Pim Kiderlen
Antoine Emile "Pim" Kiderlen (born January 18, 1868 in Delfshaven , today in Rotterdam , † September 13, 1931 in Leiden ) was the first Dutch cyclist to achieve significant international success. Unofficially, he is considered the first Dutch world champion in cycling.
In the early years of cycling, Pim Kiderlen competed in races on both high and tricycle bikes . He was European champion on both types of bicycle. In 1886 he won the Open English Championship, which the British regarded as the unofficial world championship. Thus, Kiderlen can be regarded as the first Dutch cycling world champion. In Great Britain he was nicknamed The new Flying Dutchman . In the same year he became three-time Dutch champion. In 1887 he again won two European championship titles. One of his international competitors was the Belgian racing driver Emile De Beukelaer , who in 1900 became the first president of the newly founded Union Cycliste Internationale .
In 1885 Kiderlen made a bet that he would cover the distance from Rotterdam to Leeuwarden (around 333 kilometers) within 24 hours, which had previously taken 31 hours with a cart. He covered the distance in 22 hours and 35 minutes, counting the breaks, the net time was 16 hours and 46 minutes. This achievement was considered a world course record at the time. On the way he was armed with a blackjack to defend himself against muggers and bike enemies.
In 1886, Kiderlen set another record when he covered the 52 kilometers between Rotterdam and Utrecht in one hour and 48 minutes, which corresponded to a speed of 29 kilometers per hour . In the following year, 1887, he drove a race from Delfshaven to Schiedam against a steam train. Cyclists and Zug reached the finish line at the same time.
Within two years, Kiderlen won 42 races and took second place 24 times. During his active time, he constantly improved his bikes himself, using the best accessories. When he exercised, he attracted attention on the streets and was soon extremely popular. In 1888 he collided with a car while training and had to give up cycling due to a knee injury. He then moved to Leiden and opened a machine shop there.
On the occasion of the start of the tour in 2015 in the Netherlands, Simon Groen, known there as a high-level cyclist ( called De Kuif because of his quiff ), drove on a carbon high- speed bike on Kiderlen's footsteps from Rotterdam to Leeuwarden. He covered the route in three stages over three days. In Leeuwarden, Groen was greeted by cyclists on historic bikes and by Kiderlen's great-grandson, also Pim Kiderlen.
successes
- 1886:
- European champion over 2 kilometers on the track in Berlin (high bike) - 1886: - European champion over 5000 meters (tricycle)
- 1886: - London (tandem)
- 1887: - European champion over 5 kilometers on the track
- 1887: - European champion over 10 kilometers (tricycle)
literature
- George JM Hogenkamp: Een Halve eeuw Wielersport . Amsterdam 1916.
Web links
- Pim Kiderlen in the Radsportseiten.net database
Individual evidence
- ↑ Hogenkamp, p. 71.
- ↑ Hogenkamp, p. 77.
- ↑ Het nieuws van den dag: small courant . 24-11-1885
- ↑ De Kampioen , 2e jaargang, number 21, december 1885 .
- ↑ a b c Voetnootjes: 13 September 1931 - Pim Kiderlen overleden. In: voetnootjes.blogspot.de. September 13, 1931, accessed December 11, 2016 .
- ↑ GPTV: Simon Groen fietst historical daughter op Hoge Bi opnieuw on YouTube , July 6, 2015
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Kiderlen, Pim |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Kiderlen, Antoine Emile (full name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Dutch cyclist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | January 18, 1868 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Rotterdam |
| DATE OF DEATH | September 13, 1931 |
| Place of death | Suffer |