Patrick Sercu

Patrick Sercu
Sercu in 2008
Personal information
Full namePatrick Sercu
NicknameEmperor of the oval
Born(1944-06-27)27 June 1944
Roeselare, West Flanders, Belgium
Died19 April 2019(2019-04-19) (aged 74)
Roeselare, West Flanders, Belgium
Height1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Weight76 kg (168 lb)
Team information
Current teamRetired
DisciplineTrack and road
RoleRider
Rider typeSprinter
Professional teams
1964Bertin–Porter 39–Milremo
1964–1966Solo–Superia
1967Flandria–DeClerckx
1968–1969Faemino–Faema
1970–1972Dreher
1973–1976Brooklyn
1977Fiat France
1978–1979Marc Zeepcentrale–Superia
1980Marc–VRD
1981–1902IWC–Imex
1983Imex–Neuhaus
Major wins
Grand Tours
Tour de France
Points classification (1974)
6 individual stages (1974, 1977)
Giro d'Italia
13 individual stages (1970, 1971, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976)

Stage races

Giro di Sardegna (1970)

One-day races and Classics

Kampioenschap van Vlaanderen (1972)
Elfstedenronde (1973)
Halle–Ingooigem (1974)
Dwars door West-Vlaanderen (1974)
Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne (1977)

Track Championships

National Track Championships
Madison (1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977)
Omnium (1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1982)
Sprint (1965, 1967, 1968, 1969)
Derny (1976)
European Track Championships
Omnium (1965, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1976, 1977, 1980)
Madison (1969, 1970, 1975, 1977, 1978)
Derny (1977)
World Track Championships
Sprint (1967, 1969)
Medal record
Representing  Belgium
Men's track cycling
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 1964 Tokyo 1000 m time trial
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 1963 Liege Amateur's sprint
Gold medal – first place 1967 Amsterdam Sprint
Gold medal – first place 1969 Antwerpen Sprint
Silver medal – second place 1965 San Sebastián Sprint
Silver medal – second place 1968 Rome Sprint
European Championships
Gold medal – first place 1965 Brussels Omnium
Gold medal – first place 1967 Gent Omnium
Gold medal – first place 1968 Gent Omnium
Gold medal – first place 1969 Gent Madison
Gold medal – first place 1969 Charleroi Omnium
Gold medal – first place 1970 Köln Madison
Gold medal – first place 1970 Gent Omnium
Gold medal – first place 1971 Brussels Omnium
Gold medal – first place 1972 Gent Omnium
Gold medal – first place 1973 Köln Omnium
Gold medal – first place 1975 Rotterdam Madison
Gold medal – first place 1976 Rotterdam Omnium
Gold medal – first place 1977 Kopenhagen Madison
Gold medal – first place 1977 Antwerp Omnium
Gold medal – first place 1977 Rotterdam Derny
Gold medal – first place 1978 Milan Madison
Gold medal – first place 1980 Gent Omnium
Gold medal – first place 1982 Gent Madison
Silver medal – second place 1972 Antwerp Madison
Silver medal – second place 1978 Rotterdam Derny
Silver medal – second place 1979 Vienna Omnium
Silver medal – second place 1980 Vienna Derny
Bronze medal – third place 1968 Bremen Madison
Bronze medal – third place 1971 Gent Madison
Bronze medal – third place 1976 Zürich Madison
Bronze medal – third place 1979 Kopenhagen Madison
Bronze medal – third place 1981 Milan Omnium
Bronze medal – third place 1982 Zürich Omnium

Patrick Sercu (27 June 1944 – 19 April 2019)[1] was a Belgian cyclist who was active on the road and track between 1961 and 1983. On track, he won the gold medal in the 1 km time trial at the 1964 Summer Olympics, as well as three world titles in the sprint in 1963, 1967 and 1969. On the road, he earned the green jersey in the 1974 Tour de France. Sercu is the record holder for the number of six-day track race victories, having won 88 events out of 223 starts between 1961 and 1983; several of these wins were with cycling great Eddy Merckx.[2] He also won six stages at the Tour de France and eleven stages at the Giro d'Italia.[3][4]

With 38 national and 15 European championship titles, he is considered as one of the most successful track cyclists ever.[5]

In total, he won no less than 1,206 races, of which 168 road races and 1,038 track races.[6]

  1. ^ "Olympisch wielerkampioen Sercu (74) overleden". De Telegraaf (in Dutch). 19 April 2019. Archived from the original on 19 April 2019. Retrieved 19 April 2019.
  2. ^ Patrick Sercu Archived 28 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine. www.famousbelgians.net. Gives information on record number of six day wins.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference r1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference r2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ "100 jaar Zesdaagse: "Geen betere pisterenner in de geschiedenis dan Patrick Sercu"" (in Dutch). Sporza. 9 November 2022.
  6. ^ "Olympisch kampioen Patrick Sercu overleden". teambelgium.be. Retrieved 20 April 2019.