Team Pursuit, 4,000 metres, Men1

The last nine gold medals had been dominated by Italy, with seven, with France winning twice in 1936 and 1948. Although a popular event, no World Championship was contested in team pursuit until 1962. The three titles had been won by West Germany (FRG) in 1962 and 1964 and the Soviet Union in 1963. Germany was represented by a combined team in 1964, although all four riders were from the FRG. They defeated Australia in the semis, while Italy won the other semi over the Netherlands to set up the final everybody wanted to see. The final was the best cycling race of the Tokyo Olympics. Italy started quickly and set the pace for seven laps, leading at that point by six metres. Germany pulled up at 3,400 metres, and the two teams rode side-by-side for the last 1½ laps. At the finish it was impossible to tell who had won. The jury huddled in a conference for 10 minutes before announcing that Germany was the gold medalist. The event was originally scheduled for 18 and 20 October but was delayed because of heavy rains on both those days.