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Belgian cyclist
Briek Schotte wins
Kampioenschap van Vlaanderen 1941 (Museum of Cycle Racing)
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 ).
[1]
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 .
[2] 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.
[3] 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".
[4]
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.
[5]
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".
Major results
1939
1st Overall
Tour de l'Ouest
1st GP de Bruxelles
1940
1st Ransart–Beaumont–Ransart
3rd
Tour of Flanders
1941
1st
Kampioenschap van Vlaanderen
1st
Desselgem Koerse
1st Merelbeke
2nd
Grote 1-MeiPrijs
3rd
GP Stad Zottegem
1942
1st
Tour of Flanders
1st
Desselgem Koerse
1st Oostkamp
3rd
Omloop der Vlaamse Gewesten
1943
1st
Desselgem Koerse
3rd La Flèche Française (
TTT )
3rd
Liège–Bastogne–Liège
1944
1st Wetteren
2nd
Tour of Flanders
2nd
La Flèche Wallonne
1945
1st
Nokere Koerse
1st
Tielt–Antwerpen–Tielt
1st Olsene
1st Waregem
2nd
Dwars door België
2nd
Halle–Ingooigem
2nd
Gullegem Koerse
2nd Brussels–Everbeek
2nd Circuit de Paris
3rd Across Paris
3rd Circuit de la Capitale
3rd Brussels–Sint-Truiden
1946
1st
Interclubs road race,
National Road Championships
1st
Omloop Mandel-Leie-Schelde
1st
Paris–Tours
1st
Overall
Tour de Luxembourg
1st Stages 1 & 2
1st
Omloop der Vlaamse Gewesten
1st
Paris–Brussels
2nd
Gullegem Koerse
2nd
Halle–Ingooigem
2nd
Road race , National Road Championships
3rd
Tour of Flanders
3rd Overall
Dwars door België
1st Stage 1
3rd
Nokere Koerse
1947
1st
Interclubs road race,
National Road Championships
1st
Paris–Tours
1st Stage 21
Tour de France
1st Circuit de la Region Liniere
1st Heule
2nd GP Tielt
3rd
GP Stad Vilvoorde
1948
1st
Road race ,
UCI Road World Championships
1st
Challenge Desgrange-Colombo
1st
Tour of Flanders
2nd
Road race , National Road Championships
2nd
La Flèche Wallonne
2nd
Road race , National Road Championships
2nd Overall
Tour de France
1949
1st
GP Stad Vilvoorde
3rd
Tour of Flanders
1950
1st
Road race ,
UCI Road World Championships
1st
Gent–Wevelgem
1st Stage 5
Tour of the Netherlands
1st Critérium Aalst
1st Montenaken
2nd
Road race , National Road Championships
2nd
Tour of Flanders
2nd
Gullegem Koerse
3rd
Omloop Het Volk
1951
1st Vijfbergenomloop
3rd Brussels–Izegem
1952
1st
Omloop der Zuid-West-Vlaamse Bergen
1st
Paris–Brussels
2nd
Paris–Tours
3rd
Tour of Flanders
1953
1st Overall
Dwars door België
1st Stage 2b
1st Grote Bevrijdingsprijs
1st Antwerpen–Luik–Antwerpen
1st
Antwerpse Havenpijl
1st Waregem
2nd
Paris–Brussels
2nd Overall
Tour of Belgium
1954
1st
Kampioenschap van Vlaanderen
1st
Omloop der drie Provinciën
1st Prix de Soignies
1st Oedelem
2nd Overall
Dwars door België
2nd Overall
Omloop Mandel-Leie-Schelde
3rd GP Mesen
1955
1st
Gent–Wevelgem
1st Overall
Dwars door België
1st Stage 2b
1st
Scheldeprijs Vlaanderen
2nd
Nokere Koerse
2nd Paris–Limoges
1956
1st Overall GP Bali
1st Stage 1
1st Lauwe
1st Boulogne-sur-Mer
1st Stage 1 (
TTT )
Driedaagse van Antwerpen
2nd
Omloop Het Volk
3rd
Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne
1957
1st
Interclubs road race,
National Road Championships
1st Wervik
1st Langemark
3rd Circuit des Régions Frontalières
1958
1st
Interclubs road race,
National Road Championships
1st Wervik
1st De Panne
1st Stage 1 (
TTT )
Driedaagse van Antwerpen
2nd
GP Roeselare
3rd
Harelbeke–Antwerp–Harelbeke
1959
3rd
Dwars door België
Awards and honours
Statue in honour of Schotte in
Kanegem
Books
20 jaren rennersloopbaan van Briek Schotte by Berten Lafosse in 1955, Atlas Kortrijk, 79 p. (Dutch)
IJzeren Briek: de wielersport zal niet sterven: het levensverhaal van Briek Schotte by André Blancke in 1987, Het Volk, 192 p. (Dutch)
ISBN
9063340982
Briek Schotte by Noël Truyers in 1998, De Eecloonaar, 48 p. (Dutch)
ISBN
9074128297
Briek Schotte: de laatste der Flandriens by Rik Vanwalleghem and Bo Decramer in 1999,
Lannoo , 176 p. (Dutch)
ISBN
9789020939163
Briek Schotte: De erfenis van Briek by Rik Vanwalleghem and Anna Luyten in 2011, Kannibaal, 187 p. (Dutch)
ISBN
9789081623735
Briek! De laatste Flandrien by Herman Chevrolet in 2019, De Arbeiderspers, 248 p. (Dutch)
ISBN
9789029526425
Flandrien by Stephan Vanfleteren in 2021, Kannibaal, 132 p. (Dutch)
ISBN
9789081623711
References
External links
1900–1919 1920–1939 1940–1959 1960–1979 1980–1999 2000–2019 2020–2039
Road
Track
Cyclo-cross
Mountain bike