Harm Ottenbros

Harm Ottenbros
	Harm Ottenbros (1969)
To person
Date of birth	June 27, 1943
nation	Netherlands
discipline	Street
Most important successes
	UCI Road World Championships 1969 - road racing
	Last updated: March 9, 2020

Harm Ottenbros (born June 27, 1943 in Alkmaar , Netherlands ) is a former Dutch cyclist .

Athletic career

Ottenbros began his professional career in 1967 and ended it in 1976. His greatest triumph was winning the road cycling world championship in 1969 in Zolder, Belgium . Ottenbros benefited from the fact that the best racing drivers were not aiming for victory, but rather that the Belgian Eddy Merckx did not become world champion after an outstanding season. Since Eddy Merckx could not stop every escape attempt on his own, the hitherto unknown Ottenbros was able to break away with the Belgian Julien Stevens and beat him by a few centimeters in the final sprint.

The win did not bring him luck, but envy and resentment. After several health problems, Ottenbros ended his career in 1976 and completely turned away from cycling. To make this clear, he threw his racing bike from the Seeland Bridge into the Oosterschelde in front of Gerrie Knetemann .

After his racing career ended, Harm Ottenbros worked with the mentally handicapped, and he is considered a good sculptor and painter.