Bike racing was hugely popular in the 1890s when the U of M got together for its first Field Meet. The grand prize? A match up with Wisconsin, Michigan and Northwestern in Chicago (this was 3 years before the start of the Big Ten Conference).
From the Minneapolis Tribune's May 28th 1893 edition:
Athletes Chosen to Compete at the Intercollegiate Sports. The annual field day of the State University, that occurred yesterday, an added interest from the fact that it was the last of a series of select contestants for the Northwestern Intercollegiate field day at Chicago, June 3.