The Vélodrome de Vincennes (officially Vélodrome Jacques Anquetil – La Cipale) is a stadium in Vincennes, near Paris. Initially built as a velodrome in 1894, it became the main stadium for the 1900 Summer Olympics. The stadium is still used for cycling, football and rugby matches.
The venue was the finish line of the Tour de France between 1968 and 1974, most notably seeing Eddy Merckx win each of his five Tour victories there. Prior to this, the finish had been held at the Parc des Princes from 1904 to 1967. From 1975 to the present, the Tour de France has ended on the Champs-Élysées.
The Games were held as part of the 1900 World’s Fair. Events that took place in the Velodrome at the 1900 Summer Olympics included cycling, cricket, rugby union, football and gymnastics. However, the track and field events were held at the Racing Club de France. At the 1924 Summer Olympics it became the cycling (track) venue.
There were no opening or closing ceremonies. Competitions began on May 14 and ended on October 28. One thousand competitors took part in 19 different sports. Women took part in the games for the first time and Charlotte Cooper became the first female Olympic champion, in women’s singles tennis competition. The decision to hold competitions on a Sunday brought protests from many American athletes, who travelled as representatives of their colleges and were expected to withdraw rather than compete on their religious day of rest.
Most of the winners in 1900 did not receive medals, but were given cups or trophies. Professionals competed in fencing and Albert Robert Ayat (France), who won the épée for amateurs and masters, was awarded a prize of 3000 francs.
Some unusual events were contested for the only time in the history of the Games, including automobile and motorcycle racing, ballooning, cricket, croquet, Basque pelota, 200m swimming obstacle race and underwater swimming.