Myths & legends of Basel–Cleve

The Basel–Cleve long-distance ride in September 1894 was a triumph – both sporting and commercial. Of the top nine finishers, seven rolled in on Continental pneumatic tyres across the finish. The three winners – Fritz Opel from Rüsselsheim, A. Gutknecht from Mühlhausen and Hermann Weiss from Nuremberg – thus became unwitting brand ambassadors. Newspapers celebrated the proof: the new material had proven itself under the toughest conditions.

But where there is success, there is also doubt. Opel won the final sprint only seconds ahead of Gutknecht – and soon rumours were circulating: had he really covered the entire route on the same machine? Or did he have to switch?

Cycling’s first PR battle

What followed was a spectacle without precedent: advertisements, statements, counter-statements – a media war, the like of which had not been seen before.

• Seidel & Naumann accused Opel of having won by switching bikes.
• Opel countered publicly, pointed to his own statement and turned the accusations around: perhaps his rivals’ breakdowns had been no coincidence at all – but the result of nails on the course.

Suddenly the suspicion of a sabotage attack hung in the air. Nails as a secret weapon, deliberately deployed to burst tyres – an image that has burned itself deep into the collective imagination of cycling.

The eternal runner-up: Max Reheis

In the midst of this turmoil stood a man who became a tragicomic legend: Max Reheis from Wasserburg. Talented, ambitious, but dogged by bad luck. Sometimes the saddle broke, sometimes the bike. After Basel–Cleve he even claimed he had been locked in an inn – and had had to break open the door to carry on.

The sports press mocked his excuses. But in his home town he was celebrated, with marching bands, festive parades and gala evenings. Reheis embodied what defined Basel–Cleve: the struggle between heroism and scandal, glory and doubt.

A race becomes a legend

Basel–Cleve was not just a sporting experiment. It was a mirror of its time:

• Technical progress: pneumatic tyres and machines like those from Opel and Naumann showed what was possible.
• close-fought dramas: Opel against Gutknecht, a sprint after 620 kilometres.
• scandals & stories: from alleged bike swaps to nail attacks, from locked-up riders to wild excuses.

And that is exactly what makes the fascination endure to this day: Basel–Cleve was victory and scandal at once – a myth that shaped cycling.