Cycling at the Games of the XV Olympiad | |
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Venues | Käpylä and the surrounding area Helsinki Velodrome |
Date | 28 –31 July 1952 (track) 2 August 1952 (road) |
Competitors | 215 from 36 nations |
The cycling competition at the 1952 Summer Olympics consisted of two road cycling events and four track cycling events, all for men only. 215 cyclists from 36 countries competed in the six events. [1]
Games | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
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Road race, Individual | André Noyelle Belgium | Robert Grondelaers Belgium | Edi Ziegler Germany |
Road race, Team | Belgium (BEL) Robert Grondelaers André Noyelle Lucien Victor | Italy (ITA) Dino Bruni Gianni Ghidini Vincenzo Zucconelli | France (FRA) Jacques Anquetil Claude Rouer Alfred Tonello |
Games | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
---|---|---|---|
Pursuit, Team | Italy (ITA) Marino Morettini Loris Campana Mino de Rossi Guido Messina | South Africa (RSA) Alfred Swift George Estman Robert Fowler Thomas Shardelow | Great Britain (GBR) Ronald Stretton Donald Burgess George Newberry Alan Newton |
Sprint | Enzo Sacchi Italy | Lionel Cox Australia | Werner Potzernheim Germany |
Tandem | Lionel Cox and Russell Mockridge (AUS) | Raymond Robinson and Thomas Shardelow (RSA) | Antonio Maspes and Cesare Pinarello (ITA) |
Time trial | Russell Mockridge Australia | Marino Morettini Italy | Raymond Robinson South Africa |
215 cyclists from 36 nations competed. [1]
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Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Italy (ITA) | 2 | 2 | 1 | 5 |
2 | Australia (AUS) | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
Belgium (BEL) | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | |
4 | South Africa (RSA) | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
5 | Germany (GER) | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
6 | France (FRA) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Great Britain (GBR) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
Totals (7 entries) | 6 | 6 | 6 | 18 |
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 cyclists, all men, from five nations competed.
At the 1908 Summer Olympics, seven track cycling events were contested, all for men only. The weather was poor, with rainfall causing the track to flood on occasion. The track was 660 yards (600 m) long ; some events used full laps of the track; the others used metric distances.
Cycling has been contested at every Summer Olympic Games since the birth of the modern Olympic movement at the 1896 Summer Olympics, at which a road race and five track events were held. Mountain bike racing entered the Olympic programme at the Atlanta Olympics, followed by BMX racing in 2008 and freestyle BMX in 2021. Prior to the 2020 Summer Olympics, all events were speed races, but the 2020 programme featured BMX freestyle for the first time.
Athletes from the United Kingdom, all but three of its Overseas Territories, and the three Crown Dependencies, can compete in the Olympic Games as part of Team GB. Athletes from Northern Ireland can also choose to compete as part of Team Ireland instead. It has sent athletes to every Summer and Winter Games, since the start of the Olympics' modern era in 1896, including the 1980 Summer Olympics, which were boycotted by a number of other Western nations. From 1896 to 2020 inclusive, Great Britain & Northern Ireland has won 918 medals at the Summer Olympic Games, and another 32 at the Winter Olympic Games. It is the only national team to have won at least one gold medal at every Summer Games, lying third globally in the winning of total medals, surpassed only by the United States and the former Soviet Union.
The cycling competition at the 1960 Summer Olympics consisted of two road cycling events and four track cycling events, all for men only. The event was marred by the death of cyclist Knud Jensen.
The men's team road race time trial was a road bicycle racing event held as part of the Cycling at the 1964 Summer Olympics programme. It was held on 14 October 1964. 33 teams of 4 cyclists competed. The course was slightly over 36.6 kilometres long, with 3 laps being required to give a total distance of 109.893 kilometres.
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Nils Olof Henriksson is a Finnish cyclist. He won the Finnish national road race title in 1952. He also competed in the 4,000 metres team pursuit event at the 1952 Summer Olympics.
Graham Vines is a British cyclist. He competed in the individual and team road race events at the 1952 Summer Olympics.
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