Jan Pijnenburg

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Jan Pijnenburg as Dutch champion in the single pursuit in 1935

Johannes Baptist Norbertus "Jan" Pijnenburg (born February 15, 1906 in Tilburg ; †  December 2, 1979 ibid) was a Dutch track cyclist .

Sports career

Jan Pijnenburg was one of the most successful and popular track cyclists in the Netherlands in the 1930s. He discovered his love for cycling when he was selling chocolate on the cycling track in his hometown. In 1928 he took part in the team pursuit at the Olympic Games in Amsterdam and won the silver medal with the four-way scull. In the year he first got a license as an independent. In this category he became the Dutch sprint champion in 1929. In 1931 he moved to the pros.

Pijnenburg replacing Janus Braspennincx

By the end of 1939 Pijnenburg, nicknamed "Kanonbal" and "De Pijn" (ambiguous: abbreviation of the surname, but also Dutch for "pain"), started in 50 six-day races, 17 of which he won. His most frequent partners were the Dutch Cor Wals and Piet van Kempen . He also traveled twice to races in the United States, where he was very popular with the public but was very homesick. To this day, he is 33rd in the all-time ranking of six-day drivers. During his time as an active driver, he himself organized Six days in the Netherlands, for example in Amsterdam in 1932 .

Pijnenburg was also the Dutch champion in the single pursuit three times, but was also able to place in the top three several times in the sprint .

On September 9, 1940, Pijnenburg publicly said goodbye to cycling with a race against Gerrit Schulte in 's-Hertogenbosch .

Others

It was not until 1933 that Jan Pijnenburg was drawn up to find out, to his surprise, that he actually had three first names - Johannes Baptist Norbertus - and that his real name was PijnenbOrg. But since he was already known under the name "Pijnenburg", he had his surname changed. At the wedding on May 1, 1933 in Tilburg, the rush of onlookers was so great that the police had to ensure order.

After finishing his cycling career, Pijnenburg opened the “Old Dutch” restaurant in Tilburg, which was visited by many celebrities, including a. Clark Gable . In 1950 he was active as a sports director at the Tour de France 1950; but since he was not familiar with road cycling, it was just one season.

literature

  • Jaap Engelberts: Hoe De Pijn Renner werd , Amsterdam around 1929
  • Jaap Engelberts: Pijnenburg's Triomfen , Amsterdam around 1931
  • George Hogenkamp: Jan Pijnenburg, een kampioen op het rijwiel , Amsterdam-Utrecht 1946
  • Div. Authors: De Kanonbal , Tilburg 2003, includes u. a. an "Ode aan De Pijn"

swell

  • Roger de Maertelaere, Mannen van de Nacht , Eeklo 2000, p. 236.
  • Peter Ouwerkerk: Op de Rotterdamse latten , Rotterdam 2006, p. 26.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Pascal Sergent, Guy Crasset, Herve Dauchy: Wereld Encyclopedie Wielrennen . Eecloonaar, Eeklo 2001, p. 1475 (Flemish).
personal data
SURNAME Pijnenburg, Jan
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Pijnenburg, Johannes Baptist Norbertus
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Dutch cyclist
DATE OF BIRTH February 15, 1906
PLACE OF BIRTH Tilburg
DATE OF DEATH 2nd December 1979
Place of death Tilburg