Edward Battell

Edward Battell was a British racing cyclist. He competed at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens.

Battell competed in the 333 metres, 100 kilometres, and road races. He came third in the road race, 87km from Athens to Marathon and back. He came fourth in the 333m in 26.2 seconds. He was among the seven of the nine that started not to finish the 100km.

Amateurism protests

Battell worked as a servant at the British Embassy in Greece. There were objections that he and another rider, Frank Keeping, worked for a living. That made them "not gentlemen so they could not possibly be amateurs." The historian Mike Price said: "Gentlemen were not paid so were true amateurs. Servants had to be paid and so lost any claims to being amateur. Such was the attitude of the day. Protests were overruled. [Price, Mike (2000), Days of Gold and Glory, privately published, UK] [ [http://www.times-olympics.co.uk/communities/cycling/cyclingreport16.html "Ullrich leads team-mates to podium"] The Sunday Times]

Olympic road race

The course for the 87km race was poorly surfaced and often rutted. It ran over the marathon course between Athens and Marathon and then back again. Most riders fell off at least once. Battell was among them and he finished bleeding and coated in dust. His crash cost him the lead and he was passed by the home rider, Aristidis Konstantinides. He had also fallen, his bike beyond repair. He borrowed another, only to ride it into a wall in Athens after avoiding a spectator.

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