Gerard van Beek
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
- Gerard van Beek in the Radsportseiten.net database
Individual evidence
- ↑ Werner Ruttkus / Wolfgang Schoppe : Roundabout & Berlin Air. On the trail of the Berlin six-day race . 2012. p. 155
- ↑ Herinneringen bij een photo ??. In: wielersport.slogblog.nl. December 23, 2014, accessed December 13, 2015 .
- ↑ 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 |