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).
.jpg.webp) Briek Schotte after winning the first stage of Dwars door België 1946 (collection: KOERS. Museum of Cycle Racing) | |||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Alberic Schotte | ||||||||||||||||
| Nickname | Briek | ||||||||||||||||
| Born | 7 September 1919 Kanegem, Belgium | ||||||||||||||||
| Died | 4 April 2004 (aged 84) | ||||||||||||||||
| Team information | |||||||||||||||||
| Discipline | Road | ||||||||||||||||
| Role | Rider | ||||||||||||||||
| Major wins | |||||||||||||||||
| World Champion cycling (1948, 1950) | |||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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He was world champion in 1948 and 1950, won the last stage of the 1947 Tour de France and finished second in the epic 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.[1]
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.[2]
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
- 1940
- Ransart — Beaumont — Ransart
- 1941
- Kampioenschap van Vlaanderen
- Merelbeke
- 1942
- Tour of Flanders
- 1944
- Wetteren
- 1945
- Nokere Koerse
- Tielt-Antwerpen-Tielt
- Olsene
- 1946
- Mandel — Leie — Schelde
- Paris–Tours
- Tour de Luxembourg
- Omloop der Vlaamse Gewesten
- Paris–Brussels
- 1947
- Paris–Tours
- Tour de France:
- Winner stage 21
- 1948
- Desgrange-Colombo
- Tour of Flanders
- World road champion
- Tour de France:
- 2nd place overall classification
- 1948
- GP Stad Vilvoorde
- 1950
- Aalst
- Gent–Wevelgem
- World road champion
- Montenaken
- 1951
- Vijfbergenomloop
- 1952
- Omloop der Zuid-West-Vlaamse Bergen
- Paris–Brussels
- 1953
- Dwars door Vlaanderen
- Grote Bevrijdingsprijs
- 1954
- Kampioenschap van Vlaanderen — Koolskamp
- Omloop der drie Provinciën
- Soignies
- Oedelem
- 1955
- Gent–Wevelgem
- Dwars door Vlaanderen
- Scheldeprijs Vlaanderen
- 1956
- GP Bali
- Lauwe
- Boulogne-sur-Mer
- 1957
- Wervik
- Langemark
- 1958
- De Panne
Awards and honours
- Challenge Desgrange-Colombo: 1948[3]
- Trophée Edmond Gentil: 1948[3]
- Belgian National Sports Merit Award: 1950
- UCI Hall of Fame: 2002
References
- "Briek Schotte". procyclingstats.com. 10 October 2021. Archived from the original on 30 November 2017.
- "Heroes: Joop Zoetemelk". Flandria Bikes. 22 February 2022. Archived from the original on 22 December 2010.
- "Palmarès Rik van Looy".
External links
- Briek Schotte at Cycling Archives
- Official Tour de France results for Alberic Schotte
