The 1908 Games was the only time when the 660 yards event was part of the Olympic cycling program.

The competition was conducted in three rounds (heats, semifinals, and a final).

The winning cyclist advanced to the semifinals, provided that the time limit was not exceeded.

The semifinal round comprised 4 semifinals, each with 4 cyclists except that 1 was reduced to 3 cyclists because one of the heats had resulted in no winner under the time limit.

The fifth heat was voided due to the two cyclists both exceeding the time limit of 70 seconds.