Course De Primes, Men

The amateur points race, or “Course de Primes,” was 5 kilometres in length, with a prime for points given at each lap. The first three finishers at each prime were given points, with the victory going to the cyclist with the most points. On the last lap, the points were tripled – 9 to the winner of the race, 6 to 2nd place, and 3 to 3rd place. Enrico Brusoni won 5 of the 10 primes, and also won the race on the last lap, although he had a solid lead going into that lap. There was likely some sort of tie-breaker for second and third (and possibly lower places) but we don’t know what that was.

The third-place finisher, Louis Trousselier, would later boast the greatest career cycling record of any cyclist competing at the 1900 Olympics. Trousellier won the Tour de France in 1905 and was 3rd in that race in 1906; he won Paris-Roubaix in 1905 and was 2nd in 1909, and 3rd in 1903 and 1907; he was 2nd at Paris-Tours in 1906 and 1910; and he was 2nd at Milano-San Remo in 1911.