Dieter Grabe

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Dieter Grabe after winning the GDR championships in Eisenach in 1967

Dieter Grabe (born September 13, 1945 in Bennewitz ) is a former German cyclist . He was active in the GDR in the 1960s .

Athletic career

Grabe, who grew up in Torgau , started organized cycling in 1963. His first club was BSG Motor Torgau, where he was looked after by trainer Rainer Seiffert. He drew attention to his talent as early as 1964 when he was junior runner-up at the GDR championships. He had his first start abroad in 1965 with the start of the CSSR Tour, which he completed in 13th place. Already at the age of 21 he celebrated his first significant successes in the men's field with victories in the well-populated Dresden Rund um das Ostragehege, the classic bike tour Rund um Berlin and winning the GDR tour in 1966. He underscored his dominance in the GDR tour with the awards as the most active driver and as the best young driver. At that time he was already a member of the SC DHfK Leipzig , one of the most important cycling centers in the GDR. The GDR tour obviously became his favorite discipline, in 1967 he finished third, in 1968 he won the race for the second time.

1967 was the most intense cycling season for the 1.88 meter tall grave. In the elimination races for the three-country stage trip Internationale Friedensfahrt he won a place in the six-member GDR team in spring. With this he had achieved the particularly promoted status of a state amateur . As the youngest of the GDR Friedensfahrt team, he initially shuttled around 30th place until he set a warning sign with second place on the eighth stage. The subsequent 40 km time trial from Leipzig to Halle, however, meant the end after he suffered a concussion in a fall. In July he was one of the most active participants in the GDR road championships and deservedly won the title after shaking off the experienced competitors Axel Peschel , Siegfried Huster and Klaus Ampler in a sprint . With third place in the GDR championships in the single pursuit over 4000 meters , he proved that he could also demonstrate qualities on the track . After all, Grabe was also part of the GDR squad for the UCI Road World Championships in 1967 . This turned out to be disappointing for him, because with the GDR foursome he was only eighth in the team time trial, and he was eliminated again prematurely in the individual road race. His palmares included victories at Berlin – Cottbus – Berlin and around lignite .

The 1968 season also brought little success for Grabe. He could not qualify for the peace trip, and second place in the one-day race Berlin-Fürstenberg-Berlin was his only podium. The participation in the Olympic Games in Mexico turned into a fiasco for the GDR road drivers, including Grabe. After the GDR foursome with grave only finished 13th, the team management withdrew all drivers from the individual road race. On the other hand, he celebrated considerable national victories: GDR tour, Bergpreis grandstand, around the Scharmützelsee and many more

In 1969, Grabe was again part of the GDR squad for the peace trip. He particularly excelled in the two time trial stages, where he finished fifth and eighth. In the final ranking he came in 18th, with the GDR team he won the team ranking. With the GDR one-day race Grandstand Mountain Prize, he only won one major cycling event this season. In 1970 Grabe won the classic Rund um die Hainleite in addition to the Rund um Berlin . He also started in Austria in the two-stage journey Vienna-Rabenstein-Gresten-Vienna , where he finished second in the overall standings. 1974 he was able to win another stage journey in Hungary. He joined the BSG Lok Leipzig-Ost after leaving the sports club. In 1975 he won the annual competition for BSG athletes. Then he ended his career as a cyclist.

Trivia

Grabe completed an apprenticeship as a locksmith. After the end of his state amateur status, he worked for the Deutsche Reichsbahn in Leipzig . At the beginning of the 1980s he joined the Leipzig top soccer club 1. FC Lokomotive Leipzig , where he worked in management. After the club was converted into VfB Leipzig in 1991 , Grabe returned to the railway and worked as an electronics technician at Leipzig Railway Works West until his retirement. In addition, he was temporarily involved in the Wiesenhof cycling team .

literature

  • Daily newspaper Sächsische Zeitung of November 30, 2005: Unstoppable as a "beast" ( online article )
  • GDR sports newspaper Deutsches Sportecho, issue of April 26, 1967 with a short portrait

Web links

Commons : Dieter Grabe  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ German Cycling Association of the GDR (ed.): The cyclist . Born in 1967, No. 32 . Berlin August 11, 1967, p. 8 .
  2. ^ German Cycling Association of the GDR (ed.): The cyclist . Born in 1967, No. 17 . Berlin April 28, 1967, p. 9 .
  3. ^ German Cycling Association of the GDR (ed.): The cyclist . No. 47/1985 . Berlin 1985, p. 2 .