Ever since the bicycle was invented, there was a massive craze for these transportation devices. Today, bikes are pretty common and people use them to get around and commute all the time. But before we used bikes, we relied mostly on horses, and they are also still around. So, it’s only natural to wonder who would win in a race between the two. If you are confident that you know the answer perhaps you should check out Paddy Power Grand National, and test how right you are about these things. 

Bear in mind that this is not some made-up rivalry, and these competitions indeed exist. So it would be fun to go back and see how it all started before we start to discuss the competition itself. 

History of the conflict

Once people started to rely more on bicycles in the 19th century, roads across the US started to team with cyclists. This occurrence was frustrating for horse riders, and they were not too keen on sharing their roads. Since we had these two opposing points of view the conditions were perfect to create a competitive atmosphere where both sides would be invested. 

In the 1890s these events began to pop up more frequently and it turned out it was a good competition mainly because the outcomes varied frequently. However, there are some rules and regulations that had to be implemented in order to make this into a fair competition. 

It’s not just a battle of speed

It’s really amazing how fast horses can gallop, as they are a force to be reckoned with. However, these bursts of speed will consume a lot of stamina, which makes it hard for the horse to maintain its consistency. A trained cyclist, on the other hand, does not need to rest as much, so in a race that is from 10 to 30 miles cyclist has an advantage. In order for these events to be fair, jockeys were allowed to switch their horse every mile or so, while cyclists had to keep going, and still, the outcomes were always different.  

These events are still around

Despite the fact that none of us were a part of the generation who was emotionally invested in this conflict, the competition persists even today. Although it’s only natural that it is not as nearly as popular as before, mainly because cycling and horse races are not as popular as they used to be as well. 

The races are mainly present in Europe, since there are many European cities that are filled with cyclists, so this is more than just a means of transport it is a healthy hobby. Furthermore, we have way more performance analysis tools nowadays, so it’s possible to have top-performing cyclist pit up against the top-performing horses. These things make the whole match up more interesting, and even those who are no hardcore fans are interested in the outcome.