Aan de overwinnaars werden tot 1895 slechts beloningen in natura gegeven.
Burns Wesley Pierce ijverde in de USA om het profwielrennen (met geldprijzen) te laten beginnen.
Hij slaagde in zijn opzet en werd de eerste beroepsrenner. Hij vestigde talrijke records op de wielerbaan, van de kortste tot de langste afstanden, met en zonder gangmaking. Zijn ploegmakker was vaak Archie Mac Eachern.
Pierce is een pionier
van de wielersport in Noord Amerika en een legendarische sportheld in Nova Scotia.


Uitslag:

1898: 3e 6D Individual Madison Square Garden

Wilfried Journée

Belangrijke 'endurance racer" van op het einde van de XIXde en het begin
van de XXste eeuw. Hij zocht en vond 'fame and fortune' met en op de
fiets. Tweemaal vestigde hij een wereldrecord over 24u (457 miles in 1898, 476 miles in 1899). Hij was ook snel want een tijd lang stonden alle
records over de korte afstanden op zijn naam.Vanaf 1900 reed hij met
succes achter gemotoriseerde gangmakers tegen cracks als Michael en
McEachern.

Wilfried Journée

From the Nova Scotia Sports Hall of Fame internet page: It is doubtful that many of the people who were regular patrons of Pierce" Bowling Alley and Pool Hall on Mill Street during the 1920s and 30s knew what an illustrious athlete the owner had been before moving to Berwick. Burns Wesley Pierce at the turn of the century had been one of the most famous and gifted competitors in the demanding sport of endurance cycling. During the 1890s and early part of the 1900s endurance bicycle racing was one of the most popular spectator sports. Thousands (one race once recorded a paid attendance of over 20,000) would crowd stadiums with steeply banked wooden tracks to watch and cheer as individuals and team cyclists pedaled furiously to set both distance and time records. Burns Wesley Pierce was born in 1868 in East Sable River, Nova Scotia. In 1893 he moved with his young family to Linden, a suburb of Boston where he was employed as a carpenter. One day while cycling to work on an old second-hand cushion-tiered bicycle, he got into a race with some members of the local bicycle racing club. When he easily out-distanced these riders, his great natural ability and talent was quickly recognized and he was immediately invited to become part of the club and soon he was recognized and he was immediately invited to become part of the club and soon he was entered in and winning many local and amateur races in the New England area. Pierce quickly became a fan favorite because of his highly competitive nature and great athletic ability. Because of the immense popularity of bicycle racing, race promoters sought to attract the best and most competitive racers and consequently prizes and trophies of all sort were offered. Because technically, amateur riders couldn"t ccept money, prizes included such diverse items as jewels, pianos, wagons, or lots of land. Burns Pierce once won a team of horses when he set the twenty-five mile world record in 1896. Because of these money restrictions, many of the best cyclists, including Pierce, formed the professional National Cycling Association in 1896. This new organization quickly gained control of cycle racing in the United States and Burns Pierce became one of the brightest start in this new professional circuit. At one time, Pierce held the records for the 100 mile race (both in 1896 and 1899), American records at ½ mile, 2, 3, 4, and 5 mile distances and the record for greatest distance covered in one hour. Pierces greatest athletic feats took place in the endurance categories which held a special fascination for him and his fans. He once won the San Francisco 24 hour race without ever dismounting from the bicycle covering an astounding 467 miles a record that stood long after his retirement.

Trenton Evening Times, September 21, 1901
"Burns Pierce to Retire"
"Burns Pierce, who was recently defeated by Archie McEachern in a twenty-mile motor-paced race at Washington, has announced his intention of giving up professional bicycle racing."
Leslie Richardson