Gerard van Beek

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Gerard van Beek as the winner of the Tour of the Netherlands in 1948

Gerardus Johannes Willibrordus "Gerrit" van Beek (born November 1, 1923 in Volendam , † March 15, 1951 in Berlin ) was a Dutch cyclist.

Gerard van Beek began his cycling career as an amateur in 1943 and won 18 road races in the post-war years. In 1947 he won the bronze medal in road racing at the World Road Championships in Reims . In the same year he became Dutch champion in the team time trial and won the Ronde van Noord-Holland .

As a result, van Beek started in a number of six-day races , such as in New York , Washington and Munich , where he finished third with Arie Vooren . In 1948 and 1949 he won one stage of the Tour of the Netherlands . He was one of four cyclists - van Beek, Piet de Vries , Gerrit Voorting and Harm Smits - who dominated racing in the Netherlands in the first post-war years and who were therefore called the four musketeers .

In March 1951 Gerard van Beek and Arie Vooren took part in the 34th Berlin six-day race in the sports hall at the radio tower . On the third night he fell and had to be admitted to the Westend hospital with severe head injuries. His colleague and friend Arie suffered a severe shock. Van Beek died a few days later.

further reading

  • Gerrie Hulsing: Gerard van Beek. 'A real musketeer' . Op den Vinken, Purmerend 2006

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Werner Ruttkus / Wolfgang Schoppe : Roundabout & Berlin Air. On the trail of the Berlin six-day race . 2012. p. 155
  2. ↑ Herinneringen bij een photo ??. In: wielersport.slogblog.nl. December 23, 2014, accessed December 13, 2015 .
  3. ↑ Werner Ruttkus / Wolfgang Schoppe : Roundabout & Berlin Air. On the trail of the Berlin six-day race . 2012. p. 153
personal data
SURNAME Beek, Gerard van
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Beek, Gerrit van (short name); Beek, Gerardes Johannes Willibrodders van (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Dutch cyclist
DATE OF BIRTH November 1, 1923
PLACE OF BIRTH Volendam
DATE OF DEATH March 15, 1951
Place of death Berlin