was a half-length behind Gottron.[1]

Rank Cyclist Nation Time 200 m Notes
1 Paul Gottron  Germany 1:32.4 14.4 Q
2 Fernand Sanz  France — — Q
3 Paul Rosso  France — — Q
4–8 Charles Amberger  France — —
L. Boyer  France — —
Georges Neurouth  France — —
A. Roger  France — —
Ruez  France — —

Heat 4

Rank Cyclist Nation Time 200 m Notes
1 Paul Legrain  France 1:30.4 14.4 Q
2 Ernesto Mario Brusoni  Italy — — Q
3 Théophile Fras  France — — Q
4–8 Omer Beaugendre  France — —
Octave Coisy  France — —
Franzen  France — —
Pichard  France — —
L. Saunière  France — —

Heat 5

Davis was a length behind Maisonnave.[1]

Rank Cyclist Nation Time 200 m Notes
1 Léon Maisonnave  France 1:35.8 14.4 Q
2 Will Davis  France — — Q
3 Chaput  France — — Q
4–8 Fernand Boulmant  France — —
Georg Drescher  Germany — —
Guillot  France — —
Lohner  France — —
Longchamp  France — —

Heat 6

Rank Cyclist Nation Time 200 m Notes
1 John Henry Lake  United States 1:35.8 14.0 Q
2 Paul Espeit  France — — Q
3 Gaston Bullier  France — — Q
4–8 J. Bérard  France — —
Maxime Bertrand  France — —
Vladislav Chalupa  France — —
Jacques Droëtti  Italy — —
M. Steitz  France — —

Heat 7

Dohis was a wheel behind Taillandier, with Germain a close third.[1]

Rank Cyclist Nation Time 200 m Notes
1 Albert Taillandier  France 1:36.8 15.0 Q
2 Marcel Dohis  France — — Q
3 Germain  France — — Q
4–7 Georges Augoyat  France — —
G. Bessing  France — —
Luigi Colombo  Italy — —
Maurice Monniot  France — —

Heat 8

Rank Cyclist Nation Time 200 m Notes
1 Karl Duill  Germany 1:35.4 14.4 Q
2 Léon Ponscarme  France — — Q
3 Thomann  France — — Q
4–6 Édouard Maibaum  France — —
Pilton  France — —
Maurice Terrier  France — —
— A. Porcher  France DSQ —

Heat 9

Wick and Hubault fell and did not finish.

Rank Cyclist Nation Time 200 m Notes
1 Antonio Restelli  Italy 1:37.6 13.6 Q, OR
2 Vincent  Belgium — — Q
3 Joseph Mallet  France — — Q
4–5 Caillet  France — —
Mossmann  France — —
— P. Hubault  France DNF —
Édouard Wick  France DNF —

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.[1]

Rank Cyclist Nation Time 200 m Notes
1 John Henry Lake  United States 2:02.0 13.2 Q, OR
2 Giacomo Stratta  Italy — —
3 Chaput  France — —

Quarterfinal 2

Bullier was two lengths behind Sanz.[1]

Rank Cyclist Nation Time 200 m Notes
1 Fernand Sanz  France 2:00.0 14.0 Q
2 Gaston Bullier  France — —
3 Paul Rosso  France — —

Quarterfinal 3

Duill was a wheel behind Coindre.[1]

Rank Cyclist Nation Time 200 m Notes
1 Georges Coindre  France 1:50.0 14.4 Q
2 Karl Duill  Germany — —
3 Germain  France — —

Quarterfinal 4

Hildebrand was a wheel behind Restelli.[1]

Rank Cyclist Nation Time 200 m Notes
1 Antonio Restelli  Italy 1:52.4 13.0 Q, OR
2 Lloyd Hildebrand  France — —
3 Auguste Daumain  France — —

Quarterfinal 5

Vincent was two lengths behind Taillandier.[1]

Rank Cyclist Nation Time 200 m Notes
1 Albert Taillandier  France 2:00.6 12.6 Q, OR
2 Vincent  Belgium — —
3 Thomann  France — —

Quarterfinal 6

In a very close race, Brusoni was a quarter-wheel behind Mallet.[1]

Rank Cyclist Nation Time 200 m Notes
1 Joseph Mallet  France 2:45.0 Unknown Q
2 Ernesto Mario Brusoni  Italy — —
3 Théophile Fras  France — —

Quarterfinal 7

Ponscarme was three lengths behind Maisonnave.[1]

Rank Cyclist Nation Time 200 m Notes
1 Léon Maisonnave  France 1:49.2 14.2 Q
2 Léon Ponscarme  France — —
3 Paul Espeit  France — —

Quarterfinal 8

Dohis was a half length behind Vasserot.[1]

Rank Cyclist Nation Time 200 m Notes
1 Ferdinand Vasserot  France 2:21.6 14.2 Q
2 Marcel Dohis  France — —
3 Will Davis  France — —

Quarterfinal 9

Rank Cyclist Nation Time 200 m Notes
1 Paul Legrain  France 2:57.4 13.8 Q
2 Paul Gottron  Germany — —
3 Adolphe Cayron  France — —

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.[1]

Rank Cyclist Nation Time 200 m Notes
1 John Henry Lake  United States 2:09.6 13.6 Q
2 Ferdinand Vasserot  France — —
3 Léon Maisonnave  France — —

Semifinal 2

Restelli was a half wheel behind Sanz.[1]

Rank Cyclist Nation Time 200 m Notes
1 Fernand Sanz  France 2:46.6 13.4 Q
2 Antonio Restelli  Italy — —
3 Georges Coindre  France — —

Semifinal 3

Rank Cyclist Nation Time 200 m Notes
1 Albert Taillandier  France 2:42.6 14.6 Q
2 Paul Legrain  France — —
3 Joseph Mallet  France — —

Final

The final was held on the same day as the semifinals, 13 September.

Rank Cyclist Nation Time 200 m
1st place, gold medalist(s) Albert Taillandier  France 2:52.0 13.0
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Fernand Sanz  France — —
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) John Henry Lake  United States — —

Results summary

Rank Cyclist Nation Round 1 Quarterfinals Semifinals Final Notes
1st place, gold medalist(s) Albert Taillandier  France 1st (15.0) 1st (12.6) OR 1st (14.6) 1st (13.0) OR
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Fernand Sanz  France 2nd 1st (14.0) 1st (13.4) 2nd
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) John Henry Lake  United States 1st (14.0) 1st (13.2) OR 1st (13.6) 3rd
4 Paul Legrain  France 1st (14.4) 1st (13.8) 2nd Did not advance
Antonio Restelli  Italy 1st (13.6) 1st (13.0) OR 2nd Did not advance
Ferdinand Vasserot  France 3rd 1st (14.2) 2nd Did not advance
7 Georges Coindre  France 2nd 1st (14.4) 3rd Did not advance
Léon Maisonnave  France 1st (14.4) 1st (14.2) 3rd Did not advance
Joseph Mallet  France 3rd 1st (Unknown) 3rd Did not advance
10 Ernesto Mario Brusoni  Italy 2nd 2nd Did not advance
Gaston Bullier  France 3rd 2nd Did not advance
Marcel Dohis  France 2nd 2nd Did not advance
Karl Duill  Germany 1st (14.4) 2nd Did not advance
Paul Gottron  Germany 1st (14.4) 2nd Did not advance
Lloyd Hildebrand  France 1st (15.4) 2nd Did not advance
Léon Ponscarme  France 2nd 2nd Did not advance
Giacomo Stratta  Italy 2nd 2nd Did not advance
Vincent  Belgium 2nd 2nd Did not advance
19 Adolphe Cayron  France 1st (14.2) 3rd Did not advance
Chaput  France 3rd 3rd Did not advance
Auguste Daumain  France 3rd 3rd Did not advance
Will Davis  France 2nd 3rd Did not advance
Paul Espeit  France 2nd 3rd Did not advance
Théophile Fras  France 3rd 3rd Did not advance
Germain  France 3rd 3rd Did not advance
Paul Rosso  France 3rd 3rd Did not advance
Thomann  France 3rd 3rd Did not advance
28 Charles Amberger  France 4th–8th Did not advance
Georges Augoyat  France 4th–7th Did not advance
Omer Beaugendre  France 4th–8th Did not advance
J. Bérard  France 4th–8th Did not advance
Maxime Bertrand  France 4th–8th Did not advance
G. Bessing  France 4th–7th Did not advance
Fernand Boulmant  France 4th–8th Did not advance
Alfred Boulnois  France 4th–8th Did not advance
L. Boyer  France 4th–8th Did not advance
Romulo Bruni  Italy 4th–8th Did not advance
Caillet  France 4th–5th Did not advance
Vladislav Chalupa  France 4th–8th Did not advance
Octave Coisy  France 4th–8th Did not advance
Luigi Colombo  Italy 4th–7th Did not advance
Georg Drescher  Germany 4th–8th Did not advance
Jacques Droëtti  Italy 4th–8th Did not advance
Émile Dubois  France 4th–8th Did not advance
Dubourdieu  France 4th–8th Did not advance
L. Dumont  France 4th–8th Did not advance
Franzen  France 4th–8th Did not advance
Guillot  France 4th–8th Did not advance
František Hirsch  Bohemia 4th–8th Did not advance
Lohner  France 4th–8th Did not advance
Longchamp  France 4th–8th Did not advance
Édouard Maibaum  France 4th–6th Did not advance
Maurice Monniot  France 4th–7th Did not advance
Mossmann  France 4th–5th Did not advance
Georges Neurouth  France 4th–8th Did not advance
Pichard  France 4th–8th Did not advance
Pilton  France 4th–6th Did not advance
Pouget  France 4th–8th Did not advance
A. Roger  France 4th–8th Did not advance
Ruez  France 4th–8th Did not advance
Saignier  France 4th–8th Did not advance
L. Saunière  France 4th–8th Did not advance
M. Steitz  France 4th–8th Did not advance
Maurice Terrier  France 4th–6th Did not advance
Émile Vadbled  France 4th–8th Did not advance
Vianzino  Italy 4th–8th Did not advance
— P. Hubault  France DNF Did not advance
Édouard Wick  France DNF Did not advance
— A. Porcher  France DSQ Did not advance

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r "Sprint, Men". Olympedia. Retrieved 12 November 2020.