Cycling is an extremely popular sport that features various races on a track or velodrome, usually between rival racers who attempt to catch one another and cover a given distance as quickly as possible.
Mark Gorski from the United States won gold in men’s sprint event to end a 72-year Olympic drought for his nation.
The first recorded cycle race
Cycling (also referred to as biking) is an activity which involves racing bicycles for recreation or competition, and offers great cardiovascular health benefits. Cycling races range from local races such as the Tour de France all the way up to international tournaments like World Tour. Cycling has quickly become one of Europe, the United States, and Japan’s favorite pastimes.
On May 31, 1868, a bicycle race was first recorded between the fountains and entrance of Saint-Cloud Park in Paris and won by James Moore, an 18-year-old expatriate Englishman residing abroad. Moore won this race that marked its inaugural measurement distance. Soon thereafter other road racing competitions followed suit.
As bicycles grew increasingly popular during the late 19th century, people began organizing cycling races. Because these races required competitors to stay awake for long stretches, some used drugs like smelling salts or cocaine in order to remain alert – an action believed to have led to early accusations of performance-enhancing chicanery.
Today, cycling events take place all around the globe in one form or another – whether one-day or multi-stage events that can be participated in by individuals and teams alike. Some events make up part of an Olympic Games series; others can be smaller local or charity races.
The high-wheel bike
High-wheel bikes feature an oversized front wheel with distinctive aesthetic. Their main drawback, however, lies in their lack of stability: as their center of gravity lies directly over their wheel and any obstacle could easily propel the rider headfirst over their handlebars if struck in an unexpected moment. As such, daring riders will often drape their legs over them to reduce this risk.
In the 1860s, high-wheelers became increasingly fashionable. Racers took advantage of these time trial events against the clock on high-wheelers to compete for supremacy against time. Cycling soon also became an attractive recreational activity; one of the oldest cycling clubs in the US was established back in 1887 and continues hosting races and other events today.
By the 1880s, distance and speed records were consistently broken. English cyclist Thomas Stevens made an arduous two-and-a-half-year journey around the globe on an American-made bicycle.
John Kemp Starley created the Rover bicycle in 1885, marking an inflection point in cycling’s rise as an exciting sport, recreation, and mode of transportation. He made improvements upon Eugene Meyer’s innovations (wire-spoke tension wheels with individually adjustable spokes); these innovations allowed bicycles to be built that were lighter and more stable than high-wheelers due to individually adjustable spokes on their tension wheels.
Cycling as a sport
Cycling has quickly become an immensely popular sport for both men and women, sweeping across multiple nations with national cycling federations memberships, with regulation overseen by Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI).
Bicycling has quickly become an essential mode of transportation and recreational activity, yet still provides great joy. Biking requires very minimal maintenance costs and provides a fantastic leg workout – while being gentle on hips, knees and ankles alike! Furthermore, cycling provides an efficient means of traveling through town without resorting to cars or buses.
Some cycling races are extremely fast-paced, with competitors racing to seize the lead quickly. Others resemble more like chess matches with riders making strategic maneuvers on hills and descents. Charles M. Murphy became known as Mile-a-Minute Murphy after covering one mile in 57.8 seconds behind a Long Island Rail Road train on wooden track behind Long Island Rail Road train on wooden track behind them in early 1900s and sparking interest in cycling as a sport through this race.
After six-day races became less popular during the Great Depression, American interest in cycling rekindled following mountain biking and Greg LeMond’s victories in the Tour de France. Since then there have been multiple types of cycling sports, such as artistic cycling involving performing tricks for points on specially equipped bicycles with fixed gear wheels; an excellent way to enhance balance, coordination, and endurance.
Read also: Why Cycling Can Be Bad For Your Bones
Women’s cycling
Cycling was initially seen as exclusively male sport. While some may have questioned its morality, women began taking to cycling in droves – they showed up at races, demanded membership into the League of American Wheelmen, and donned bloomers instead of skirts – ultimately leading to today’s women cycling champions.
By the early 1900s, bicycles had made a considerable impactful statement about upper and middle class white families. Not only were they used as transportation and recreation, but their popularity also encouraged women to compete on bike racing circuits.
Women made up only a minority of Olympic team participants at the 1904 Games held in St Louis, Missouri; all seven cycling events on offer were track events.
The 1984 Olympics marked the inaugural time that both men’s and women’s cycling was on one Olympic program simultaneously. France’s Jeannie Longo, widely regarded as the greatest female cyclist ever, won gold in road race while Britain’s Chris Hoy – later to win three more Olympic golds and be knighted – claimed silver.
Today, the Union Cycliste Internationale oversees cycling as an international sport and conducts races for both amateur and professional competitors. There are also local and regional cycling federations which govern cycling on a grassroots level; furthermore many nations maintain national teams which participate in major races or world championships.
