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Belgian cyclist (born 1939)
Ferdinand Bracke (born 25 May 1939) is a
Belgian former professional
road and
track
cyclist who is most famous for holding the World Hour Record (48.093 km)
[1] and winning the
overall title at the 1971
Vuelta a España in front of
Wilfried David of Belgium and
Luis Ocaña of Spain.
[2] He also became world pursuit champion on the track in 1964 and 1969.
[3]
[4]
Biography
Bracke was born in
Hamme
East Flanders , Belgium, on 24 May 1939.
[5] A
rouleur and
time trialist , he emerged as an amateur in 1962 by winning the tenth stage of the
Peace Race . In May of the same year he won the
Grand Prix des Nations , a time trial race. He turned pro on 26 September 1962, joining the
Peugeot-BP-Dunlop team headed by Gaston Plaud.
In the following years he obtained numerous prestigious victories on road: he won the
Trofeo Baracchi , together with
Eddy Merckx , in 1966
[6] and 1967,
[7] a stage in the
1966 Tour de France and the final time trial of the
1976 Tour de France . He finished in third place in the general classification at the
1968 Tour de France .
[8] In 1971 he won the
Vuelta a España , beating compatriot
Wilfried David (who placed second) and Spaniard
Luis Ocaña (who placed third).
[8]
[2]
He became world champion in track pursuit in
1964 in Paris
[9] and again in Antwerp in
1969 ,
[9] then winning second place in
1972 and
1974 and placing third in
1973 . On 30 October 1967 he recorded the
hour record with 48,093 kilometers at the
Olympic Velodrome in
Rome , becoming the first cyclist to reach the milestone of 48 kilometers.
[10] The record, broken the following year by
Ole Ritter , remained the best performance on
track below 600 meters of altitude for a long time.
In 1978 he ended his cycling career and took over a furniture business with his wife.
[11] On 17 February 1979, Bracke was bid farewell to cycling at a cycling gala in the Sports Palace in
Ghent .
[12]
Honours
In 1967 Bracke was voted
Belgian Sportsman of the Year
[13] (the first in history to receive this award) and was awarded the
Belgian Sports Merit Award .
[14]
[15]
Major results
Road
Track
1964
1st
Individual pursuit ,
UCI World Championships
3rd
Individual pursuit,
National Track Championships
1965
1st
Individual pursuit,
National Track Championships
2nd
Individual pursuit ,
UCI World Championships
3rd
Omnium ,
European Championships
1966
2nd
Individual pursuit ,
UCI World Championships
1967
World Hour Record – 48.093km
1st
Individual pursuit,
National Track Championships
1st
Six Days of Charleroi (with
Patrick Sercu )
1968
1st
Six Days of Charleroi (with
Eddy Merckx )
2nd
Omnium,
National Track Championships
1969
1st
Individual pursuit ,
UCI World Championships
3rd
Six Days of Charleroi (with
Rudi Altig )
1970
2nd
Six Days of Brussels
3rd
Omnium,
National Track Championships
1971
2nd
Six Days of Ghent (with
Peter Post
3rd
Six Days of Grenoble
3rd
Six Days of Brussels
3rd
Omnium,
National Track Championships
1972
Belgian National Championships
1st
Individual Pursuit
1st
Derny
2nd
Individual pursuit ,
UCI World Championships
1973
1st
Individual pursuit,
National Track Championships
1st
Six Days of Montreal (with
Robert Van Lancker )
3rd
Individual pursuit ,
UCI World Championships
3rd
Derny,
European Championships
1974
2nd
Individual pursuit ,
UCI World Championships
2nd
Individual pursuit,
National Track Championships
3rd
Six Days of Herning (with
Julien Stevens )
1975
Belgian National Championships
2nd
Madison (with
Willy Debosscher )
3rd
Derny
1977
3rd
Omnium,
National Track Championships
1979
3rd
Six Days of Antwerp (with
Constant Tourné )
World record info
References
^
"Historisch! Campenaerts verpulvert record Wiggins en breekt door 55 km-grens" . 16 April 2019.
^
a
b
"Ferdinand Bracke" .
^
"Palmarès de Ferdinand Bracke (Bel)" . Memoire-du-cyclisme.eu (in French). Retrieved 31 December 2021 .
^
"Ferdinand Bracke" . FirstCycling.com . 2022.
^ Witte, Udo (2015).
Campionissimo, Monsieur Chrono, Kannibale & Co. Profi-Straßenradrennen nach 1945, Band 2: 1960-1975 . Books on Demand. p. 345.
ISBN
9783738616927 . Retrieved 22 November 2021 .
^ Friebe, Daniel (2013).
Eddy Merckx, een leven . Terra - Lannoo, Uitgeverij.
ISBN
9789401404792 . Retrieved 22 November 2021 .
^ Fotheringham, William (2019). Eneko Garate Iturralde (ed.).
Merckx Mitad hombre, mitad máquina . Libros de Ruta.
ISBN
9788412018875 .
^
a
b Walsh, David (2012).
Seven Deadly Sins: My Pursuit of Lance Armstrong . Simon & Schuster.
ISBN
9781471127564 .
^
a
b Mallon, Bill; Heijmans, Jeroen (9 September 2011).
Historical Dictionary of Cycling . Scarecrow Press. p. 332.
ISBN
9780810873698 .
^ Garbelli, Angelo (2011).
Ciclismo Italico . Booksprint.
ISBN
9788865952986 . Retrieved 22 November 2021 .
^ Udo Witte: Campionissimo, Monsieur Chrono, Kannibale & Co.. BoD – Books on Demand, 2015, ISBN 978-3-738-61692-7, p. 345 Google Books ID=JwOSCgAAQBAJ.
^ Deutscher Radsport-Verband der DDR (ed.). Der Radsportler . Berlin. p. 1.
^
"Palmares Sportman van het jaar" (in Dutch).
^
" 'Nina Derwael heeft de brains, de looks en de wilskracht': jury Nationale Trofee voor Sportverdienste vol lof over 18-jarige gymnaste" . hln.be (in Dutch). 8 November 2018. Retrieved 15 December 2018 .
^
"Nationale Trofee voor Sportverdienste" .
^
"Ferdinand Bracke. Pedaleur pur sang" (in Dutch). servicekoers.be. 25 October 2022.
External links
Records
Preceded by
UCI hour record (48.093 km) 30 October 1967-10 October 1968
Succeeded by
Men Women Team Talent Paralympic Coach