The 1908 Olympic Games were held in London, in a brand new stadium at White City, near Shepherd's Bush. As well as the running track and athletics field, a banked cycling track was constructed around the outside, which measured 660 yards (0.6km) in distance.
Among the events, there were seven cycling races, with 97 riders competing representing 11 nations. The British team won five races, all using the already very successful Rover racing cycle – the Imperial Rover Path Racer.
One member of the British team was Victor Louis ‘Vic’ Johnson. Johnson was born in the Aston area of Birmingham in 1883, one of eleven children. He was one of Britain’s foremost amateur cyclists, winning many competitions from the turn of the 20th century up to the First World War. Johnson trained at Sutton Park near Sutton Coldfield and regularly competed at the cycle track around Villa Park, also home to the football club
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