The development of the bicycle
Back in the 1820s, Karl von Drais, a German inventor, launched the running machine. This would later be named as a velocipede. Following years of refinement and engineer, the two-wheeled mode of transport was developed. Improvements were made to the design, including pedals and cranks. Around the 1870s, the bicycle was already refined and improved to the point that it could be used to race. At this time, people were already holding indoor cycling races, being done on wooden tracks. These indoors arenas nearly looked like the modern-day velodromes. The races would even attract crowds. By the 1880s, the stage was already set for the spot to become an international sport.
The first cycling competition in the Olympics
The first Olympic Games of the modern era took place in Athens. This was back in the year 1896. The Olympic Games featured nine different sports, totaling forty-three events in total. Cycling fanatics around the world would be thrilled to hear that cycling was among the events as well as every other Olympic games ever since.
Cyclists competed in the first Olympics in six races. The events attracted crowds, which meant that the popularity of the sport was up there. The French dominated the races, which saw Paul Masson take home three gold medals. Aristidis Konstantinidis, a Greek, also won one of the races.
Notable occurrences in the sport’s history
Olympic cycling became a steady sport. However, in the year 1912, only a single road time trial was contested. It became harder for the competition when the Swedish Olympic Committee attempted to remove it from the games. This was due to the fear of poor infrastructure and inadequate road conditions. Also, the only velodrome in the country had just been demolished to pave the way for the new and incoming Olympic Stadium. Cycling advocates such as the British Olympic Committee demanded at least one road race be conducted.
Another interesting occurrence in the history of cycling occurred in 1936 in Berlin, Germany, amidst the growing tension and threat of Nazi Germany. Leni Rifenstahl was nominated by the German Olympic Committee to make a film of the games to be called Olympia. The one hundred kilometer road was a heated one. It saw Frenchmen Guy Lapebie get beaten by R. Charpentier by a margin of 0.2 seconds. However, when Olympia was released a couple of years later, it showed Charpentier pull a teammate back as they were approaching the finish line, allowing him to overtake Lapebie and win the race. Even though nothing ever came of the accusation, it might as well have been the first instance where replay was used in sport to contest a result.
Women and cycling
It was not until the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics that women were allowed to compete. This was seen in an individual road race. In fact, the day that USA’s Connie Carpenter-Phinney won a gold medal ( she did this by doing a bike throwing technique at the finish line to beat a fellow American, Rebecca Twigg) is a historic day for female cyclists in the world.