Ferdinand Bracke

Ferdinand Bracke (born 25 May 1939) is a former Belgian 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.

Ferdinand Bracke
Personal information
Full nameFerdinand Bracke
Born (1939-05-25) 25 May 1939
Hamme, Belgium
Team information
Current teamRetired
DisciplineRoad/Track
RoleRider
Professional teams
1962–1973Peugeot–BP–Dunlop
1974Maes Pils
1975TI–Raleigh
1976–1977Lejeune–BP
1978Splendor
Major wins
Grand Tours
Tour de France
2 individual stages (1966, 1976)
Vuelta a España
General classification (1971)

One-day races and Classics

Grand Prix de Wallonie (1970)
Grand Prix des Nations (1962)

Other

Hour Record 1967
Medal record
Representing  Belgium
Men's road bicycle racing
World Championships
1964 ParisTrack pursuit
1969 AntwerpTrack pursuit
1965 San SebastiánTrack pursuit
1966 FrankfurtTrack pursuit
1972 MarseilleTrack pursuit
1974 MontrealTrack pursuit
1973 San SebastiánTrack pursuit

Biography

Bracke was born in Hamme, East Flanders, Belgium, on 24 May 1939.[3] 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[4] and 1967,[5] a stage in the 1966 Tour de France and the final time trial of the 1976 Tour de France. He finishedin third place in the general classification at the 1968 Tour de France.[6] In 1971 he won the Vuelta a España, beating compatriot Wilfried David (who placed second) and Spaniard Luis Ocaña (who placed third).[6][2]

He became world champion in track pursuit in 1964 in Paris[7] and again in Antwerp in 1969,[7] 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.[8] 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.[9] On 17 February 1979, Bracke was bid farewell to cycling at a cycling gala in the Sports Palace in Ghent.[10]

Honours

In 1967 Bracke was voted Belgian Sportsman of the year (the first in history to receive this award) and was awarded the Nationale trofee voor sportverdienste.[11]

Major results
1962
1st, Grand Prix des Nations (ITT)
1963
Grand Prix du Parisien
1964
World Professional Pursuit Champion
1966 – Peugeot-BP-Michelin
Trofeo Baracchi (with Eddy Merckx)
32nd, Overall, Tour de France
1st, Stage 19 (Chamonix – Saint-Étienne, 264.5 km)
1967
Trofeo Baracchi (with Eddy Merckx)
1968
Hour Record – 48.093km
3rd, Overall, Tour de France
1969
World Professional Pursuit Champion
1971 – Peugeot-BP
1st, Overall, Vuelta a España
1973
Grand Prix Pino Cerami
1976
77th, Overall, Tour de France
1st, Stage 17 (Fleurance – Auch, 38.4 km ITT)

References
  1. "Historisch! Campenaerts verpulvert record Wiggins en breekt door 55 km-grens". 16 April 2019.
  2. "Ferdinand Bracke".
  3. 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.
  4. Friebe, Daniel (2013). Eddy Merckx, een leven. Terra - Lannoo, Uitgeverij. ISBN 9789401404792. Retrieved 22 November 2021.
  5. Fotheringham, William (2019). Eneko Garate Iturralde (ed.). Merckx Mitad hombre, mitad máquina. Libros de Ruta. ISBN 9788412018875.
  6. Walsh, David (2012). Seven Deadly Sins: My Pursuit of Lance Armstrong. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 9781471127564.
  7. Mallon, Bill; Heijmans, Jeroen (9 September 2011). Historical Dictionary of Cycling. Scarecrow Press. p. 332. ISBN 9780810873698.
  8. Garbelli, Angelo (2011). Ciclismo Italico. Booksprint. ISBN 9788865952986. Retrieved 22 November 2021.
  9. Udo Witte: Campionissimo, Monsieur Chrono, Kannibale & Co.. BoD – Books on Demand, 2015, ISBN 978-3-738-61692-7, p. 345 Google Books ID=JwOSCgAAQBAJ.
  10. Deutscher Radsport-Verband der DDR (ed.). Der Radsportler. Berlin. p. 1.
  11. "'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.
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