Briek Schotte

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Briek Schotte on the Muur 1952

Alberic "Briek" Schotte (1919 - 2004) was professional road racing cyclist. He was better known by his nick name of "Iron Briek" given to him for his stength and stamina.

He was world champion in 1948 and 1950, won the last stage of the 1947 Tour de France and finished second in the epic 1948 Tour, behind Gino Bartali. He twice won the Ronde van Vlaanderen (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.
After retirement in 1959, he was a team coach for 30 years, mostly for Flandria . He died on the day of the 2004 Ronde van Vlaanderen. The commentators during the race said "God must have been one of Briek's greatest fans".

Briek Schotte