Freddy Maertens - Citizendia

**Freddy Maertens**
Personal information
Full name	Freddy Maertens
Date of birth	February 13, 1952 (1952-02-13) (age 56)
Country	Belgium
Team information
Current team	Retired
Discipline	Road
Role	Rider
Rider type	Sprinter
Major wins
World Cycling Champion 1976, 1981 Tour de France green jersey (1976,1978,1981), won 16 stages Vuelta a España 1977 (including 13 stages) Paris-Nice 1977
Infobox last updated on:
April 16, 2007

Medal record
Competitor for Belgium
Road bicycle racing
World Championships
Gold	1976 Ostuni	Elite Men's Road Race
Gold	1981 Prague	Elite Men's Road Race
Silver	1973 Barcelona	Elite Men's Road Race

Freddy Maertens (born 13 February 1952 in Nieuwpoort) was a Belgian professional racing cyclist and twice world road cycling champion. Events 1258 - Baghdad falls to the Mongols, and the Abbasid Caliphate is destroyed Year 1952 ( MCMLII) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Events 1178 BC - A Solar eclipse may have marked the return of Odysseus, legendary King of Ithaca, to his kingdom The Kingdom of Belgium is a Country in northwest Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts its headquarters as well as those Road bicycle racing is a popular Bicycle racing Sport held on roads (following the Geography of the area using Racing bicycles The The UCI Road World Championships, often referred to as the World Cycling Championships, is the annual World championship for Bicycle road racing organized The UCI Road World Championships, often referred to as the World Cycling Championships, is the annual World championship for Bicycle road racing organized The UCI Road World Championships, often referred to as the World Cycling Championships, is the annual World championship for Bicycle road racing organized Events 1258 - Baghdad falls to the Mongols, and the Abbasid Caliphate is destroyed Year 1952 ( MCMLII) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The Kingdom of Belgium is a Country in northwest Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts its headquarters as well as those Bicycle racing encompasses many forms in which Bicycles are used for competition The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI organises World Championships to determine world champion cyclists

In Italy in 1976, he won in front of Italians Francesco Moser and Tino Conti. Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest Francesco Moser (born June 19 1951 in Palù di Giovo, a Province of Trento) nicknamed " Lo sceriffo" (The Sheriff In Prague in 1981, he beat Italian Giuseppe Saronni and France's Bernard Hinault. Prague (ˈprɑːg Praha (ˈpraɦa see also other names) is the Capital and Largest city of the Czech Republic. Giuseppe Saronni (born 22 September 1957 in Novara) also known as Beppe Saronni, is an Italian former Racing cyclist. This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. Bernard Hinault (born 14 November, 1954 in Yffiniac, Brittany) is a French cyclist known for five victories in the He was also second in the 1973 world championship.

Maertens also won the 1977 Vuelta a España, taking more than half the stages; 13 in total, and took the spinters' maillot vert in the Tour de France three times (1976 Tour de France, 1978 Tour de France and 1981 Tour de France). The Vuelta a España ( English: Tour of Spain) is a three-week Road bicycle racing Stage race that is one of the three " Grand Tours In Road bicycle racing, and in the Grand Tour stage races in particular the Green jersey is the name given to a distinctive racing jersey worn by the leader History See also:CategoryTour de France by year The dominant sports newspaper in France Year 1976 ( MCMLXXVI) was a Leap year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Year 1978 ( MCMLXXVIII) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link displays the 1978 Gregorian calendar) Year 1981 ( MCMLXXXI) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link displays the 1981 In 1976 he won a record-equalling eight stages of the Tour de France; the following year (1977), he took seven stages in the Giro d'Italia. The Giro d'Italia ( Tour of Italy) also simply known as The Giro, is a long distance Road bicycle racing Stage race for professional

Outside the Grand Tours, his stage race victories included Paris-Nice (1977), the Quatre Jours de Dunkerque (1973, 1975, 1976 and 1978), the Tour of Andalucia (1974, 1975), Tour of Belgium (1974, 1975), Tour de Luxembourg (1975), Tour of Sardinia (1977) and Vuelta y Catalunya (1977). In Road bicycle racing, a Grand Tour refers to one of the three major European professional cycling stage races Tour de France Paris–Nice, "the race to the sun" is a professional cycling stage race held each March The Four Days of Dunkirk (Quatre Jours de Dunkerque is Road bicycle race around the Nord-Pas de Calais region of northern France. Tour de Luxembourg is an annual Stage race in professional Road bicycle racing held in Luxembourg.

However, despite his sprinting dominance during the 1970s, Maertens did not win a one-day Classic, coming closest with second places in the Ronde van Vlaanderen (1973) and Liège-Bastogne-Liège (1976). The classic cycle races are the most prestigious one-day professional cycling road races in the international calendar. The Ronde van Vlaanderen ( English: Tour of Flanders) is a road cycling race held in Flanders, Belgium. Liège-Bastogne-Liège, often called La Doyenne ("the oldest" is one of the five ' Monuments ' of the European professional road cycling calendar He was disqualified from second place in the 1977 Ronde for an illegal bike change on the Koppenberg climb. His other major one-day road race victories included:

Maertens is believed to have been one of the best sprinters in the world, and is credited with having nurtured another great sprinter Sean Kelly during the latter's early professional career. Gent-Wevelgem is a professional cycle road race held in Belgium in early April each year falling on the Wednesday between the Ronde van Vlaanderen and Paris-Brussels is a semi classic European bicycle race. It is one of the oldest races on the international calendar Paris-Tours is a French single-day classic Cycling race which takes place every October towards the end of the European season The Amstel Gold Race is a Road bicycle race held (mostly in the southern part of the province of Limburg, The Netherlands. The Rund um den Henninger-Turm (sometimes called the Frankfurt Grand Prix in English is a semi classic cycling race which is based around the German city of Züri-Metzgete ( Zürich German; Championship of Zürich Meisterschaft von Zürich is a European Classic cycle race held annually in Zürich, Switzerland Omloop Het Volk (often just called Het Volk was a European semi classic single day cycle race held in the Belgian province of East Flanders The Grote Scheldeprijs is a Belgian semi classic Cycling race which starts in Antwerp and finishes in Schoten. A cycling sprinter is a Road bicycle racer or track racer who can finish a race very explosively by accelerating quickly to a high speed often using the Seán James Kelly (born 21 May 1956 is an Irish former professional Road bicycle racer. He was also an accomplished rider in individual time trials, winning the Grand Prix des Nations in 1976. An individual time trial (ITT is a road bicycle race in which cyclists race alone against the clock (in French contre la montre - literally "against The Grand Prix des Nations was an Individual time trial (a race against the clock or contre la montre) for Europe's leading professional racing Cyclists

He also won the season-long Super Prestige Pernod International competition in 1976 and 1977. The Super Prestige Pernod International was a season-long competition in Road bicycle racing between 1958 and 1988

Maertens was known to have pushed high gears, which some critics say caused him to burn out early and retire at young. In response, he said that the higher gears allow him to descend without too much strain to his heart.

In the 1973 world championship in Barcelona, Spain, fellow Belgian Eddy Merckx accused Maertens of having chased him in the final lap while Merckx had a good chance of staying away, resulting in Italy's Felice Gimondi winning the title. Barcelona ( Catalan bəɾsəˈlonə Spanish baɾθeˈlona is the capital and most populous city of the Autonomous Community of Catalonia Spain () or the Kingdom of Spain (Reino de España is a country located mostly in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Edouard Louis Joseph Baron Merckx ('merks (born 17 June 1945 in Meensel-Kiezegem, Vlaams Brabant, Belgium) known as Eddy Merckx, is a former Felice Gimondi (born September 29, 1942 in Sedrina) is an Italian former professional Racing cyclist. Maertens responded that Merckx had sabotaged his ride because Maertens was riding Shimano components while the other two used Campagnolo. Shimano Inc ( is a Japanese multinational manufacturer of Cycling components Fishing tackle and Snowboarding equipment Campagnolo is an Italian manufacturer of Bicycle components with headquarters in Vicenza, Italy, one of the most prestigious names in cycling In recent interviews Maertens and Merckx said they have since reconciled their differences.

After retirement Maertens and his wife Carine had many hard years after losing much of their money and being pursued by tax authorities. Maertens was also angry when Belgian television used his photograph as a backdrop to discussions about drug-taking in the sport. He told the French newspaper L'Équipe that "like everyone else", he had used amphetamines in round-the-houses races but he insisted that he had ridden without drugs in important races - not least because he knew he would be tested for them. He previously worked as curator of the Belgian national cycling museum in Roeselare, and now works at the Centrum Ronde van Vlaanderen (Tour of Flanders Museum), in Oudenaarde.

Sporting positions
Preceded by Hennie Kuiper	World Road Racing Champion 1976	Succeeded by Francesco Moser
Preceded by Bernard Hinault	World Road Racing Champion 1981	Succeeded by Giuseppe Saronni
Preceded by José Pesarrodona	Winner of the Vuelta a España 1977	Succeeded by Bernard Hinault
Preceded by Rik Van Linden	Winner of the green jersey in the Tour de France 1976	Succeeded by Jacques Esclassan
Preceded by Jacques Esclassan	Winner of the green jersey in the Tour de France 1978	Succeeded by Bernard Hinault
Preceded by Rudy Pevenage	Winner of the green jersey in the Tour de France 1981	Succeeded by Sean Kelly
Awards
Preceded by Robert Van De Walle	Belgian Sportsman of the Year 1981	Succeeded by Jacky Ickx

Cateogory:Giro d'Italia stage winners

Hennie Kuiper (born February 3 1949) is a Dutch former professional Cyclist who is ranked in the top 50 greatest riders in the history of The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI organises World Championships to determine world champion cyclists Francesco Moser (born June 19 1951 in Palù di Giovo, a Province of Trento) nicknamed " Lo sceriffo" (The Sheriff Bernard Hinault (born 14 November, 1954 in Yffiniac, Brittany) is a French cyclist known for five victories in the The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI organises World Championships to determine world champion cyclists Giuseppe Saronni (born 22 September 1957 in Novara) also known as Beppe Saronni, is an Italian former Racing cyclist. José Pesarrodona (born 1 February 1946) is a former Spanish professional Road bicycle racer who raced during the 1970s The Vuelta a España ( English: Tour of Spain) is a three-week Road bicycle racing Stage race that is one of the three " Grand Tours Bernard Hinault (born 14 November, 1954 in Yffiniac, Brittany) is a French cyclist known for five victories in the Rik Van Linden (born July 28, 1949 in Wilrijk) is a Belgian former Road bicycle racer who won the Green jersey in the In Road bicycle racing, and in the Grand Tour stage races in particular the Green jersey is the name given to a distinctive racing jersey worn by the leader Jacques Esclassan (born September 3, 1948 in Castres) is a French former Road bicycle racer who won the Green jersey in Jacques Esclassan (born September 3, 1948 in Castres) is a French former Road bicycle racer who won the Green jersey in In Road bicycle racing, and in the Grand Tour stage races in particular the Green jersey is the name given to a distinctive racing jersey worn by the leader Bernard Hinault (born 14 November, 1954 in Yffiniac, Brittany) is a French cyclist known for five victories in the Rudy Pevenage ( Moerbeke, June 15 1954) is a former Belgian Cyclist, and later in his career team coach of Cycling teams In Road bicycle racing, and in the Grand Tour stage races in particular the Green jersey is the name given to a distinctive racing jersey worn by the leader Seán James Kelly (born 21 May 1956 is an Irish former professional Road bicycle racer. Robert Van de Walle (born May 20, 1954) is a Belgian Judoka He was born in Oostende. The Belgian Sportsman of the Year is elected at the end of each year annually since 1967. Artistic Gymnastics World Artistic Gymnastics Championships: Men's all-around champion Yuri Korolev, USSR Racing career Jacky Ickx was introduced to the sport when he was taken by his father motoring journalist Jacques Ickx, to races which he covered

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