Kurt Stöpel

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Kurt Stöpel (without cap) and André Leducq after their arrival in Paris after the tour in 1932

Kurt Stöpel (born March 12, 1908 in Berlin ; † June 11, 1997 there ) was a German racing cyclist .

Life

Kurt Stöpel celebrated his first big victory in 1928 in the 275 km long Berlin - Stettin - Berlin race . As an amateur, he also won the traditional Berlin – Cottbus – Berlin races, Rund um die Hainleite in Thuringia and the 600 km long-distance race Cologne – Berlin .

In 1930 he finished fourth in the world championship in Liège as a professional , in the Giro d'Italia he reached fifth place in 1932 and eighth place in 1933 , in 1934 he became German champion and in the same year won the traditional races around Cologne and around Berlin , the oldest classic of German road cycling .

In 1932 he was the first German cyclist to win a stage of the Tour de France : On July 7, 1932 from Caen to Nantes . At the same time, after this victory, he was at the top of the field and was therefore also the first German wearer of the yellow jersey . On the next, the 3rd stage, on July 9th from Nantes to Bordeaux , Stöpel forced punctures off the bike seven times, the top position could not be held: André Leducq , the superstar of those years, took over the yellow jersey on July 31st Tour won in 1932 .

Kurt Stöpel started the Tour de France five times:

  • 1931  - 16th place
  • 1932  - 2nd place
  • 1933  - 10th place
  • 1934  - 21st place
  • 1935  - On his fifth and final tour participation, a serious fall forced him to give up prematurely.

In 1938 he finally ended his cycling career. He later worked as an interpreter and taxi operator in Berlin.

On June 11, 1997, three weeks before the tour began, which Jan Ullrich was to win as the first German, Kurt Stöpel wanted to get something to drink in the kitchen of his old people's home. He accidentally picked up a bottle of detergent. He died that same day at the age of 89. His grave is in the state-owned cemetery Heerstraße in Berlin-Westend (grave location: II-W13-86 / 87).

On May 6, 2008 Kurt Stöpel was inducted ( posthumously ) into the Hall of Fame of German Sports .

literature

Web links

Commons : Kurt Stöpel  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Vita and successes . Kurt Stöpel's biography on the website www.kurt-stoepel.de. Retrieved December 10, 2019.
personal data
SURNAME Stopper, Kurt
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German racing cyclist
DATE OF BIRTH March 12, 1908
PLACE OF BIRTH Berlin
DATE OF DEATH June 11, 1997
Place of death Berlin