Fast Digs: Hoffman vs Lake, 1900

Frank Hoffman may have been considered among the top tier of Los Angeles area bicycle racers in late 1900, but in a match race against John Lake at the first indoor Los Angeles Velodrome, he was overshadowed by his opponent. During the summer at the Paris Worlds Fair (the Olympics were held as part of the Fair that year), Lake had become the first American to win an Olympic cycling medal, taking bronze (or rather the equivalent of bronze, since the familiar system of awarding gold, silver, bronze medals was not instituted until 1904) in the 2km sprint competition behind Georges Taillandier (gold) and Fernand Sanz (silver), both of France.