The cycling competition at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London consisted of two road cycling events and four track cycling events, all for men only. The track cycling events were held at the Herne Hill Velodrome in south London. The road race events were held in Windsor Great Park, south of Windsor.
The Men's Individual Road Race at the 1948 Summer Olympics was held on a 11.45 km course. The course was circled seventeen times, so the total length of the competition was 194.6 km. There were 141 entries from 31 nations and 101 participants from 29 nations. Of the 101 starters 28 rode the distance to the end. We had 3 Team GB chaps that finished in the top 20, no medals though! However, we must remember these chaps were serious amateurs riding their own bikes!
| RANK | NAME ATHLETE | TIME |
|---|---|---|
 |  J Beyaert (FRA) | 5:18:12.6 |
 |  G Voorting (NED) | 5:18:16.2 |
 |  L Wouters (BEL) | 5:18:16.2 |
| 4. | L Delathouwer (BEL) | 5:18:16.2 |
| 5. |  N Johansson (SWE) | 5:18:16.2 |
| 6. |  R Maitland (GBR) | 5:18:16.2 |
| 7. |  J Hoobin (AUS) | 5:18:18.2 |
| 8. | G Thomas (GBR) | 5:18:18.2 |
| 9. |  A Ferrari (ITA) | 5:21:45.0 |
| 10. | S Pedroni (ITA) | 5:21:45.0 |
| 11. | A moineau (FRA) | 5:21:45.0 |
| 12. | E van Roosbroeck (BEL) | 5:21:45.0 |
| 13. |  J Schenk (SUI) | 5:21:45.0 |
| 14. |  R Valenta (AUT) | 5:24:48.0 |
| 15. | J Brun (SUI) | 5:26:54.0 |
| 16. | C Scott (GBR) | 5:26:57.2 |
| 17. | J Dupont (FRA) | 5:12:45.3 |
| 18. | H Snell (SWE) | 5:28:22.2 |
| 19. | F Fanti (ITA) | 5:29:35.2 |
| 20. | L Isotti (ITA) | 5:31:08.6 |
| 21. |  C Perone (ARG) | 5:33:15.4 |
| 22. | D Benvenuti (ARG) | 5:33:15.4 |
| 23. | M Sevillano (ARG) | 5:33:15.4 |
| 24. | A Olivestedt (SWE) | 5:33:48.2 |
| 25. | W Reiser (SUI) | 5:34:25.2 |
| 26. | E Mockridge (AUS) | 5:39:54.6 |
| 27. |  K Pedersen (DEN) | 5:39:57.2 |
| 28. | K Andersen (DEN) | 5:39:57.2 |
Medal SUCCESS for Team GBR came in all of the other events and we picked up 3 SILVERS and the good old Tommy Godwin picked up 2 bronzes by himself. A marvellous achievement considering all these guys went back to their day jobs on the Monday after!!! Not a big pay cheque or sponsor deal in sight...
 |
| Tommy Godwin '48 Olympic 2 times medal winner Legend.... |
| Event | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
|---|---|---|---|
| Individual road race | José Beyaert France (FRA) | Gerrit Voorting Netherlands (NED) | Lode Wouters Belgium (BEL) |
| Team road race | Belgium (BEL) Léon Delathouwer Eugène van Roosbroeck Lode Wouters | Great Britain (GBR) Robert John Maitland Ian Scott Gordon Thomas | France (FRA) José Beyaert Jacques Dupont Alain Moineau |
| 1000m time trial | Jacques Dupont France (FRA) | Pierre Nihant Belgium (BEL) | Tommy Godwin Great Britain (GBR) |
| Sprint | Mario Ghella Italy (ITA) | Reg Harris Great Britain (GBR) | Axel Schandorff Denmark (DEN) |
| Tandem | Italy (ITA) Renato Perona Ferdinando Teruzzi | Great Britain (GBR) Alan Bannister Reg Harris | France (FRA) Gaston Dron René Faye |
| Team pursuit | France (FRA) Fernand Decanali Pierre Adam Serge Blusson Charles Coste | Italy (ITA) Rino Pucci Arnaldo Benfenati Guido Bernardi Anselmo Citterio | Great Britain (GBR) Wilfred Waters Robert Geldard Tommy Godwin David Ricketts |
The London 2012 Olympic Games get into full swing on Saturday 28th July with the mens' road race. This is followed by the womens road race on Sunday 29th July.
The men's race starts on the Mall at 10am before heading south-west to Richmond Park, Hampton court and West Byfleet before heading south to Shere and the North Downs. From there the races head east along the A25 to Dorking before hitting the 15.5k Box Hill loop.
The women's race follows the exact same route on Sunday (starting at midday) but will only do two laps of the Box Hill loop before heading back in to London.
The climb of Box Hill is ticketed but the rest of the 250km route is free to go and watch. Here is a schedule of the men's road race:
London 2012: Men's cycling road race schedule
Times may be subject to change
10am - Start: The Mall
10.35am - Hampton Court Palace
10.45am - Walton-on-Thames
11.05am - Ripley Village
11.25am - Gomshall
11.30am - Westcott
11.35am - Dorking
11.40am - Box Hill: start of first lap
2.50pm - Box Hill: finish of last lap
3.05pm - Esher
3.10pm - Hampton Court Palace
3.15pm - Kingston Upon Thames
3.20pm - Richmond Park
3.30pm - Putney Bridge
3.35pm - Fulham
3.40pm - Finish: The Mall
Here is the schedule of the Women's Road race:
London 2012: Women's cycling road race schedule
Times may be subject to change
12noon - Start: The Mall
12.40pm - Hampton Court Palace
12.50pm - Walton-on-Thames
1.15pm - Ripley Village
1.40pm - Gomshall
1.50pm - Westcott
1.55pm - Dorking
2.00pm - Box Hill: start of first lap
2.50pm - Box Hill: finish of last lap
3.00pm - Esher
3.10pm - Hampton Court Palace
3.15pm - Kingston Upon Thames
3.20pm - Richmond Park
3.35pm - Putney Bridge
3.40pm - Fulham
3.45pm - Finish: The Mall
 |
| Jolly Road Race Route... |
The women's race takes place from 12.30pm. The time trial starts and finishes in Hampton Court Palace, and travels via Sandown race course and Cobham. The women cover a 29 kilometre route, and the 25 riders are set off at 90-second intervals.
 |
| Pleasant Time Trial Route... |
........ Just forget everything, pour yourself a chilled lemonade, get out there and support Team GB........!
TaTa VVUK
