Cycling has been a component of the modern Olympic games since its start in 1896, with a road race in each edition but with a greater emphasis on track events for most of its history. In 1912 Stockholm successfully hosted the Summer Olympics, praised for its excellent organization and innovation, including electronic timing of events for the first time. The cycling experience, however, was somewhat different from previous and subsequent games.
1912 Olympic poster by Olle Hjortzberg
The Stockholm games were the only ones which did not feature any track racing as the only velodrome in Sweden had been demolished…to make way for the Olympic Stadium! Furthermore, the Swedish Olympic Committee was opposed to having a road race at all, citing the poor condition of the country’s roads outside of the capital. The British argued strongly for a road race and in the end were successful but this was a different kind of race: the first Olympic time trial.
And what a time trial compared to modern ones, such as the Paris 2024 route of 33 kms. Sweden clearly had lots of space available so the route of an existing local race around Lake Malar (first run in 1892) was used, covering some 320 kms and over 2200 m of elevation gain.
1912 Olympic rules
The rules set out by the Swedish Olympic Committee (SOC) required the riders to be in place for a roll call at 1:00 am on July 7, with the first rider departing at 2:00 am, the earliest start of any Olympic event ever held. Racers would then depart individually at three minute intervals (although it may have been two minutes). Not only would there be individual prizes but also a team classification. Up to 12 riders would be allowed to compete for a nation, with the time of the best four taken for the team result.
1912 Olympic race map
The SOC’s booklet, which included a nice map of the route, indicated that pacing was forbidden and riders had to sign in at various checkpoints. Also noted: “Whilst riding the competitors shall keep to the left and, by duly sounding their bell in good time, warn anybody approaching.” At the time Sweden was still a country with right-hand drive, something that existed until 1967. No closed roads—not something for Manly Men (and it was only men, of course, as women did not get an Olympic road race until 1984). It is not clear if he had rung his bell, but Swedish competitor Karl Landsberg, one of the 123 cyclists from 16 nations participating, got hit by a “motor-wagon” and dragged behind it near the start, ending up as one of the 29 riders who DNF’d.
The winner of the time trial was a South African, Rudolph Lewis, who completed the course in 10:42:39, averaging around 30 km/h which must have been very good going on a heavy bicycle of the period and on the bad roads. He was followed by Frederick Grubb of Great Britain and Carl Schutte of the USA. In fifth place was a Canadian, Frank Brown of Plainfield, Ontario, who may have been out of the medal running but received a trophy, the Memorial Cup of Mariefred, as the cyclist who rode well but did not win a medal. In addition to the individual winners, the team competition was won by Sweden, followed by Great Britain and the USA. Rather than a presentation at the Olympic Stadium, medals were awarded by the head of the SOC’s Cycling Committee on July 9 at a restaurant.
The Swedish Team
When looking at the list of starters, one is struck by the different world they lived in. There had been a quarrel about how riders from Great Britain would be categorized and in the end riders were allowed to compete for Scotland and Ireland it seems, although the classifications still show Great Britain. There were riders from the Russian Empire, which would gone in only six more years, as well as Austro-Hungary, although those riders seemed to be listed either as Austrian or Hungarian. But the Austrians seemed to have been Bohemians and in 1920 some of them would be competing for the recently-established Czechoslovakia.
Rudolph Lewis wins first ever road cycling pursuit gold – Stockholm 1912 Olympics (Click on photo for video)
As talented amateurs, most of the riders seem to have disappeared from history. Several of them were to be casualties of World War I and Rudolph Lewis himself became a prisoner of war in Germany, sustaining injuries before he returned to South Africa. Frederick Grubb, a teetotaler and vegetarian was a star of British cycling, although described as “a not very likeable character.” He went on to start a bicycle company in 1914, which went through various ups and downs but survived after his death in 1951. The Freddie Grubb name was seen on bicycles made in the UK until 1978.
One of the riders survived the sinking of the Titanic, while Michael Walker, who finished 67th riding for Ireland, would participate in the Easter Rising of 1916 and served as a courier for the IRA, putting his bicycle skills to use.
Okey Lewis surrounded by team mates in 1912 – Sourced by Lennie Gouws
So that is the story of the Olympic’s first cycling time trial, from an era where bicycle races were insanely long. While road racing was to continue, the time trail format would be abandoned after 1932, reappearing only in 1996. The Paris 2024 time trial course marks the first time that the men’s and women’s courses are the same, being the longest used by women in the Olympics and the shortest by men.
If you are inspired by this story of the 1912 Olympic Time Trial, you will be happy to know that the race around Lake Malar, the Mälaren Runt, still takes place each year. The longer course is 340 km, while the shorter version is 282 km. For more information and to register go here: https://www.fredrikshof.se.
Olympics 1912 Cycling
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