Patrick Sercu

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Patrick Sercu as professional sprint world champion (1967)
With Eddy Merckx (r.) At the Rotterdam six days race (1976)
Sercu in 2008

Patrick Sercu (born June 27, 1944 in Roeselare ; † April 19, 2019 ) was a Belgian racing cyclist (1965-1983). As a railway specialist , he was three times world champion and once Olympic champion . In addition to world-famous drivers such as Eddy Merckx , Roger De Vlaeminck , Walter Godefroot , Herman Van Springel and Rik Van Looy , he was one of the great Belgian cyclists of the 1960s and 1970s.

Driver profile and sporting career

Olympic jersey from Sercu im Koers. Museum van de Wielersport (2012)

Patrick Sercu began his amateur career as a track specialist in the short-term disciplines , where he first became world champion (sprint) and Olympic champion (1000 m time trial, 1964 in Tokyo). In 1963 Sercu won the first six-day race for amateurs as part of the Brussels Sixdays. After moving to the pros , he was twice sprint world champion (1967 and 1969), as well as multiple European champions and Belgian champions in various track disciplines.

In the course of his long career, however, he managed to develop increasingly into an all-rounder, as evidenced by his 19 stage victories at the Giro d'Italia and the Tour de France . After all, he was able to finish the tour once (and win the green jersey ) and the Giro four times. He also achieved a round trip victory at the internationally rather insignificant Giro di Sardegna (1970).

However , he did not make a breakthrough in the classics . There he did not get beyond a fifth place in Milan-Sanremo and two second places in the semi-classic Omloop Het Volk . For smaller, but very prestigious one-day races like today in the UCI category 1 HC classified Grand Prix Harelbeke he was successful. There he came second once (1977), Kuurne – Brussels – Kuurne he won (1977). His eleven stage wins in the smaller, established tours ( Tirreno – Adriatico , Paris – Nice , Dauphiné Libéré ) round off this performance.

But he became the irrefutable regent on his traditional terrain, the track - of the 223 all-winter six-day races in which he participated, he won 88. This makes Sercu the most successful six-day driver to date. Here he was the most sought-after partner and undisputed “boss” (racing driver jargon) on the track.

The list of his six-day partners alone reads like the “Who Is Who” of world cycling: Among them are alone

and many other illustrious names such as Dietrich Thurau , Peter Post , Giuseppe Saronni and Rik Van Steenbergen . His favorite partner, however, was Eddy Merckx, with whom he was together seven times Belgian and twice European champion in two-man team driving and 27 times started together in six-day races (including two times in a three-man team with Klaus Bugdahl ).

Sercu's career ended where it had started, on the track - only to lead to a new one: He looked after the professionals at the six-day races (Stuttgart, Bremen, Rotterdam, Antwerp) as a sports director or in other managerial functions.

Patrick Sercu is an honorary citizen of his hometown Izegem . 2007 in Brugger opened a velodrome district Assebroek that bears his name. His father Albert Sercu , also a successful cyclist, was u. a. 1947 Vice World Champion in the professional road race.

Teams

  • Solo Superia (1966)
  • Flandria-DeClerck (1967)
  • Faema (1968/69)
  • Lathe operator (1970-72)
  • Brooklyn (1972-76)
  • Fiat (1977)
  • Zeepcentrale-Marc (1978)
  • Zeepcentrale-Superia (1979)
  • Marc-IWC-VRD (1980)
  • IWC-IMEX (1981/82)
  • IMEX-Neuhaus (1983)

Successes (excerpt)

  • World champion title
    • Sprint (track): 1 time amateurs (1963), 2 times professionals (1967, 69)
  • Olympic victory: 1964 in Tokyo , 1000 m time trial
  • Six days race:
    • 88 victories on every track in the world
  • European championship title: a total of 18 (all tracks), individually
    • Omnium : 11 times
    • Américaine: (two-man team driving) 6 times
    • Derny : Once
  • Belgian champion: a total of 37 times (all tracks), individually
    • Sprint: 7 times
    • other disciplines (Américaine, Derny, Omnium): 30 times
  • Stage wins and overall wins in tours
    • Tour de France: six
    • Giro d'Italia: 13
    • other tours (Tirreno-Adriatico, Paris-Nice, Dauphiné Libéré, Germany tour ): 11
    • Overall ranking Giro del Sardegna (1970)
  • One day race
    • 2nd place Omloop Het Volk 1974, 75, 3rd 1976
    • 5th place Milan-San Remo 1973
    • Winner Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne 1977
  • World records
    • 500 m with a flying start (1964)
    • 1000 m with standing start (1964)
    • 1000 m with a flying start: 1: 01.50 (1967)
    • 1000 m with standing start (world record for indoor tracks): 1: 07.50 (1972)

Web links

Commons : Patrick Sercu  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Patrick Sercu passed away. In: radsport-news.com. April 19, 2019. Retrieved April 20, 2019 .
  2. ↑ Jacq van Reijendam: 6-daagsen statitiesken 2009 , No. 17, p. 7.
  3. ↑ brugge.be ( Memento from June 26, 2011 in the Internet Archive )
personal data
SURNAME Sercu, Patrick
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Belgian cyclist
DATE OF BIRTH June 27, 1944
PLACE OF BIRTH Roeselare , Belgium
DATE OF DEATH 19th April 2019