Rik Van Steenbergen

Personal information
Full name	Rik Van Steenbergen
Date of birth	9 September 1924(1924-09-09)
Date of death	15 May 2003 (aged 78)
Country	Belgium
Team information
Discipline	Road
Role	Rider
Major wins
World Champion (1949, 1956 and 1957) Ronde van Vlaanderen (2x) Paris-Roubaix (2x) Flèche Wallonne (2x) Paris-Brussels Milan-Sanremo
Medal record Competitor for  Belgium Road bicycle racing World Championships Gold 1949 Copenhagen Elite Road Race Gold 1956 Copenhagen Elite Road Race Gold 1957 Waregem Elite Men's Race Bronze 1946 Zürich Elite Road Race
Infobox last updated on:
28 August 2008

Rik Van Steenbergen (9 September 1924 – 15 May 2003) was a Belgian racing cyclist, considered to be one of the best among the great number of successful Belgian cyclists.

Contents 1 Career 2 Career highlights 3 Major Road Wins 4 External links

[edit] Career

Van Steenbergen was born in Arendonk in a poor family. He started cycling as a professional during World War II in 1942, after being an amateur since he was 14. The next year, he won his first important races, and became Belgian road cycling champion. In 1944, he won the Ronde van Vlaanderen Classic, which he won again two years later.

During his career, which lasted until 1966, Van Steenbergen won several more classics: Paris-Roubaix, Paris-Brussels and Milan-Sanremo. He also won the World Road Cycling Championships three times (1949, 1956 and 1957), equalling the (still standing) record of Alfredo Binda. His last world title, a year after his second, was won in front of a home crowd. In addition, he placed third in the first post-war championships in 1946.

Van Steenbergen also excelled on the track, and won 40 Six-day events, and improved two world records. His track capabilities made him an excellent road sprinter. However, he usually had difficulty climbing, which prevented him from winning major stage races. He nevertheless placed 2nd in the 1951 Giro d'Italia. Some suggest he could have competed for victory in stage races had he concentrated on them, instead of racing almost every race he could enter. It is estimated Van Steenbergen won slightly fewer than 1000 races, though accounts differ widely.

Van Steenbergen died in Antwerp after a prolonged sickness at the age of 78. The funeral was in the Sint Pauluskerk of Westmalle, attended by about 2000 people, including Eddy Merckx, Rik van Looy, Roger De Vlaeminck, Walter Godefroot, Johan De Muynck, Lucien van Impe, Freddy Maertens and Briek Schotte. The UCI president Hein Verbruggen and Belgian prime minister Guy Verhofstadt also attended.

When talking cycling, recalling those heroes from the past, the name of Rik Van Steenbergen is soon on the table. To honour him as the great sportsman he was, in 2004 a statue with his torso was placed on the Wampenberg in Arendonk

Rik Van Steenbergen

[edit] Career highlights

• 3 World Road Cycling Championships (1949, 1956, 1957)
• 8 major classics wins (Ronde van Vlaanderen x 2, Paris-Roubaix x 2, Flèche Wallonne x 2, Paris-Bruxelles, Milan-Sanremo)
• 7 Belgian Road Championships
• 4 Stage wins in the Tour de France
• 15 Stage wins in the Giro d'Italia (including second overall 1951)
• 6 Stage wins in the Vuelta a España
• 40 Six Day wins
• 6 European Track Championships
• 9 Belgian Track Championships

[edit] Major Road Wins

[edit] External links

• Rik Van Steenbergen profile at the Cycling Website
• Official Tour de France results for Rik Van Steenbergen

Sporting positions
Preceded by Achiel Buysse	Winner of the Ronde van Vlaanderen 1944	Succeeded by Sylvain Grysolle
Preceded by Sylvain Grysolle	Winner of the Ronde van Vlaanderen 1946	Succeeded by Emiel Faignaert
Preceded by Georges Claes	Winner of Paris-Roubaix 1948	Succeeded by Serse Coppi & André Mahé
Preceded by Antonio Bevilacqua	Winner of Paris-Roubaix 1952	Succeeded by Germain Derijcke
Preceded by Lorezno Petrucci	Winner of Milan-Sanremo 1954	Succeeded by Germain Derijcke

v • d • e Male World Road Racing Champions 1927 Alfredo Binda • 1928–1929 Georges Ronsse • 1930 Alfredo Binda • 1931 Learco Guerra • 1932 Alfredo Binda • 1933 Georges Speicher • 1934 Karel Kaers • 1935 Jean Aerts • 1936 Antonin Magne • 1937 Eloi Meulenberg • 1938 Marcel Kint • 1946 Hans Knecht • 1947 Theo Middelkamp • 1948 Briek Schotte • 1949 Rik Van Steenbergen • 1950 Briek Schotte • 1951 Ferdi Kübler • 1952 Heinz Müller • 1953 Fausto Coppi • 1954 Louison Bobet • 1955 Stan Ockers • 1956–1957 Rik Van Steenbergen • 1958 Ercole Baldini • 1959 André Darrigade • 1960–1961 Rik van Looy • 1962 Jean Stablinski • 1963 Benoni Beheyt • 1964 Jan Janssen • 1965 Tom Simpson • 1966 Rudi Altig • 1967 Eddy Merckx • 1968 Vittorio Adorni • 1969 Harm Ottenbros • 1970 Jean-Pierre Monseré • 1971 Eddy Merckx • 1972 Marino Basso • 1973 Felice Gimondi • 1974 Eddy Merckx • 1975 Hennie Kuiper • 1976 Freddy Maertens • 1977 Francesco Moser • 1978 Gerrie Knetemann • 1979 Jan Raas • 1980 Bernard Hinault • 1981 Freddy Maertens • 1982 Giuseppe Saronni • 1983 Greg LeMond • 1984 Claude Criquielion • 1985 Joop Zoetemelk • 1986 Moreno Argentin • 1987 Stephen Roche • 1988 Maurizio Fondriest • 1989 Greg LeMond • 1990 Rudy Dhaenens • 1991–1992 Gianni Bugno • 1993 Lance Armstrong • 1994 Luc Leblanc • 1995 Abraham Olano • 1996 Johan Museeuw • 1997 Laurent Brochard • 1998 Oscar Camenzind • 1999 Óscar Freire • 2000 Romāns Vainšteins • 2001 Óscar Freire • 2002 Mario Cipollini • 2003 Igor Astarloa • 2004 Óscar Freire • 2005 Tom Boonen • 2006–2007 Paolo Bettini • 2008 Alessandro Ballan • 2009 Cadel Evans