Erik De Vlaeminck

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Eric De Vlaeminck in the 1970 Amstel Gold Race

Erik De Vlaeminck (often also spelled "Eric", born March 23, 1945 in Eeklo ; † December 4, 2015 in Wilskerke ) was a Belgian professional cyclist who was particularly successful in cross-country racing and was seven-time world champion in this discipline .

Career

Unlike his younger brother Roger , who achieved his major international successes mainly on the road, but was also successful on the track and in cross and therefore very versatile, Erik specialized largely in the cross-country sport. There he started his successful career as a professional.

Here, however, he succeeded in a series of victories unmatched to this day: between 1966 and 1973 he won the world championships seven times, interrupted only in 1967 by the success of Renato Longo (five times cross-country champion).

After his active career as a professional cyclist, he was "Bondscoach" for the Belgian cyclo-cross riders from 1989 to 2002. Numerous racing drivers such as Sven Nys and Bart Wellens achieved their international breakthrough under his leadership. In total, they won 29 world championship medals in the 13 years. After the triple success of his protégés at the World Cup in Zolder, Belgium in 2002, he resigned at the height of his coaching career.

In his later life, Erik De Vlaeminck fell ill with Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases . He died on December 4, 2015 at the age of 70.

Successes (selection)

  • Cyclo-cross world champions: 1966, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973
  • Belgian Cross Country Champion: 1967, 1969, 1971, 1972
  • One day road race:
  • Stage race:

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Obituary at sport.be, accessed on December 5, 201 (Dutch).
  2. ↑ Zevenvoudig wereldkampioen veldrijden Erik De Vlaeminck is stuff. sporza.de, December 4, 2015, accessed December 5, 2015 (Dutch).

Web links

Commons : Erik De Vlaeminck  - collection of images, videos and audio files
personal data
SURNAME De Vlaeminck, Erik
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Belgian cyclist
DATE OF BIRTH March 23, 1945
PLACE OF BIRTH Eeklo
DATE OF DEATH 4th December 2015
Place of death Wilskerke