Valere Ollivier

The Café L'Europe , the Ollivier had opened in his hometown of Roeselare, still exists today.

Valère Ollivier (born September 21, 1921 in Roeselare ; † February 10, 1958 there ) was a Belgian cyclist .

In 1942 Valère Ollivier was Belgian junior road racing champion. In 1945 he turned pro and won the Kuurne – Brussels – Kuurne race that same year . In 1948 he won at Gent – Wevelgem , the following year he was Belgian road racing champion and second in the Tour of Flanders . In 1950 he won Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne a second time and took second place in the Tour of Belgium . In 1953 he was third at Milan – Sanremo .

In 1950 Ollivier took part in the UCI Road World Championships and finished eleventh. He was also the 1951 European champion in two-man team driving with Albert Sercu . He started in 14 six-day races , in 1949 and 1951 he was third in Brussels , once with Nest Thyssen and once with Gerard Buyl . Together with Buyl, he finished second in the 1952 Ghent six-day race . In 1955 he started the Tour of Morocco , won the first stage, but suffered a fractured thigh in a fall, from which he recovered only slowly. Eventually Ollivier ended his active career.

In his hometown Roeselare, Ollivier opened the café "L'Europe" while he was still active, and later ran a building materials trade and a taxi company. As early as 1945, a race with his name was launched in Roeselare, the first of which was won by Albert Sercu. In 1951, Ollivier himself won this race, which was held until 1971. There is also a street named after him in Roeselare.

Valère Ollivier died of a tear in his cardiac aorta at the age of 36 . The reason for this was suspected of doping abuse , for which Ollivier was known.

Individual evidence

↑ European championships before the founding of the Union Européenne de Cyclisme 1995 are considered unofficial, as they were usually invitation races from private organizers.

literature

Herman Laitem, Jozef Hamels: De Tricolore Trui. 1882-2007. 125 Jaar Belgian Campaign Schappen. Pinguin Productions et al., Balegem et al. 2008, ISBN 978-90-73322-21-9 , pp. 119f.

Web links

Valère Ollivier in the Radsportseiten.net database

personal data
SURNAME	Ollivier, Valère
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Belgian cyclist
DATE OF BIRTH	September 21, 1921
PLACE OF BIRTH	Roeselare
DATE OF DEATH	February 10, 1958
Place of death	Roeselare

[1] European championships before the founding of the Union Européenne de Cyclisme 1995 are considered unofficial, as they were usually invitation races from private organizers.