Frank Vandenbroucke
Frank Vandenbroucke (born November 6, 1974 in Mouscron , Belgium , † October 12, 2009 in Saly Portudal , Petite-Côte , Senegal ) was a Belgian cyclist . Towards the end of the 1990s he was one of the most colorful figures on the cycling scene .
Career
Childhood and junior career (1974–1992)
At the age of four, Vandenbroucke was hit by one of the participants in his car while watching a rally event. As a result, he had to undergo four knee operations over the course of his career, which repeatedly set him back. Before he discovered cycling for himself, however, he first tried his luck in athletics , where he became the Belgian student champion in 1986. After applying for a cycling license in 1989, he won his first race in Brakel that same year . Two years later, at the age of 17 years, Vandenbroucke secured his hitherto greatest success by winning the Belgian championship in the newcomers category and a year later he succeeded the road race in the UCI Road World Junior Championships in Athens winning the Bronze medal.
Promotion (1993-1998)
After his very successful time in the junior sector, Vandenbroucke began his professional career in 1993, at the age of 19, with the Lotto-Caloi cycling team , where his uncle Jean-Luc Vandenbroucke worked as sporting director and his father as a mechanic. In his first year, Vandenbroucke started as a stagiaire before he received a professional contract in 1994. At the time, experts compared him to cycling legend Eddy Merckx , as he, like Merckx, had the skills to win both one-day races and multi-day stage races.
In the spring of the 1995 season he moved to one of the most successful teams at the time. Vandenbroucke quickly gained a foothold in Patrick Lefevere's Italian Mapei team and was able to win the prestigious semi-classic Paris – Brussels in his first year . In the next year, Vandenbroucke achieved overall victories in the stage races around the Mediterranean and Tour of Austria, including several stage victories. He was also able to win the Grand Prix Ouest France and the Scheldeprijs . In the following year he also celebrated victories in Rund um Köln and the Tour of Luxembourg . In 1998 Vandenbroucke had the big breakthrough. He won the semi-classic Gent-Wevelgem and won the stage races Paris-Nice and Tour de la Région Wallonne with two stage wins each in a convincing manner.
Career high point (1999)
At the beginning of the 1999 season, Vandenbroucke left the Mapei team around his compatriots Patrick Lefevere and Johan Museeuw and moved to the French Équipe Cofidis . In the spring he won alongside smaller races such as the GP d'Ouverture La Marseillaise and Omloop Het Volk , in a superior manner at Liège – Bastogne – Liège , the oldest cycling classic. Before the race, Vandenbroucke even revealed the location of his decisive attack on television. In 2009 the Belgian announced in an interview that he had been doping himself with the blood doping agent EPO before this victory. At the same time, he referred to drivers who tried new doping products as "pioneers" . He would have liked to be one too.
Only a few weeks later, Vandenbroucke made negative headlines for the first time in a long time. Through his contacts with Bernard Sainz , who appeared to be involved in the French doping scandal that had been uncovered during the Tour de France , the Belgian also came into the focus of French investigators. Vandenbroucke admitted that Sainz had administered unknown drugs to him, but doping could not be proven. However, his team had already distanced him and suspended him for a few months. At the Vuelta a España , he won two stages and the points classification . Due to the spring results, he finished the season in third place in the overall ranking of the Cycling World Cup .
Relegation in installments (2000-2007)
In the winter of 1999/2000 a farce followed about Vandenbrouckes contract with Cofidis. First Vandenbroucke had announced the termination of his contract with his team in December 1999, as he felt that he had been treated disrespectfully due to the unfounded suspension. In January 2000, however, he took it back because he had not found a new team that would pay him a higher salary. His contract, which ran until the end of 2001, was shortened by one year while the financial benefits remained the same.
In the 2000 season, Vandenbroucke, who suffered from severe depression, mostly only received attention through race cancellations.
Nevertheless, the Italian team Lampre-Daikin signed him for the 2001 season for a year. The first comeback attempt was delayed and postponed again and again, and when the time finally came on the Tour of the Basque Country in April 2001, Vandenbroucke dropped out of the race prematurely. This should also be the last race appearance of the Belgian for Lampre. After a nervous breakdown in the summer and the declaration that they would never drive for Lampre again, those responsible for the team were also exhausted with their patience.
In 2002 his old mentor Patrick Lefevere took him back under his wing in the Domo Farm Frites team . There Vandenbroucke was reunited with Johan Museeuw and everything seemed as if he could build on his previous successes. At the end of February, however, Vandenbroucke was released without notice because his doctor Bernard Sainz was arrested for carrying doping products in his car and said he had also been to Vandenbroucke. In March, after only a 45-minute hearing, Vandenbroucke was banned from the UCI for six months for possession of doping drugs, but claimed that the clenbuterol found for his dog and the EPO found were "from another time in his life" . However, there was no positive doping test, whereupon Vandenbroucke appealed against the ban. Nonetheless, the Walloon native had to postpone his comeback again, although some teams had already expressed interest after his resignation. In June the ban was lifted due to a formal error and its comeback was announced for August. However, in July Vandenbroucke was suspended from doping for 18 months by the Flemish authorities, twelve of which were suspended, although this only applied to the Belgian region of Flanders . At the end of July Vandenbroucke celebrated his comeback at Domo-Farm Frites, who had hired him again.
For the 2003 season, the Belgian changed teams again with Lefevere and switched to Quick Step-Davitamon . Two days before the expiry of the ban, the Flemish authorities forbade him to ride the Omloop Het Volk and Tour of Flanders routes with his teammates, as the ban included not only participation in competitions but also a ban on organized group activities. He finished the Tour of Flanders second behind Peter Van Petegem , whom he had tried to leave behind on the last few climbs, knowing that he had no chance against him in the final sprint. In October, Vandenbroucke surprisingly announced the separation from Quick Step, because he had fallen out with his sports director Patrick Lefevere, who had criticized him for his satisfaction after finishing second in the Tour of Flanders.
Vandenbroucke, who continued to make headlines and was again responsible for the incidents in 2002, found a new job in the 2004 season in the strongest team of the previous season, Fassa Bortolo . Vandenbroucke had been signed to replace Michele Bartoli , a classic specialist, who had migrated to Team CSC . Despite good results in the spring, Vandenbroucke came under criticism from within the team in late summer because, as in the previous year, after good results at the beginning of the season, he rested on the good results and placings in the summer and hardly raced. Fassa Bortolo then released him without notice in August 2004. One month later, on September 14, 2004, he presented the MrBookmaker.com-Palmans team , a new employer who extended the contract beyond the rest of the 2004 season. Towards the end of the year there was another conviction, this time to 200 hours of community service, for doping possession from 2002. Due to the “loss of sense of reality” attested in a psychiatric report, the sentence was quite mild. Since Vandenbroucke appealed against the judgment a little later, the proceedings were reopened and finally ended with a fine of 250,000 euros.
Vandenbroucke stayed with MrBookmaker.com for the entire 2005 season, despite the lack of success. This was also the case in 2006, but the team was renamed Unibet.com . But there were still no results worth mentioning and so those responsible for the team were at the end of their patience in mid-July 2006 and fired him.
After his release, Vandenbroucke kept fit in hobby races in Italy, according to the Gazzetta dello Sport . However, he did so with the wrong license. He entered the races under the name Francesco Del Ponte - a false Italian translation of his Belgian name - and for the license card he used a photo of the then reigning world champion Tom Boonen . His racing behavior was also very unusual. So he tore out of the field, drove out a large lead solo and then got out of the race a few hundred meters from the finish. In one of these races he is even said to have competed in the junior class. Vandenbroucke himself confirmed a day later that he had taken part in these races and that he saw this as a mistake. However, he only contested these races in order to maintain his racing rhythm. He justified the exits with the fact that he did not want to influence the outcome of the race. He denied having used the alleged license card with the name Francesco Del Ponte and the photo of Boonen.
At the end of August 2006 he received a new contract with the Professional Continental Team Acqua e Sapone , with which he was unable to post any noteworthy results for the rest of the season.
Charged on January 24, 2007 by the public prosecutor of the Walloon community of Dinant for doping possession. The charges went back to 2000, when Vandenbroucke was employed by the French Cofidis racing team and the team was involved in a doping scandal at the time. The then doping supplier Ferdi Robijns had named Vandenbroucke as a customer in a proceeding against himself. During his interrogation, Vandenbroucke denied the allegations and was finally acquitted on March 14, 2007 by a court of appeal in Brussels.
His first book was published on February 5, 2007, an autobiography entitled "Ik ben God niet" ( Eng . "I am not God" ), in which Vandenbroucke admits to having doped with EPO.
Suicide attempt and return to racing events (2007–2009)
After Vandenbroucke, who was struggling with muscular problems after knee surgery in February, had been fairly quiet in the previous months, he attempted suicide on June 6, 2007 by overdosing on sleeping pills . His teammate Simone Masciarelli found him unconscious in his apartment that evening and alerted the emergency doctor. After the successful resuscitation, the doctors transferred him to the intensive care unit of the Fornaroli di Magenta clinic in Milan . His condition was initially assessed as critical, but his life was not in danger. Two days later, when his condition had improved, Vandenbroucke announced in a Flemish daily newspaper that he had visited the Milan clinic himself because his already depressed state had worsened due to private problems. However, Vandenbroucke's statement did not coincide with those of his team-mate Simone Masciarelli, his father Jean-Jacques Vandenbroucke and his uncle Jean-Luc Vandenbroucke .
On June 11, 2007, five days after the suicide attempt, Vandenbroucke was able to leave the clinic in Milan. In an interview on Italian television, Vandenbroucke admitted the attempt, which he attributed to his desperate situation. He also announced an imminent comeback. Towards the end of June, accompanied by his father, he first went to a clinic for psychiatric treatment, which he then did not attend and threatened the clinic staff. He was then forcibly committed.
A quarter of a year after his suicide attempt, Vandenbroucke returned to racing. In Paris-Brussels , where he had achieved the first major victory of his career twelve years earlier, the Belgian competed for Acqua & Sapone for the first time and celebrated a successful comeback for him. Shortly before the end of the race, he even launched an attack from the main field with a few drivers. Finally he finished the race in 71st place, 33 seconds behind the day's winner.
For the 2008 season Vandenbroucke moved from the Italian second division Acqua & Sapone to the Belgian third division Mitsubishi-MKG , the successor to the Jartazi team. There he signed a one-year contract, which was terminated by mutual agreement with immediate effect on April 18, 2008, as it became known that Vandenbroucke had been named as a customer of a drug dealer ring in the course of police investigations.
In the 2009 season Vandenbroucke drove a few races for the Cinelli-Down Under team . In April 2009 he surprisingly won the 2nd stage (an individual time trial) of the Boucles d'Artois , his first success since 1999 (apart from a few victories in unofficial criteria); in the final ranking he took third place. In the summer, however, the involvement with Cinelli had already ended, allegedly because wages were not paid. In August and September 2009 he drove without sponsor for some local criteria, and according to press reports, he was also active in public relations for a building materials manufacturer.
Death (2009)
On October 12, 2009, Vandenbroucke was found dead while on vacation in a hotel in Senegal. He died of a pulmonary embolism at the age of 34, according to the death certificate , but the family had requested an autopsy. The pulmonary embolism was confirmed, a heart defect was diagnosed and years of drug use were recorded.
family
Vandenbroucke had been married to the Italian ex- mannequin Sarah Pinacci since October 19, 2000, and church since October 22, 2000 . He was previously married to Clothilde Menu. Vandenbroucke was the father of two daughters. Cameron (* 1999) comes from his first marriage to Clothilde Menu, and Margaux (* December 2001) from his second marriage to Sarah Pinacci.
Even outside of the cycling scene, Vandenbroucke caused a stir with his private life. So he forgot his wife in December 2002 in a drunk state with 1.7 per thousand and drove to a police control. He also threatened the same in his home with a weapon, whereupon the Belgian police stormed the building and arrested him.
After his suicide attempt in June 2007, Vandenbroucke confirmed that his second marriage was on the verge of failure, because his wife wanted to separate from him. This then also spoke up and described the marriage as "hell". She accused her husband of using drugs, beating her and threatening to kill her and her family.
His uncle Jean-Luc Vandenbroucke was also a professional cyclist who was active and very successful in the 1970s and 1980s.
memory
In memory of Vandenbroucke, the Binche – Chimay – Binche race , one of the oldest races on the Belgian racing calendar, has been named Mémorial Frank Vandenbroucke since 2010 .
Significant successes
|
1991
1992
1994
1995
1996
|
1997
1998
1999
|
Teams
- 1993–1995 Lotto-Caloi (until April 1995)
- 1995–1998 Mapei (from April 1995)
- 1999-2000 Cofidis
- 2001 Lampre-Daikin
- 2002 Domo Farm Fries
- 2003 Quick Step Davitamon
- 2004 Fassa Bortolo (until August 12, 2004)
- 2004 MrBookmaker.com-Palmans (from September 14, 2004)
- 2005 MrBookmaker.com-Sports Tech
- 2006 Unibet.com (until July 18, 2006)
- 2006–2007 Acqua & Sapone-Caffè Mokambo (from August 28, 2006)
- 2008 Mitsubishi-Jartazi (until April 18, 2008)
- 2009 Cinelli-Down Under (until August 31, 2009)
References and comments
- ↑ frankvdbroucke.be, biography on frankvdbroucke.be , accessed on March 2, 2014
- ↑ radsportnews.net, Gent – Wevelgem: Victory for local hero Frank Vandenbroucke
- ↑ radsportnews.net, Frank Vandenbroucke the “Patron” of Paris-Nice 1998
- ↑ radsportnews.net, Vandenbroucke changes to Cofidis and becomes the "natural team captain"
- ↑ radsportnews.net, Vandenbroucke starts his season with a win, defeated Voigt in the sprint
- ↑ radsportnews.net, Impressive Frank Vandenbroucke wins "Het Volk" - A Belgian affair ...
- ↑ radsportnews.net, Triumphant reception for Frank Vandenbroucke
- ↑ radsportnews.net, Vandenbroucke passes his master's examination
- ↑ radsport-news.com, Vandenbroucke would have liked to have been a doping "pioneer"
- ↑ radsportnews.net, French professional cyclists charged with illegal doping trafficking
- ↑ radsportnews.net, Frank Vandenbroucke freed from suspected doping
- ↑ radsportnews.net, Cofidis suspends Frank Vandenbroucke and Phillippe Gaumont
- ↑ radsportnews.net, Frank Vandenbroucke fully rehabilitated - Cofidis cancels his suspension
- ↑ radsportnews.net, Vandenbroucke stays with Cofidis
- ↑ radsportnews.net, Frank Vandenbroucke leaves Cofidis
- ↑ radsportnews.net, More guesswork about Vandenbrouckes future
- ↑ radsportnews.net, No new team found
- ↑ radsportnews.net, Cofidis puts Vandenbroucke under pressure
- ↑ radsportnews.net, VDB is "very satisfied" with the new, old contract Vandenbroucke cancels all classic starts
- ↑ radsportnews.net, Frank Vandenbroucke suffers from depression
- ↑ radsportnews.net, Vandenbroucke cancels all classic starts
- ↑ radsportnews.net, Lampre signs Frank Vandenbroucke
- ↑ radsportnews.net, Frank Vandenbroucke dares to go to "hell"
- ↑ radsportnews.net, Vandenbroucke no longer competes in 2001
- ↑ radsportnews.net, is Vandenbroucke facing expulsion from Lampre?
- ↑ radsportnews.net, Vandenbroucke apparently dismissed by Lampre
- ↑ radsportnews.net, Lampre openly threatens Vandenbroucke with dismissal
- ↑ radsportnews.net, Vandenbrouckes signature at Domo Formsache
- ↑ radsportnews.net, Vandenbroucke: "My last chance"
- ↑ radsportnews.net, Vandenbroucke involved in new doping scandal
- ↑ radsportnews.net, Comet-like ascent and a descent in installments
- ↑ radsportnews.net, Domo team boss fell "out of the clouds"
- ↑ radsportnews.net, "Clenbuterol for the dog, EPO from another time"
- ↑ radsportnews.net, Vandenbroucke blocked for six months
- ↑ radsportnews.net, “Mabuse” patient Vandenbroucke not positive
- ↑ radsportnews.net, Vandenbroucke calls sports court TAS
- ↑ radsportnews.net, Marlux and Collstrop want Vandenbroucke
- ↑ radsportnews.net, Vandenbroucke is allowed to race again
- ↑ radsportnews.net, Vandenbroucke: Comeback in August
- ↑ radsportnews.net, Vandenbroucke now banned for doping
- ↑ radsportnews.net, Vandenbroucke back at Domo
- ↑ radsportnews.net, Vandenbroucke is not allowed to train in Flanders
- ↑ radsportnews.net, "Now I believe in a great classic victory again"
- ↑ radsportnews.net, Vandenbroucke leaves Quick Step
- ↑ radsportnews.net, Vandenbroucke has to go to court
- ↑ radsportnews.net, Vandenbroucke: "Won fight against me"
- ↑ radsportnews.net, “Bookmaker” bets on Vandenbroucke
- ↑ radsportnews.net, Vandenbroucke also 2005 at Bookmaker
- ↑ radsportnews.net, VdB sentenced to 200 hours of social work
- ↑ radsportnews.net, VdB: Appeal against doping judgment own goal
- ↑ a b radsportnews.net, VdB at Unibet before being kicked out
- ↑ radsportnews.net, VdB: Wrong license with Boonen photo
- ↑ radsportnews.net, Vandenbroucke charged with doping possession
- ↑ radsportnews.net, Vandenbroucke: acquittal in doping criminal proceedings
- ↑ frankvdbroucke.be, "Ik ben God niet"
- ↑ radsportnews.net, Vandenbroucke in critical condition after attempted suicide
- ↑ a b radsportnews.net, Vandenbroucke denies attempted suicide
- ↑ radsportnews.net, Vandenbroucke announces comeback
- ↑ radsportnews.net, VdB: Forced admission to psychiatry
- ↑ radsportnews.net, McEwen wins for the fourth time
- ↑ radsport-news.com, Jartazi terminates contract with Vandenbroucke
- ↑ demorgen.be of August 24th, 2009: Franck Vandenbroucke heeft geen wielervergunning meer ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ sportmagazine.knack.be of August 20, 2009: Franck Vandenbroucke wordt PR man voor bouwgroep ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ sueddeutsche.de of October 13, 2009: End of a flight
- ↑ sport-compact on sueddeutsche.de from May 17, 2010
- ↑ radsportnews.net, drunk Vandenbroucke forgot his wife
- ↑ radsportnews.net, Spectacular Police Action at VDB
- ↑ radsportnews.net, "Seven years with Frank were hell"
- ↑ radsport-news.com from September 22, 2009: Belgian race is renamed Mémorial Frank Vandenbroucke
- ↑ The contract with Lotto was terminated during the season
- ↑ The contract with Fassa Bortolo was terminated during the season
- ↑ Contract with Unibet.com was terminated during the season
- ↑ The contract with Mitsubishi-Jartazi was terminated during the season
literature
- Frank Vandenbroucke; Tim Van Steendam (editor): Ik ben God niet . Gent: Borgerhoff & Lamberigts, 2008 ISBN 9789077941300
- Dimitri Verhulst : Monologue of a woman who fell into the habit of talking to herself . From the Dutch by Rainer Kersten. Covadonga, Bielefeld 2013 ISBN 978-3-936973-76-1 (novel)
Web links
- Official website
- Frank Vandenbroucke in the Radsportseiten.net database
- Death of a professional cyclist: Vandenbroucke's diabolical pact , article by Christian Eichler in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung , October 13, 2009
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Vandenbroucke, Frank |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Belgian cyclist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | November 6, 1974 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Mouscron , Belgium |
| DATE OF DEATH | October 12, 2009 |
| Place of death | Senegal |