Incubator escapee wiki

Rik Van Steenbergen

Article Discussion

Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox cyclist

Hendrik 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.

Early lifeEdit

Van Steenbergen was born in Arendonk into a poor family. As a fledgling teenager, he worked successively as cigar-roller in a factory, as errand boy and as bicycle mechanic.<ref>The Bicycle, UK, 31 May 1950, p. 4</ref> Dreaming of a cycling career like that of his idol Karel Kaers, the tall youngster started his first street race in Morkhoven on April 4, 1939, and won it. He eventually became one of Belgium's best juniors from 1939 to 1942, winning 52 road races.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite news</ref>

CareerEdit

Van Steenbergen was considered a "medical marvel" due to the exceptional large heart he had.

He started cycling as a professional during World War II in 1942, after being an amateur since he was 14. Although the official age limit was 21, it was decided that he could enter the professional circuit directly at the age of 18.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The next year, he won his first important races, and became Belgian road cycling champion. In 1944, he won the Tour of Flanders classic, which he won again two years later.

File:Rik Van Steenbergen spurt naar de eindmeet, Dwars Door België 1945, Waregem (collectie KOERS. Museum van de Wielersport).jpg
Rik Van Steenbergen winning the inaugural Dwars Door België in 1945

During his career, which lasted until 1966, Van Steenbergen won several more classics: Paris–Roubaix, Paris–Brussels and Milan–San Remo. He also won the World Road Cycling Championships three times (1949 Copenhagen, 1956 Copenhagen and 1957 Waregem), equaling 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 world championships in 1946. He held the Ruban Jaune for seven years for winning the 1948 Paris-Roubaix in a record average speed for a professional race, covering the 246 km at an average of 43.612 km per hour.

File:Rik Van Steenbergen-1953.JPG
Van Steenbergen in an El Gráfico edition of 1953

His sporting achievements, combined with his physical appearance and natural authority made him a rider who was looked up to in the peloton, with or without fear. It earned him nicknames like The Boss or El Rey (the king). Template:Quote box Van Steenbergen also excelled on the track. He won 40 Six-day events, 276 Omniums and improved two world records. His track capabilities made him an excellent road sprinter. However, due to his size, he usually had difficulty climbing, which prevented him from winning major stage races. He nevertheless placed 2nd in the 1951 Giro d'Italia. Between 1949 and 1957 he won four stages in the Tour de France and wore the yellow jersey for two days. In the same period he won fifteen stages in the Giro d'Italia and rode in the leader's pink jersey for nine days. In the Vuelta a España, he achieved six stage victories and the points classification and wore the amarillo jersey for one day. In 1951 he won the Tour of the West in France. The following year he won the Tour of Argentina.<ref name="De bedrieger bedrogen">Template:Cite news</ref> It is widely believed that he could have competed for victory in Grand Tours and other stage races had he concentrated on them, instead of racing almost every race he could enter.

Remarkable is a 48-hour spell in 1957, when Van Steenbergen raced in the Belgian Congo, Copenhagen, Paris and Liège, winning all four events.

After his career, a newspaper calculated that Van Steenbergen rode more than 1 million kilometers on a bike, the equivalent of 25 tours around the world.

In total, he won no less than 1,645 races, of which 331 road races and 1,314 track races.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Riding styleEdit

The muscular Van Steenbergen was known for his sprints and final jumps at finishes.

Van Steenbergen did not allow himself to be forced into a straitjacket. Nor did he want to surround himself too much with helpers. That gave him too much responsibility to have to win.

He preferred to go his own way, like a free bird in the peloton. On the road, he single-handedly arranged what needed to be done. That usually depended on his fitness, because Van Steenbergen never knew whether he was going to ride well or not, it only became apparent in the race. In that respect, he thrived on impulses.<ref name=":02">Template:Cite news</ref>

MotivationEdit

His big drive was his addiction to cycling. Van Steenbergen really enjoyed the atmosphere and competition in races and was noticed whistling on his bicycle on several occasions.

File:Rik van Steenbergen wordt gefeliciteerd door Miss Remington, Bestanddeelnr 909-6520.jpg
Van Steenbergen after winning a stage in the 1958 Tour of the Netherlands

Another important aspect was the money that could be earned. His background as the child of a poor family, combined with the situation in post-war Belgium undoubtedly contributed to this. After Van Steenbergen won a classic, he rode numerous other races. And only when the starting money started to decrease, he began aiming on another classic.

From 1960, he also focused more on track cycling. The bigger contracts in this sport and the stifling rivalry with Rik Van Looy were the main drivers of that conscious choice.

At the time he stopped cycling, Van Steenbergen owned several properties and flats in Belgium and Sardinia.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

RetirementEdit

At the age of 42, Van Steenbergen ended his career in a packed Brussels Sports Palace.

Unprepaired for the life without cycling, he entered a dark period afterwards.

"It wasn't easy to get into mainstream society when they've been kissing your shoes for twenty years." Van Steenbergen later said.

He was named in connection with many unsavory practices. He had a gambling addiction and was suspected of drug trafficking, conspiracy and incitement to debauchery.<ref name="GVA">Template:Cite news</ref> During this period, in 1968, he also starred in the Belgian adult movie Pandore as the character Dimitri. In the context of that era the film was a sensational, provocative, scandal movie,<ref name="GVA" /> although nowadays it wouldn't be labeled as an adult movie at all.<ref name="IMDB">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Van Steenbergen also ended up in jail for a while. He came close to prison for smuggling a suspect package over the Dutch border.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> But his marriage with the British Doreen Hewitt saved him from ruin and he got his life back on track.<ref name="DS">Template:Cite news</ref>

Despite the many side issues, he maintained his popularity among the cycling public. Later in life he became a welcome guest at sports evenings, competitions and television debates.

Death and commemorationEdit

Rik 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.

The following year, a statue was erected in his honour on the Wampenberg in Arendonk.

Career achievementsEdit

{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}}

HighlightsEdit

RecordsEdit

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Awards and honoursEdit

File:Buste Rik Van Steenbergen, Wampenberg, Arendonk.jpg
Bust of Van Steenbergen

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

  • Rik van Steenbergen Classic from 1999<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

  • Introduced in the UCI Hall of Fame: 2002
  • Bust in Arendonk: 2004<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

BooksEdit

  • Rik Van Steenbergen: Het kind der goden by Peter Woeti in 1957. Hidawa, 80 p. (Dutch)
  • Rik van Steenbergen by Fred De Bruyne in 1963. G. Kolff, 41 p. (Dutch)
  • De Miljoenenfiets van Rik Van Steenbergen by Achille Van Den Broeck in 1966. De Brauwere, 391 p. (Dutch)
  • Rik I van Steenbergen by René Vermeiren, Hugo De Meyer in 1999. De Eecloonaar, 272 p. Template:ISBN (Dutch, French, English, Italian, Spanish)
  • Rik I Memorial (1924 - 2003) by René Vermeiren in 2003. De Eecloonaar, 56 p. Template:ISBN (Dutch)
  • Rik Van Steenbergen. Das Ass der Asse by Walter Rottiers. Bielefeld in 2005, Covadonga-Verlag, 144 p. Template:ISBN (German)

See alsoEdit

ReferencesEdit

Template:Reflist

External linksEdit

Template:UEC European Track Champions – Men's omnium Template:UCI Road World Champions – Men's road race Template:Belgian National Road Race Championships (men) Template:Milan–San Remo winners Template:Tour of Flanders winners Template:Paris–Roubaix winners Template:UCI Hall of Fame Template:Authority control

Retrieved from "https://zalansite.site/mediawiki/index.php?title=Rik_Van_Steenbergen&oldid=156280"