Cycling at the 1920 Antwerpen Summer Games:

The riders rested on 12 August and the road race was held on 13 August. Team and individual event medals were awarded but there was only one race. The race was a 175-kilometre time trial, today an unheard of distance for the race of truth. Derailleurs were not used, all the riders using fixed gears as they had on the track. The course started at Merksem, just outside of Antwerp. The riders rode to Turnhout, and then Molt (96 km.), Heyst-op-den-Berg (135 km.), Lierre, and finished back at Antwerp, 300 metres from the velodrome. In contrast to the track races a huge crowd awaited the riders at the finish.

Many railroad crossings had to be traversed and ofttimes trains stopped the riders. At the finish it was announced that the winner was Henry Kaltenbrunn of South Africa, with Fernand Canteloube of France second, and Harry Stenqvist of Sweden third. The South Africans were exultant and hoisted Kaltenbrun to their shoulders. But time spent while waiting for a train was measured by official judges and this was to be subtracted from a rider’s overall time. Because Stenqvist was delayed 4 minutes and 1 second by trains, this was subtracted from his final time and he was placed first after the adjustment. The South African victory celebration was short-lived.