In the ancient civilizations of Egypt, China, and India, the oldest testimonies about the background of this vehicle appeared – the bicycle. But it can be noted as its direct predecessor, the ceriferous, which was a two-wheeled wooden apparatus joined by a bar or a one-meter-long stick which moved by an impulse of the feet on the ground, and which was invented by the Frenchman of Sivrac, and presented at the Court of Versailles in 1790.
The bicycle, which gave rise to this sport in modern times, appeared in Germany in 1817; and today there are more than 800 million in the world, twice as many cars. The first bicycle of 1817 was called “running machine” and” fun horse.” From its origins, it was considered not only a means of locomotion but also an element of competition and ideal for physical exercise.
The first pedal bike was called velocipede and was invented by a Scottish blacksmith, Kirkpatrick Macmillan, in 1839. In 1886 the first tandem was made, bicycle for two and was well received. In 1989, the Americans C. Kelly and G. Fisher built the first mountain bike, with pedals connected to the rear wheel bicycle all terrain.
The first road race was in 1870, in Italy, from Florence to Pistoia, with a journey of 33 km, where the American Rynner van Neste won.
The first World Championship in indoor track took place in Aylestone Roads (Leicester, Great Britain) in 1883. The Frenchman Frédéric de Civry won there.
In the last decade of the 19th century, the first sports publications dedicated to cycling, in particular, were born, and most of those dedicated to sport in general.
At the beginning of the 20th century, the great races en route were born. There were stages: the Tour de France (1 July 1903, devised by Henri Desgranges), the Giro de Italia (created by Costamagna, Cougnet, and Morgagni in May 1909) and, later, the tour of Spain (whose first edition was held in 1935, devised by Juan Pujol). The primary road race in South America, The Cycling Tour to Colombia, was not held until 1951.
Chronology
In the last quarter of the 19th century, the velocipede had become so popular in Europe and the United States that there were even schools to learn how to ride in those vehicles, some of which were truly bizarre.
- In 1867 the wheels of the bicycle were metallic.
- In 1875 the advance of solid rubber wheels was introduced.
- On January 7, 1887, the American Thomas Stevens made the first bicycle trip around the world. He left San Francisco and returned after pedaling for more than three years.
- In 1889 John Boyd Dunlop invented the chamber consisting of a tubular rubber hoop filled with air, which isolates the wheel from the ground.
- On 19 July 1903, the French Maurice Garin (a 32-year-old chimney sweep) won the first Tour de France. The cycling competition lasted 19 days and was composed of six stages, with a total distance of 2,428 kilometers.
- In 1919, the cyclist Lambot took over the Tour de France.
- In 1936, the French cyclist Mauricio Richard, running on the Arcachon track, long 50 kilometers, broke 12 World Records and set two others.
- In 1954, the Frenchman Bobbet won the Tour de France, and in this same year, Bahamontes won the Mountain prize.
- Jacques Anquetil won the Tour de France in 1964 for the fifth time.
- In 1953, Fausto Coppi of Italy won the World Championship in cycling. In 1960 he died of Malaria, which he contracted in a race in the Upper Volta.
- Eddy Merckx won his fifth Tour in 1974.
- In 1995, Miguel Induraín was the first cyclist to win the Tour five consecutive times.
- The fastest cyclist is considered John Howard of the United States, who, in 1985, reached 245.08 kilometers per hour on a specially designed bicycle.
- In 1988, a 22.24-meter bicycle was produced in New Zealand, and four cyclists traveled 246 meters with it.
- There are 300 million bicycles in China.