Road Race, Individual, Men

This race was held on the same course as the running marathon, but consisted of riding that course twice, on an out-and-back course. The riders started in Athens on the Odos Kifisia, rode to Marathon, and then returned to Athens, finishing at the velodrome at Neo Phaliron. In Marathon they were required to sign a document in the presence of an official, verifying that they had arrived there.

The pack rode together most of the way to Marathon. On the return, the pack split due to many falls. Aristidis Konstantinidis fell three times, Anton Gödrich also fell and had to stop to borrow a new bike because of damage to his original. Konstantinidis flatted near Athens and was overtaken by Edward Battel. Konstantinidis borrowed a bicycle and continued but crashed just as he caught up to Battel. He borrowed yet another bike and caught Battel, who was exhausted from the effort of staying ahead of Konstantinidis and ended up barely finishing.

Battel was a servant at the British Embassy in Athens. Some British officials attempted to prevent him from entering the Olympic cycling events on the grounds that his job disqualified him as a gentleman, and thus he could not be an amateur.