[1] The event was won by Adolf Schmal of Austria, the only gold medal in cycling ever won by the nation, until Anna Kiesenhofer's win in the 2020 Women's Road Race.

From 1896 to 1924 (excluding 1912, when no track events were held), the track cycling programme included events at a variety of distances that changed from Games to Games and ranged from the 1⁄4-mile to the 100 kilometres (and, even longer, the unique 12 hours race in 1896 that saw finishers nearly reach 300 kilometres).

The weather was bad enough to cancel the rowing events scheduled for the same day as the race.

Seven athletes began the race, though four of them dropped out before noon and a fifth gave up in the afternoon.

The 12 hour race was never included again in the cycling program at the Olympic Games.