Adolf Schmal described the course of the rather monotonous race that was carried out with a pacemaker in his memoirs How I lost an Olympic laurel - and won one . Then he used the early morning hours and the growing reluctance of his competitors to gain a lap advantage, which he was able to defend until the finish line. After only Schmal and Keeping could hope for a win, both agreed to take a break.
The road race was held on the route from Athens to the marathon and back. After Konstantinidis had broken down twice on the way back to Athens, he borrowed the bike of a spectator standing by the route and covered the final kilometers with it.
Individual evidence
↑ Volker Kluge : Olympic Summer Games. The Chronicle I. Athens 1896 - Berlin 1936. Sportverlag Berlin, Berlin 1997, ISBN 3-328-00715-6 , p. 39.