1912 Olympic Games Official Report Part 2

The Mariefred Commemoration Cup to that competitor who, althoughnot among the winners of any Olympic prize for cycling, had donea very good performance — this was awarded by the Cycling Committeeto F. R. Brown, Canada.The Sundsvall Cycling Club's Commemoration Cup to the nation thatwon the team competition — to Sweden and the Swedish CyclingAssociation.The Köping Commemoration Cup to the nation that had the greatestnumber of representatives reaching the finish under maximum time —this cup was, of course, awarded to Germany and its Cycling Association: all the eleven German representatives that started, finishingunder the maximum time.REFLECTIONS.As regards the great cycling competition of the Olympic Gamesof 1912 — the race round Lake Mälar — it may be said that neverbefore had there been such a tremendous rivalry in a road race inthis branch of sport, and it can safely be asserted that the strugglewhich took place on the dusty, rut-marked and hilly highways aroundthe Swedish lake, was the most sternly contested of any in the historyof cycling, and may therefore be called, without much fear of contradiction,the greatest event of the kind that has ever been held.The riding of the winner, Lewis, was simply unique, and the resulta magnificent one. He beat the Swedish record for the course, thatmade by Morén in 1909, by no less than 39 min. 48 secs., hisaverage speed for the whole distance (ca. 320 kilometres ; 198 miles)was 29 kilometres (18 miles) per hour. Lewis rode the whole timewithout the assistance of the pacing that competitors with othermen in front of them generally enjoy, and his work awakened the greatestadmiration on the part of the spectators along the course. On theother hand, it must be pointed out that Lewis had the advantage ofriding during the early and comparatively cool hours of the day, whileother competitors — Grubb, for example — suffered more or lessfrom the intense heat that prevailed later on. Grubb, who started at6,30 a. m., was exposed to this warmth during the whole of the race,so that it must be said that his feat was a wonderfully fine one, andit would be difficult to say which of the two men, Lewis or Grubb,did the best piece of work.The Swedish team (Friborg, Malm, Persson and Lönn) is also worthyof all praise, and the men fully deserve the gratitude of their fellowcountrymen for the untiring energy with which they performed theirwork, and for the honour reaped thereby for their nation and themselves.That this gratitude was felt was best shown by the enthusiasticreception they received from the immense crowd that greetedthem on their arrival at the finish at Valhallavägen Road, outside theStadium, and from the 30,000 spectators that crowded the standsinside. The fine work of the Swedish competitors, as a whole, maybe seen by a glance at the table of comparative results, which showsthat Sweden took 7 of the first 20 places.453