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Historic Overview Briek Schotte

Rider

Overall Rank82
NameBriek SCHOTTE
Country
  Belgium
Date of birth07-Sep-1919 - Kanegem (West Vlaanderen)
Date of death04-Apr-2004 - Kortrijk (West Vlaanderen)
ContemporiesView Contemporary Ranking

Biography

Briek Schotte

Alberic "Briek" Schotte (born Kanegem, West Flanders, 7 September 1919 – died Kortrijk, 4 April 2004) was a Belgian professional road racing cyclist, one of the champions of the 1940s and 1950s. His stamina earned him the nickname "Iron Briek" (IJzeren Briek).

He was world champion in 1948 and 1950, won the last stage of the 1947 Tour de France and finished second in the 1948 Tour, behind Gino Bartali. He twice won the Tour of Flanders (1942, 1948), Paris–Tours (1946, 1947) and Paris–Brussels (1946, 1952). He also won the inaugural Challenge Desgrange-Colombo, a season-long competition to identify the world's best road rider, in 1948. He holds the record with twenty consecutive participations in the Tour of Flanders and in addition to his two victories made the podium on six other occasions. Schotte corresponded to the archetype of the Flandrien, the diligent farm boy who competes against better equipped and guided riders from France and Italy. Although he himself put that into perspective: "Because of my position on the bike, I gave the impression that I was suffering more than was actually the case".

After retirement in 1959, he was a team coach for 30 years, mostly for Flandria where he also served as Directeur Sportif for many years. Riders such as Rik Van Looy, Herman Van Springel, Freddy Maertens, Eddy Merckx, Sean Kelly, Joop Zoetemelk, Michel Pollentier, Walter Godefroot and Roger De Vlaeminck rode for Schotte at various points during their respective careers. None of these riders would win the Tour de France while riding for Flandria, however Zoetemelk would finish 2nd in 1970 and 1971 while riding under Schotte's direction.

He died on the day of the 2004 Tour of Flanders. The commentators during the race said "God must have been one of Briek's greatest fans".

source - Wikipedia

Badges

2 3 2 5 2 3 25

Major Victories

World Championships Road Race 1948, 1950
Ronde van Vlaanderen 1942, 1948
Gent - Wevelgem 1950, 1955
Dwars door Vlaanderen 1953, 1955
Paris - Tours 1946, 1947
Paris - Bruxelles 1946, 1952
Challenge "Desgrange-Colombo" 1948
Tour de l'Ouest 1939
Scheldeprijs - Schoten 1955
Nokere Koerse 1945
Tour de Luxembourg 1946
G.P. Bali 1956
Tour de France - stages 1947 (1)
Dwars door Vlaanderen - stages 1946 (1), 1955 (1)
Tour de Luxembourg - stages 1946 (2)
G.P. Bali - stages 1956 (1)
Ronde van Nederland - stages 1950 (1)
More results

Seasons

Briek Schotte - Scores by Season

Year Team Score Rank
1. 1939 Mercier - Hutchinson 125 281
2. 1940 Mercier - Hutchinson 229 81
3. 1941 Mercier - Hutchinson 176 116
4. 1942 Mercier - Hutchinson 591 31
5. 1943 Europe - Dunlop 434 20
6. 1944 A. Trialoux - Wolber 448 15
7. 1945 Alcyon - Dunlop 606 16
8. 1946 Alcyon - Dunlop 2084 3
9. 1947 Alcyon - Dunlop 1969 5
10. 1948 Alcyon - Dunlop 3120 2
11. 1949 Alcyon - Dunlop 1060 27
12. 1950 Alcyon - Dunlop 2191 6
13. 1951 Alcyon - Dunlop 341 137
14. 1952 Alcyon - Dunlop 1043 31
15. 1953 Alcyon - Dunlop 678 60
16. 1954 Alcyon - Dunlop 576 86
17. 1955 Alcyon - Dunlop 964 47
18. 1956 Faema - Guerra - Van Hauwaert 760 59
19. 1957 Peugeot - BP - Dunlop 297 176
20. 1958 Libertas - Dr. Mann 704 83
21. 1959 Flandria - Dr. Mann 360 150
Overall: 18756 82