Bicycling, like its other cyclic counterparts (running, skiing), requires athletes to cover a given distance as quickly as possible. The most popular types of cycling are road racing, cross country, and track.
Have you ever heard of figure skating or cycling polo? After reading our material, you will understand how multifaceted cycling is.
“Running machine” was the name of the very first bicycle, invented in 1817 by the German professor Carl von Dres. But left on the pages of history, the world’s first bicycle race took place only half a century later: May 31, 1868 in a park in the suburbs of Paris Saint-Cloud, the participants competed on a distance of 2000 meters.
Two years later, in France, between Rouen and Paris, began the first long road race of 120 km, which is considered the ancestor of the brevets (non-competitive bicycle marathons). At that time riders rode heavy wooden bicycles and the average speed of the winner was 11 km/h.
By the end of the 19th century, multi-day races became popular. The most famous of them is the 1,200-kilometer Paris-Brest-Paris race, first held in 1891. Now it is the most famous brevet, but until 1951 it was a competition among professional cyclists.
And three years later, the first bicycle marathon from Moscow to Nizhny Novgorod took place. However, the roads at the time were so bad that only two participants made it to the finish line.
Cycling has been a part of the Olympics program since 1896. And the world championship on the road was held much later – only in 1921 in Copenhagen.
It should be noted that until 1996, cycling was a male sport in the Olympics, but women appeared in the world championships earlier, since 1958.