Ferdinand Bracke
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]
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Ferdinand Bracke | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 25 May 1939 Hamme, Belgium | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Current team | Retired | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Discipline | Road/Track | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Role | Rider | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Professional teams | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1962–1973 | Peugeot–BP–Dunlop | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1974 | Maes Pils | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1975 | TI–Raleigh | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1976–1977 | Lejeune–BP | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1978 | Splendor | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Major wins | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Grand Tours
Other
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Medal record
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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
- 1961
- 1st Overall Tour of Austria amateurs
- 1st Stages 1 & 2a (TTT) Etoile Hennuyère
- 1st Stage 2 Ronde van Limburg amateurs
- 1st Stage 2b (ITT)Tour de Wallonie
- 1962
- 1st Grand Prix des Nations (ITT)
- 1st Stage 10 Peace Race
- 2nd Grand Prix du Parisien
- 3rd Gran Premio di Lugano
- 1963
- 1st Grand Prix du Parisien
- 2nd Flèche Hesbignonne
- 2nd Manche-Océan
- 2nd Grand Prix des Nations
- 2nd Gran Premio di Lugano
- 3rd Trofeo Baracchi (with Walter Boucquet)
- 1964
- 1st Stage 2b Tour du Sud-Est
- 1st Stage 5b (TTT) Four Days of Dunkirk
- 1st Stage 4 Grand Prix du Midi Libre
- 1st Gran Premio di Lugano
- 2nd Tour de l'Oise
- 3rd Bruxelles-Verviers
- 3rd Omloop van West Brabant
- 1965
- 1st Tour de Haute-Loire
- 1st GP de la Basse-Sambre
- 1966
- 1st Trofeo Baracchi (with Eddy Merckx)
- 1st Stage 19 Tour de France
- 1st Stage 1b (ITT) Tour of Belgium
- 1st Stage 2b (TTT) Four Days of Dunkirk
- 2nd Escalada a Montjuïc
- 1967
- 1st Trofeo Baracchi (with Eddy Merckx)
- 3rd Interclubs road race, National Road Championships
- 1968
- 1st European Time Trial Cup (with Vittorio Adorni)
- 1st LuK Challenge Chrono (with Vittorio Adorni)
- 2nd National Road Championships
- 2nd Overall Paris-Nice
- 1st Stage 8b (ITT)
- 3rd Overall Tour de France
- 1969
- 1st Stage 2b (ITT) Four Days of Dunkirk
- 1st Stage 1c Critérium du Dauphiné
- 2nd Overall Grand Prix du Midi Libre
- 1st Stage 3
- 1970
- 1st Grand Prix de Wallonie
- 1st Stage 5b (ITT) Four Days of Dunkirk
- 1971
- 1st Overall Vuelta a España
- 1st Flèche Hesbignonne
- 2nd Overall Tour de Luxembourg
- 3rd Overall Tour of Belgium
- 1972
- 1st Stage 5 Étoile des Espoirs
- 1st Prologue (TTT) Critérium du Dauphiné
- 3rd Overall Four Days of Dunkirk
- 1973
- 1st Grand Prix Pino Cerami
- 1974
- 1st Grand Prix de Monaco
- Tour de Picardie
- 1st stage 3
- 3rd Overall Tour of Belgium
- 1st stage 6
- 3rd Circuit de la Région Linière
- 2nd Le Samyn
- 1975
- 3rd GP de Wallonie
- 1976
- 1st Stage 17 Tour de France
- 1977
- 1st Bruxelles-Biévène
- 1978
- 2nd Bruxelles-Ingooigem
- 3rd Trofee Luc Van Biesen
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
| Discipline | Record | Date | Velodrome | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hour Record | 48,093 km | 30 October 1967 | Velodromo Vigorelli, Milan (Italy) | [16] |
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
- Ferdinand Bracke at Cycling Archives
- Ferdinand Bracke at ProCyclingStats
- Ferdinand Bracke at CycleBase
- Official Tour de France results for Ferdinand Bracke