Patrick Sercu facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Patrick Sercu

Sercu in 2008
Personal information
Full name	Patrick Sercu
Nickname	Emperor of the oval
Born	(1944-06-27)27 June 1944 Roeselare, West Flanders, Belgium
Died	19 April 2019(2019-04-19) (aged 74) Roeselare, West Flanders, Belgium
Height	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Weight	76 kg (168 lb)
Team information
Current team	Retired
Discipline	Track and road
Role	Rider
Rider type	Sprinter
Major wins
Grand Tours Tour de France Points classification (1974) 6 individual stages (1974, 1977) Giro d'Italia 13 individual stages (1970, 1971, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976) Stage races Giro di Sardegna (1970) One-day races and Classics Kampioenschap van Vlaanderen (1972) Elfstedenronde (1973) Halle–Ingooigem (1974) Dwars door West-Vlaanderen (1974) Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne (1977) National Track Championships Madison (1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977) Omnium (1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1982) Sprint (1965, 1967, 1968, 1969) Derny (1976)

Patrick Sercu (27 June 1944 – 19 April 2019) was a Belgian cyclist who was active on the road and track between 1961 and 1983. On track, he won the gold medal in the 1 km time trial at the 1964 Summer Olympics, as well as three world titles in the sprint in 1963, 1967 and 1969. On the road, he earned the green jersey in the 1974 Tour de France. Sercu is the record holder for the number of six-day track race victories, having won 88 events out of 223 starts between 1961 and 1983; several of these wins were with cycling great Eddy Merckx. He also won six stages at the Tour de France and eleven stages at the Giro d'Italia.

With 38 national and 15 European championship titles, he is considered as one of the most successful track cyclists ever.

In total, he won no less than 1,206 races, of which 168 road races and 1,038 track races.

Biography

Early life

At a young age, Patrick Sercu was pushed towards the track by his father Albert, himself a successful rider. "He was afraid I would break down too quickly on the road", Patrick Sercu himself said about that.

With his fast legs, Sercu was also born for explosive work on the track. In 1962, aged 18, he won his first national titles, in the sprint and madison events. At 19, Sercu became world amateur sprint champion in Rocourt, near Liège.

Sercu after winning the World amateur sprint championship in Rocourt, 1963

A year later, the still very young Sercu captured gold at the kilometre in Tokyo, his only participation in the Games as only amateurs were allowed to compete in the cycling events at the time. That year, he was the star attraction at the Manchester Wheelers' Club Race Meet at the Fallowfield track in Manchester.

Professional career

After the Olympics, professional life and also increasingly the road races beckoned for Sercu. Super team Solo–Superia, which also included Eddy Merckx, Rik Van Looy and Rik Van Steenbergen, brought in the West-Fleming.

While on the road he still lacked power and speed, on the track he was increasingly successful. Between 1965 and 1969, he won two more golds and two more silver medals at the World Sprint Championships, each time after a duel with his Italian rival Giuseppe Beghetto.

Sercu with wife in 1967

He was also an instant winner in the Six Days. With Eddy Merckx at his side, he won his first of 11 Six Days in Ghent in 1965. Until the early 1980s, Sercu would remain the uncrowned king of the Six Days.

With 88 final victories, Sercu leads the eternal rankings. "It's Merckx's fault there weren't more", he later said jokingly. After all, Merckx could not ride a full winter programme due to his busy schedule.

Gradually, Sercu began to find his feet on the road as well. In 1970, he rode his first major tour, the Giro, and took his first stage win. Twelve more stage wins in the Italian Tour would follow in the following years.

By the mid-1970s, Sercu had become one of the most renowned sprinters in the peloton. In his first participation in the Tour at the age of 30, he snatched 3 stages as well as the green jersey. Three years later, he would bring his total in the Tour to six stage wins. By then, he had already won the overall classification of another stage race Giro di Sardegna in 1970, and the points classification of the Critérium du Dauphiné and La Méditerranée in 1977.

Retirement

Sercu in 1998

Patrick Sercu retired from competitions in 1983. He became organizer of six days events and omniums all over the world, and director of the Six Days of Ghent and the former Six Days of Hasselt. After a few years with unstable health, Sercu died on 19 April 2019, aged 74.

Major results

Road

Track

Jean-Pierre Monseré en Patrick Sercu in the 1970 Six Days of Brussels

Records

Overview

• World Record flying 500 m time trial (amateurs): 1964
• World Record 1 km time trial (amateurs): 1964
• World Record flying 1 km time trial: 1967
• World Record 1 km time trial: 1972
• World Outdoor Record flying 1 km time trial: 1973
• Most European championships wins: 15
• Most national track championships wins: 38
• Most Six Days wins: 88
• Most Six Days of Ghent wins: 11
• Most Six Days of London wins: 9

Details

World records

Six-day wins

Timeline

Partners

• 15 events with Eddy Merckx

• 14 with Peter Post

• 10 with Albert Fritz

• 8 with René Pijnen

• 7 with Dietrich Thurau

• 3 with Klaus Bugdahl & Gert Frank

• 2 with Rudi Altig, Roger De Vlaeminck, Alain van Lancker, Julien Stevens, Graeme Gilmore, Francesco Moser & Freddy Maertens

Track Championships

Track races

Italian classics

Non-Italian classics

Stage races

Other road aces

Honours

• Honorary Citizen of Izegem: 1996
• A velodrome, Wielerbaan Patrick Sercu in Bruges: 2007'
• A velodrome, Wielerpiste Defraeye-Sercu in Roeselare: 2011'
• BOIC Order of Merit: 2014
• Patrick Sercu trophy: from 2019'
• A street, Patrick Sercudreef in Izegem: 2020'

See also

In Spanish: Patrick Sercu para niños