Cycling at the 1968 Summer Olympics – Men's team pursuit
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
These are the official results of the men's team pursuit at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, Mexico, held on 19 to 21 October 1968. There were 85 participants from 20 nations.[1]
| Men's cycling team pursuit at the Games of the XIX Olympiad | |
|---|---|
| Venue | Olympic Velodrome, Mexico City |
| Date | 19-21 October 1968 |
| Competitors | 84 from 20 nations |
| Medalists | |
Competition format
The team pursuit competition consisted of a qualifying round and a 3-round knockout tournament, including a bronze medal race. Each race, in both the qualifying round and the knock-out rounds, consisted of two teams of 4 cyclists each starting from opposite sides of the track. The teams raced for 4,000 metres, attempting to finish with the fastest time (measured by the third rider) and, if possible, catch the other team. For the qualifying round, the eight fastest times overall (regardless of whether the team finished first or second in its heat, though any team that was overtaken was eliminated) earned advancement to the knockout rounds. In the knockout rounds, the winner of each heat advanced to the next round. Teams could change members between rounds.[2]
Results
Qualifying round
Taiwan (heat 1) and Congo-Kinshasa (heat 2) had teams entered but did not compete.
Quarterfinals
Quarterfinal 1
| Rank | Cyclists | Nation | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lorenzo Bosisio Cipriano Chemello Luigi Roncaglia Giorgio Morbiato |  Italy | 4:22.48 | Q |
| 2 | Ernest Bens Ronny Vanmarcke Willy Debosscher Paul Crapez |  Belgium | 4:26.05 |
Quarterfinal 2
| Rank | Cyclists | Nation | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stanislav Moskvin Vladimir Kuznetsov Mikhail Kolyushev Viktor Bykov |  Soviet Union | 4:26.63 | Q |
| 2 | Bernard Darmet Daniel Rébillard Jack Mourioux Alain van Lancker |  France | 4:30.10 |
Quarterfinal 3
| Rank | Cyclists | Nation | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Udo Hempel Karl Link Karl-Heinz Henrichs Rainer Podlesch |  West Germany | 4:27.14 | Q |
| 2 | Wojciech Matusiak Janusz Kierzkowski Wacław Latocha Rajmund Zieliński |  Poland | 4:38.91 |
Quarterfinal 4
| Rank | Cyclists | Nation | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gunnar Asmussen Reno Olsen Mogens Frey Jensen Per Lyngemark |  Denmark | 4:27.02 | Q |
| 2 | Jiří Daler Pavel Kondr Milan Puzrla František Řezáč |  Czechoslovakia | 4:30.76 |
Semifinals
Semifinal 1
| Rank | Cyclists | Nation | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Udo Hempel Karl Link Karl-Heinz Henrichs Jürgen Kissner | West Germany | 4:15.76 | Q |
| 2 | Lorenzo Bosisio Cipriano Chemello Luigi Roncaglia Gino Pancino | Italy | 4:16.21 | B |
Semifinal 2
| Rank | Cyclists | Nation | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gunnar Asmussen Reno Olsen Mogens Frey Jensen Peder Pedersen | Denmark | 4:19.87 | Q |
| 2 | Dzintars Lācis Stanislav Moskvin Vladimir Kuznetsov Viktor Bykov | Soviet Union | 4:20.39 | B |
Finals
Bronze medal match
| Rank | Cyclists | Nation | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Lorenzo Bosisio Cipriano Chemello Luigi Roncaglia Giorgio Morbiato | Italy | 4:18.35 |
| 4 | Dzintars Lācis Stanislav Moskvin Vladimir Kuznetsov Mikhail Kolyushev | Soviet Union | 4:33.39 |
Final
West Germany led throughout. At one point, Kissner's hand appeared to touch teammate Henrichs. East Germany (Henrichs was a defector) protested, resulting in West Germany's disqualification. It was initially announced that Italy and the Soviet Union would move up to silver and bronze medals, respectively, but West Germany protested and the judges determined that Italy would retain bronze and the Soviet Union would be in fourth place; however, the silver medal place was at least temporarily vacant. A decision of the FIAC later awarded West Germany the silver medals.[1]
| Rank | Cyclists | Nation | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Gunnar Asmussen Reno Olsen Mogens Frey Jensen Per Lyngemark | Denmark | 4:22.44 |
 | Udo Hempel Karl Link Karl-Heinz Henrichs Jürgen Kissner | West Germany | DSQ (4:18.94) |