Rudolf Franz (cyclist)

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Portrait of Rudolf Franz 1961

Rudolf Franz (born October 22, 1937 in Waldenburg , Lower Silesia Province ; † December 17, 2016 ) was a track cyclist from the GDR .

Sporty

Rudi Franz started cycling at BSG Motor Zwickau-Süd under coach Erich Zimmermann. He then moved to BSG Renak Reichenbach . In 1959 he took part in the GDR tour and took 63rd place in the overall ranking. The delegation to SC Karl-Marx-Stadt soon followed . Here he finally switched from the road to the train and the 4,000-meter single pursuit became his specialty. Initially Franz was trained by Herbert Hauswald at SC Karl-Marx-Stadt , later by Willi Gruß .

Overall, Franz was champion of the GDR four times: in 1961, 1962 and 1964 in the single pursuit and in 1965 with SC Karl-Marx-Stadt in the 4,000-meter team pursuit (together with Horst Aurich , Schröder and Sperl). In the single pursuit, he also took second place in 1963 and third place in 1966. With the SC Karl-Marx-Stadt, Franz achieved five third places in the team pursuit (1963, 1964, 1966, 1967 and 1969).

Franz's best international result was fourth place in the team pursuit at the UCI-Bahn World Championships in 1965 and also in 1966 with an identical team of Erhard Hancke , Siegfried Köhler and Wolfgang Schmelzer . He started in the single pursuit in 1961 and was 13th. In 1968, Franz took part in the Olympic Games in Mexico City . In the team pursuit, he and the GDR team (with Heinz Richter , Wolfgang Schmelzer and Manfred Ulbricht ) took 13th place in the preliminary run and thus missed the quarter-finals.

Professional

After his career he worked as a coach at his sports club. He trained u. a. Wolfgang Lötzsch and Matthias Wiegand .

Private

In 1964 Rudolf Franz married the cyclist Andrea Elle .

literature

  • Der Radsportler, April 5, 1968, page 8 f., Master couple with high goals , publisher: German Cycling Association of the GDR, Berlin, 1968

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Franz, Rudolf
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German racing cyclist
DATE OF BIRTH October 22, 1937
PLACE OF BIRTH Waldenburg , Province of Lower Silesia
DATE OF DEATH 17th December 2016