|
 History of cycling Notes on the early development of the bicycle and the sporting structure Source: Gherardo Bonini, from his booklet on the quadrennium 1893-1896. NB. This is not necessarily the official UCI view about this period of history, it is simply one individual’s account of events in this period. Around 1880, the sport and pastime of cycling was growing at an amazing rate. The Italian philosopher Benedetto Croce said: “Cycling is the craze with which we end the century.” The Bicycle Union, the oldest cycling federation in the world, was founded in Great Britain in 1878. It changed its name in 1883 to the National Cyclists’ Union (NCU) in order to encompass tricyclists. England hosted several unofficial world championships in the 1880s, but lost its position of dominance of these events towards the end of the decade. A crucial year was 1887, when the European Champion, Dutch rider Kiderlen won the NCU championship on a tricycle. In so doing, Kiderlen was the first continental European to win an English cycle racing title of any description. In 1881, Dunlop invented pneumatic tyres. This technological development revolutionised the sport, and the Safety Bicycle became the predominant design. Today, the diamond shaped frame remains the most prolific type in use. In 1886, the Deutsche Radfahrer Bund began organising the annual amateur European championships. These were for bicycle, tricycle and from 1890 the Safety Bicycle. Other federations recognised “de facto” these championships, and sent some of their finest athletes. During 1888, the Netherlands began organising annual Continental championships. The international racing scene was heating up when, in 1892 the NCU took the initiative to found an international federation, the International Cyclists’ Association. After the crushing failure of the unofficial cycling world championship in Frankfurt, in 1893 the ICA began organising the official world championships, which from 1895 had classes for both amateurs and professionals. These championships were for all bicycles in 1893, and then in 1894 were restricted to the Safety Bicycle. The first world championships for professional sprinters took place in Cologne in 1895. These were held in an atmosphere celebrating the victory of the Prussians over France, and the downfall of Napoleon III. This was not the only factor that coloured the event. The League of American Wheelmen threatened to resign from the ICA in a storm over the disputed victory of US rider George Banker. Despite this threat, Banker was obliged to hand over the winner’s gold medal to the Belgian Protin. The world championship races then were the mile and 100 kilometres for stayers (actually, the stayers of that era were paced by “quadruplettes,” which preceded motorcycles). As from 1896, the European championships were for professionals only and held over the distances of 10 kilometres and 100 kilometres (stayers). The continental championships opened to the professionals in 1896, but that was the last year these championships were held. The workers cycling movement should not be forgotten in a record of the foundation of the cycling movement. Two prestigious associations, namely the Clarion Cycling Clubs in England and Solidaritet in Germany, exploited the potential for mobility offered by the bicycle and used it to spread the left wing political message. But in providing these organised cycle rides, these associations brought cycling to a far greater population than would have happened otherwise. Clarion Cycling Clubs still exist in England, although they are no longer politically motivated. Finally, the Olympic games should receive a mention. The schedule at Athens - 1900 - offered five events compared to two of the ICA world championships, and of course, was open only to amateurs. This meant that the standard of racing was relatively low, but these Olympics were significant for cycling nonetheless, as we will see in the following article. A last sad remark: some of the pioneers of the velocipede died in the 1890s, these were namely De Civry, Fockema, Roosdorp, Medinger, Naumann. Gherardo Bonini
Gherardo Bonini is currently studying European sports from 1886 to 1914, with
particular reference to Continental, European and central European Championships.
|
