Raul Hellberg

Raul Hellberg dominated cycling in Finland throughout the 1920s and early 1930s, winning 24 national titles. In 1923 Hellberg won the road and individual time trial titles, in addition to becoming the Finnish scratch champion in the velodrome. He had a remarkable set of results, winning a further seven road titles (1924–29, 1931), seven time trial titles (1924, 1926–30, 1932), and seven track titles in various disciplines.

In 1926 Hellberg organised the first edition of the Porvoo one-day race, which would become the oldest cycling race in Finland. Racing from Porvoo to Helsinki and back again, Hellberg won the first five editions of the race, along with the races held in 1932 and 1934. His wins were no surprise, as he had ridden the course every day, both summer and winter, as part of his intense training regime.

Hellberg was selected to compete at the 1928 Amsterdam Olympics, where he finished 10th in the individual road race, just over 20 minutes behind the race winner. He also competed in races outside of Finland becoming the Scandinavian champion in the individual time trial in 1930 and 1932, in addition to finishing second in 1927 and 1934. Hellberg was also a successful businessman, starting his own sporting goods company in the mid-1920s and going on to win the Commercial Councillor award in 1964.