Erik De Vlaeminck facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Erik De Vlaeminck

De Vlaeminck at the 1970 Amstel Gold Race
Personal information
Born	(1945-03-23)23 March 1945 Eeklo, Belgium
Died	4 December 2015(2015-12-04) (aged 70) Eeklo, Belgium
Team information
Discipline	Cyclo-cross/Road
Role	Rider
Major wins
Grand Tours Tour de France 1 individual stage (1968) Stage races Tour of Belgium (1969) Paris–Luxembourg (1970) One-day races and Classics GP Union Dortmund (1968) Kampioenschap van Vlaanderen (1969) Omloop der Vlaamse Ardennen (1969) Dwars door West-Vlaanderen (1969) Grand Prix of Aargau Canton (1970) Cyclo-cross Championships World Championship (1966, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973) National Championship (1967, 1969, 1971, 1972)

Erik De Vlaeminck (23 March 1945 − 4 December 2015) was a Belgian cyclist who became cyclo-cross world-champion seven times (in 1966, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973), a record for male riders.

Professional career

De Vlaeminck missed 1967 only because his bike was damaged during the race. He also became Belgian champion four times (1967, 1969, 1971, 1972) at a time when there were so many good Belgian riders that the domestic championship was often harder than the world-championship.

He also performed creditably in road races, including the Tour de France. In 1969 he won the Tour of Belgium and a stage in the Tour de France.

Many stories circulate about his supposed wild behaviour after races and after his career was over. When he returned to racing, the Belgian federation would offer him a license for only a day at a time until it saw how his life would progress. De Vlaeminck subsequently refused to speak about this period of his life.

His re-establishment was complete, however, because he became the national cyclo-cross coach and led Belgium to a dominating period of international success. He always complained, however, that while cyclo-cross brought Belgium its world championship medals, it was to road racing that the bulk of the funds were given.

Personal life

De Vlaeminck was the brother of Roger De Vlaeminck. His son Geert died, aged 26, of a heart attack in a cyclo-cross race while his father was watching.

In later life, De Vlaeminck had Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease. He died on 4 December 2015 at the age of 70.

Honours

From 2000, an annual cyclo-cross named Grand Prix Eric De Vlaeminck is organized in Heusden-Zolder,

De Vlaeminck was introduced in the UCI Cycling Hall of Fame in 2002.

Major results

Road

Cyclo-cross

See also

In Spanish: Eric De Vlaeminck para niños

• List of doping cases in cycling