Cycling at the 1956 Summer Olympics – Men's individual road race

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Men's cycling road race
at the Games of the XVI Olympiad
JO de Melbourne, l'equipe de France - 1, 3 et 4, future victorieuse avec ses trois membres Geyre, Moucheraud et Vermeulen- se desalterant sous la chaleur (epreuve cycliste sur route).jpg
French team at a drink station
Venue Broadmeadows, Victoria, Melbourne
187.73 km (116.7 mi)
Date7 December 1956
Competitors88 from 28 nations
Winning time5:21:17
Medalists
Gold medal icon.svg Ercole Baldini
Flag of Italy.svg  Italy
Silver medal icon.svg Arnaud Geyre
Flag of France.svg  France
Bronze medal icon.svg Alan Jackson
Flag of the United Kingdom (3-2).svg  Great Britain
  1952
1960  

The men's individual road race at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia, was held on Friday 7 December 1956. There were 88 participants from 28 nations. Of the 88 starters 44 rode the distance to the end. [1] The event was won by Ercole Baldini of Italy, the nation's first medal in the men's individual road race. Arnaud Geyre took silver, France's first medal since back-to-back golds in 1936 and 1948. Alan Jackson's bronze was Great Britain's first medal in the event since 1896.

French and British officials protested against Baldini's victory, claiming that he was protected from the hot sun by the Olympic film unit van that drove alongside him, but the protest was upheld. [2] The start of the race was delayed fifteen minutes when it was discovered that two 'unauthorised' Irish cyclists, Tom Gerrard and Paudie Fitzgerald were in the starting field. [2] The two were removed and then "joined 200 supporters in passing out Irish nationalist literature." [3]

Each nation could enter up to four cyclists; nations entering at least three cyclists had the scores of their best three finishers used for the team road race event.

Background

This was the fifth appearance of the event, previously held in 1896 and then at every Summer Olympics since 1936. It replaced the individual time trial event that had been held from 1912 to 1932 (and which would be reintroduced alongside the road race in 1996). Ercole Baldini was a "heavy favorite" after setting an amateur world record in the one-hour ride and winning the 1956 individual pursuit world championship. [3]

Colombia, Ethiopia, Trinidad and Tobago, and Venezuela each made their debut in the men's individual road race; East and West Germany competed as the United Team of Germany. Great Britain made its fifth appearance in the event, the only nation to have competed in each appearance to date.

Competition format and course

The mass-start race was on a course that covered 11 laps of a 17.0665 kilometres circuit, for a total of 187.73 kilometres. The course was "a fairly hilly ride" with "two large climbs that both peaked at 12% grades, the second of which [was] over a full kilometre." [3] [4]

Schedule

All times are Australian Eastern Standard Time (UTC+10)

The day started mild, but it became "rather warm" during the afternoon. [4]

DateTimeRound
Friday, 7 December 195610:00Final

Results

The race started "rather quiet," with pressure picking up from lap 3 to lap 5. Many riders fell behind in the heat during that stretch. Feeding was allowed in lap 5. There were not many falls during this race, but the most serious happened then, with a bag tangling in Trickey's wheel and resulting in a crash that eliminated him and Mengistou. Baldini separated from the pack in lap 8, with 50 kilometres left, and was not challenged the rest of the way as he only increased his lead. A pack of four riders competed for second through fifth places. [3] [4]

RankCyclistNationTime
Gold medal icon.svg Ercole Baldini Flag of Italy.svg  Italy 5:21:17
Silver medal icon.svg Arnaud Geyre Flag of France.svg  France 5:23:16
Bronze medal icon.svg Alan Jackson Flag of the United Kingdom (3-2).svg  Great Britain 5:23:16
4 Horst Tüller Flag of Germany.svg  United Team of Germany 5:23:16
5 Gustav-Adolf Schur Flag of Germany.svg  United Team of Germany 5:23:16
6 Stan Brittain Flag of the United Kingdom (3-2).svg  Great Britain 5:23:40
7 Arnaldo Pambianco Flag of Italy.svg  Italy 5:23:40
8 Maurice Moucheraud Flag of France.svg  France 5:23:40
9 Magdaleno Cano Flag of Mexico (1934-1968).svg  Mexico 5:23:40
10 Lars Nordwall Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden 5:23:40
11 Paul Nyman Flag of Finland.svg  Finland 5:23:40
12 Michel Vermeulin Flag of France.svg  France 5:23:40
13 Ramón Hoyos Flag of Colombia.svg  Colombia 5:23:40
14 William Holmes Flag of the United Kingdom (3-2).svg  Great Britain 5:23:50
15 Anatoly Cherepovich Flag of the Soviet Union.svg  Soviet Union 5:23:50
16 Mykola Kolumbet Flag of the Soviet Union.svg  Soviet Union 5:23:50
17 Karl-Ivar Andersson Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden 5:23:50
18 Reinhold Pommer Flag of Germany.svg  United Team of Germany 5:24:38
19 Harold Reynolds Flag of the United Kingdom (3-2).svg  Great Britain 5:24:44
20 Roland Ströhm Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden 5:24:44
21 Juan Pérez Flag of Chile.svg  Chile 5:25:38
22 Erich Hagen Flag of Germany.svg  United Team of Germany 5:26:38
23 Norbert Verougstraete Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium 5:26:47
24 Gustaaf De Smet Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium 5:26:47
25 Guremu Demboba Flag of Ethiopia (1897-1974).svg  Ethiopia 5:26:58
26 Veselin Petrović Flag of SFR Yugoslavia.svg  Yugoslavia 5:26:58
27 René Abadie Flag of France.svg  France 5:27:28
28 Dino Bruni Flag of Italy.svg  Italy 5:27:28
29 Patrick Murphy Flag of Canada (1921-1957).svg  Canada 5:27:28
30 Franz Wimmer Flag of Austria.svg  Austria 5:27:28
31 Gunnar Göransson Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden 5:30:45
32 Viktor Kapitonov Flag of the Soviet Union.svg  Soviet Union 5:30:45
33 René Deceja Flag of Uruguay.svg  Uruguay 5:31:58
34 Aurelio Cestari Flag of Italy.svg  Italy 5:34:20
35 Viktor Vershinin Flag of the Soviet Union.svg  Soviet Union 5:34:21
36 Mesfen Tesfaye Flag of Ethiopia (1897-1974).svg  Ethiopia 5:34:25
37 Kim Ho-soon Flag of South Korea (1949-1984).svg  South Korea 5:34:37
38 Zehaye Bahta Flag of Ethiopia (1897-1974).svg  Ethiopia 5:34:37
39 Pablo Hurtado Flag of Colombia.svg  Colombia 5:34:49
40 Jaime Villegas Flag of Colombia.svg  Colombia 5:34:49
41 John O'Sullivan Flag of Australia.svg  Australia 5:36:58
42 François Van Den Bosch Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium 5:38:16
43 Joe Becker US flag 48 stars.svg  United States 5:38:16
44 Jim Nevin Flag of Australia.svg  Australia 5:47:02
Jim Nestor Flag of Australia.svg  Australia DNF
Jack Trickey Flag of Australia.svg  Australia DNF
Walter Bortel Flag of Austria.svg  Austria DNF
Kurt Schein Flag of Austria.svg  Austria DNF
Rudolf Maresch Flag of Austria.svg  Austria DNF
François De Wagheneire Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium DNF
Fred Markus Flag of Canada (1921-1957).svg  Canada DNF
James Davies Flag of Canada (1921-1957).svg  Canada DNF
Jorge Luque Flag of Colombia.svg  Colombia DNF
František Jursa Flag of Czechoslovakia.svg  Czechoslovakia DNF
Jaroslav Cihlář Flag of Czechoslovakia.svg  Czechoslovakia DNF
Jiří Nouza Flag of Czechoslovakia.svg  Czechoslovakia DNF
Jiří Opavský Flag of Czechoslovakia.svg  Czechoslovakia DNF
Palle Lykke Flag of Denmark.svg  Denmark DNF
Negousse MengistouFlag of Ethiopia (1897-1974).svg  Ethiopia DNF
Tetsuo Osawa Flag of Japan (1870-1999).svg  Japan DNF
Im Sang-jo Flag of South Korea (1949-1984).svg  South Korea DNF
Gaston Dumont Flag of Luxembourg.svg  Luxembourg DNF
Francisco Lozano Flag of Mexico (1934-1968).svg  Mexico DNF
Felipe Liñán Flag of Mexico (1934-1968).svg  Mexico DNF
Rafael Vaca Flag of Mexico (1934-1968).svg  Mexico DNF
Muhammad Naqi Mallick Flag of Pakistan.svg  Pakistan DNF
Din Meraj Flag of Pakistan.svg  Pakistan DNF
Saleem Farooqi Flag of Pakistan.svg  Pakistan DNF
Shazada Muhammad Shah-Rukh Flag of Pakistan.svg  Pakistan DNF
Alfred Swift Flag of South Africa (1928-1982).svg  South Africa DNF
Robert Fowler Flag of South Africa (1928-1982).svg  South Africa DNF
Jan Hettema Flag of South Africa (1928-1982).svg  South Africa DNF
Charles Jonker Flag of South Africa (1928-1982).svg  South Africa DNF
Hylton Mitchell Flag of Trinidad and Tobago (1889-1958).svg  Trinidad and Tobago DNF
David Rhoads US flag 48 stars.svg  United States DNF
Erhard Neumann US flag 48 stars.svg  United States DNF
George Van Meter US flag 48 stars.svg  United States DNF
Alberto Velázquez Flag of Uruguay.svg  Uruguay DNF
Eduardo Puertollano Flag of Uruguay.svg  Uruguay DNF
Walter Moyano Flag of Uruguay.svg  Uruguay DNF
Arsenio Chirinos Flag of Venezuela (1954-2006).png  Venezuela DNF
Antonio Montilla Flag of Venezuela (1954-2006).png  Venezuela DNF
Domingo Rivas Flag of Venezuela (1954-2006).png  Venezuela DNF
Franco Cacioni Flag of Venezuela (1954-2006).png  Venezuela DNF
Trần Gia ThuFlag of South Vietnam.svg  Vietnam DNF
Nguyễn Hw Thoa Flag of South Vietnam.svg  Vietnam DNF
Ngô Thành Liêm Flag of South Vietnam.svg  Vietnam DNF
Trung Trung Lê Flag of South Vietnam.svg  Vietnam DNF

References

  1. "Cycling at the 1956 Melbourne Summer Games: Men's Road Race, Individual". sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 22 July 2014.
  2. 1 2 Wallechinsky, David (1984). The Complete Book of the Olympics. England: Penguin Books. p. 207. ISBN   0140066322.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Road Race, Individual, Men". Olympedia. Retrieved 5 November 2020.
  4. 1 2 3 Official Report, p. 415.