Aavo Pikkuus

Aavo Pikkuus
Pikkuus in 1977
Personal information
Born (1954-11-23) 23 November 1954 (age 69)
Kapera, Estonia
Height1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Weight76 kg (168 lb)
Medal record
Men's road bicycle racing
Representing the  Soviet Union
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 1976 Montreal Team time trial
World Championships
Silver medal – second place 1975 Mettet and Yvoir Team time trial
Gold medal – first place 1977 San Cristóbal Team time trial
Silver medal – second place 1978 Nürburg Team time trial

Aavo Pikkuus (born 23 November 1954) is a retired Estonian cyclist. He was part of the Soviet Union cycling team [fr] that won the 100 km team time trial at the 1976 Summer Olympics[1] and 1977 UCI Road World Championships and finished second at the world championships in 1975 and 1978.[2]

Between 1974 and 1977 Pikkuus won four national (Soviet) titles in the road race. In 1975 he finished third at the multistage Peace Race. He won that race in 1977 individually and in 1975 and 1977–1979 in the team competition; in 1977 he was leading the race from start to finish. He won the Circuit de la Sarthe in 1977 and Giro delle Regione in 1978.[2]

He retired from cycling in 1981 and for several years successfully competed in auto rally. (For example, he won the 1983 Saaremaa Rally.) Later he owned a car shop, which burned down in the 1990s.[3][4]

Pikkuus is an honorary member of the Estonian Olympic Committee and was named Estonian Sportspersonality of the year five times (1974–1978). In 2001 he was awarded the Order of the Estonian Red Cross.[5] He is married and has three daughters and a son.[4]

Pikkuus in 1977
  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference r1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference r2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Sambur, Vyacheslav. ""Если отрезать край головы, буду ходить в каске". Советский супергонщик борется за жизнь в Эстонии" (in Russian). Sports.ru. Retrieved 6 November 2015.
  4. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference r4 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference r3 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).