Cycling at the 1908 Summer Olympics – Men's team pursuit

The men's team pursuit was one of seven track cycling events on the Cycling at the 1908 Summer Olympics programme. It was the first appearance of a pursuit-style event. Each nation could enter 1 team of 4 cyclists.[1]

Men's team pursuit
at the Games of the IV Olympiad
VenueWhite City Stadium
DateJuly 17
Competitors20 from 5 nations
Medalists
 Great Britain (GBR)
Benjamin Jones, Clarence Kingsbury, Leon Meredith, Ernest Payne
 Germany (GER)
Max Götze, Rudolf Katzer, Hermann Martens, Karl Neumer
 Canada (CAN)
William Anderson, Walter Andrews, Frederick McCarthy, William Morton
Cycling at the
1908 Summer Olympics
Track cycling
660 yardsmen
5000 metresmen
20 kilometresmen
100 kilometresmen
Sprintmen
Tandemmen
Team pursuitmen

Competition format

In the team pursuit competition, teams started at opposite sides of the track. Each team raced three laps of the track, comprising 1980 yards (1810.5 m). The third cyclist in each four-man team to finish set the time for the team. The competition consisted of three rounds (heats, semifinals, and a final); in each round, 2 teams would compete in each heat. The winner of each heat would advance.[2] The bronze medal was awarded based on the time of the two semifinal losers rather than a direct competition.[3]

Results

Heat 1
RankCyclistsNationTimeNotes
1
 Great BritainWalkoverQ
–Unknown BelgiumDNS

Heat 2
RankCyclistsNationTimeNotes
1
 CanadaWalkoverQ
2Unknown United StatesDNS

Heat 3

The Dutch team had a bye in the first round.

RankCyclistsNationTimeNotes
1
 NetherlandsWalkoverQ

Heat 4

In the only contested heat in the first round, the German team eliminated the French.

RankCyclistsNationTimeNotes
1
 Germany2:25.4Q
2
 France2:32.0

Semifinal 1

The Canadians received third place overall as the faster of the two semifinal losers, while the British team moved on to the final.

RankCyclistsNationTimeNotes
1
  • Benjamin Jones
  • Clarence Kingsbury
  • Leon Meredith
  • Ernest Payne
 Great Britain2:19.6Q
2 ()
  • William Anderson
  • Walter Andrews
  • Frederick McCarthy
  • William Morton
 Canada2:29.2[4]

Semifinal 2
RankCyclistsNationTimeNotes
1
  • Max Götze
  • Rudolf Katzer
  • Hermann Martens
  • Karl Neumer
 Germany2:31.8Q
2
  • Gerard Bosch van Drakestein
  • Antonie Gerrits
  • Dorus Nijland
  • Johannes van Spengen
 Netherlands2:44.0

Final
PlaceCyclistsNationTime
  • Benjamin Jones
  • Clarence Kingsbury
  • Leon Meredith
  • Ernest Payne
 Great Britain2:18.6
  • Max Götze
  • Rudolf Katzer
  • Hermann Martens
  • Karl Neumer
 Germany2:28.6

Notes
  1. Official Report, p. 33.
  2. Official Report, pp. 422–23.
  3. Official Report, p. 125.
  4. The Canadian team's semifinal time is listed in the Official Report as "2 min. 292 sec."

Sources
  • Cook, Theodore Andrea (1908). The Fourth Olympiad, Being the Official Report. London: British Olympic Association.
  • De Wael, Herman. Herman's Full Olympians: "Cycling 1908". Accessed 7 April 2006. Available electronically at .
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