José Beyaert

José Beyaert (born October 1, 1925 in Lens , France, † June 11, 2005 in La Rochelle ) was a French cyclist and Olympic champion in cycling .

Athletic career

José Beyaert was a versatile athlete, he was a gymnast and boxer . He celebrated his greatest successes in cycling . In 1948 he won the road race at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London . Together with his teammates Alain Moineau and Jacques Dupont , he won bronze in the team classification in the same race . He almost came too late for the race in London because he was known as a brawler in Pantin, the mayor hadn't wanted to issue him with a good certificate of good conduct and the French government had to intervene first.

The following year Beyaert became a professional cyclist . In 1951 and 1952 he started in the Tour de France ; In 1951 he finished 47th, the following year he gave up during the eighth stage. He got into an argument with his then team boss René Vietto . He later reported brawls with the domestics of well-known drivers and that the then tour director Jacques Goddet had forbidden him to attack.

In 1952 Beyeart was invited to Colombia to inaugurate a cycling track there . There he won the Vuelta a Colombia in 1952 (with a total of five stage wins) and finished second in this race the following year. He then stayed in Colombia to work as a trainer there, among other things, after the President of the Colombian Cycling Association, to his astonishment, not only accepted but doubled his astronomical fee claim. The first Colombian racing drivers came to Europe through his commitment.

Away from cycling

Beyaert was born in Lens to a Flemish worker who went to France in 1920. The family later moved to Pantin near Paris. During the Second World War he competed in cycling in the Vélodrome d'Hiver and was involved in the Resistance by transporting weapons on his bicycle.

José Beyaert was not only active as a trainer in Colombia, but also in the emerald trade ; he had a sawmill built in the rainforest and exported balsa wood . He later also worked as a radio commentator, and his wife Louise ran a French restaurant in Bogotá . Beyaert maintained friendships with the Colombian underworld, including members of the infamous Medellín cartel such as Gonzalo Rodríguez Gacha .

Beyaert left Colombia with his family in 2001 because he was in danger of being kidnapped by guerrillas because of his proximity to drug traffickers . He returned to France with his family, where he died in 2005.

Web links

• José Beyaert in the database of Sports-Reference (English; archived from the original )
• José Beyaert in the database of Radsportseiten.net
• José Beyaert in the Tour de France database(French / English )

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c d e} Matt Rendell: José Beyaert. The Guardian , July 23, 2005, accessed February 5, 2014 . 
2. ↑ Interview with Matt Rendell, author of the book Olympic Gangster. The Legend of José Beyaert - Cycling Champion, Fortune Hunter and Outlaw . Cycling Inquisition, June 20, 2011, accessed February 5, 2014 .