.jpg) Briek Schotte after winning the first stage of Dwars door België 1946 (collection: KOERS Museum) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Alberic Schotte | |||||||||||||||||
| Nickname | Briek | |||||||||||||||||
| Born | 7 September 1919 Kanegem, Belgium | |||||||||||||||||
| Died | 4 April 2004 (aged 84) | |||||||||||||||||
| Team information | ||||||||||||||||||
| Discipline | Road | |||||||||||||||||
| Role | Rider | |||||||||||||||||
| Professional teams | ||||||||||||||||||
| 1939 | Mercier | |||||||||||||||||
| 1940–1941 | Mercier / Groene Leeuw | |||||||||||||||||
| 1942 | Mercier / Thompson | |||||||||||||||||
| 1943 | Europe-Dunlop / Thompson | |||||||||||||||||
| 1944 | Helyett / Trialoux–Wolber | |||||||||||||||||
| 1945–1948 | Alcyon / Groene Leeuw | |||||||||||||||||
| 1949 | Alcyon | |||||||||||||||||
| 1950–1951 | Alcyon / Girardengo-Ursus | |||||||||||||||||
| 1952–1955 | Alcyon | |||||||||||||||||
| 1956 | Alcyon / Faema | |||||||||||||||||
| 1957 | Peugeot | |||||||||||||||||
| 1958 | Libertas | |||||||||||||||||
| 1959 | Libertas / Flandria | |||||||||||||||||
| Major wins | ||||||||||||||||||
Grand Tours
Other | ||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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.jpg)
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).[1]
He was world champion in 1948 and 1950, won the last stage of the 1947 Tour de France and finished second in the 1948 Tour, behind Gino Bartali.[2] 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.[3] Schotte corresponded to the archetype of the Flandrien, the diligent farm boy who competes against better equipped and guided riders from France and Italy. Although he himself put that into perspective: "Because of my position on the bike, I gave the impression that I was suffering more than was actually the case".[4]
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.[5]
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".
- ^ "Palmarès d'Albéric "Brik" Schotte (Bel)". Mémoire du Cyclisme.
- ^ "Alberic Schotte". FirstCycling.com. 2022.
- ^ "Briek Schotte". procyclingstats.com. 10 October 2021. Archived from the original on 30 November 2017.
- ^ "Het archief van wielrenner Briek Schotte". archiefpunt.be (in Dutch). 25 June 2006.
- ^ "Heroes: Joop Zoetemelk". Flandria Bikes. 22 February 2022. Archived from the original on 22 December 2010.