Middelkamp- Former Dutch cycling champion dies
 

May 2, 2005

BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) -- Theo Middelkamp, a former world champion
cyclist and the first Dutchman to win a stage in the Tour de France,
died Monday at 91, the Dutch cycling federation said.

Middelkamp died in his sleep, said Fester Aarts, who runs a cycling
club in the Netherlands named after Middelkamp.

Middelkamp won the Tour de France stage in 1936. The four-time Dutch
champion came back after World War II and won the road race world title
in Reims, France, in 1947. After retiring, he opened a bar in Belgium
and concentrated on pigeon racing.

Middelkamp is survived by two sons and a daughter.

On 2 May 2005 19:45:11 -0700, wrote:
May 2, 2005

BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) -- Theo Middelkamp, a former world champion
cyclist and the first Dutchman to win a stage in the Tour de France,
died Monday at 91, the Dutch cycling federation said.

Middelkamp died in his sleep, said Fester Aarts, who runs a cycling
club in the Netherlands named after Middelkamp.

Middelkamp won the Tour de France stage in 1936. The four-time Dutch
champion came back after World War II and won the road race world title
in Reims, France, in 1947. After retiring, he opened a bar in Belgium
and concentrated on pigeon racing.

Middelkamp is survived by two sons and a daughter.

Not only the first Dutch TdF stage winner but also the first Dutch road
world champion. In 1946 he was close already, but was held back by
mechanical trouble. In 1947 in Reims he flatted before the finish but
still won the gold. In 1950 he was 2nd behind strong man Briek Schotte.

That stage he won in 1936 was on 14 Juillet, a hard alpine stage from
Aix-les-Bains to Grenoble over the Télégraphe and Galibier. It was the
first time he rode in the mountains ever!

He was 4 time Dutch road race champion (1934, 1938, 1943, 1945) and 2
time on the track (1948, 1950; 50 km long distance).

In his native province of Zeeland there is a cycling club named after
him: http://www.theomiddelkamp.nl/Vereniging/Vereniging.htm

Some links in Dutch:
http://www.tourdefrance.nl/achtergro...id=605&page=14
http://www.nrc.nl/W2/Lab/Profiel/Wie...iddelkamp.html
http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theofiel_Middelkamp
http://tinyurl.com/867l6 (google cache to pass login)

Palmares:
http://www.phys.uu.nl/~dronkert/cycl...middelkamp.jpg (road)
http://www.memoire-du-cyclisme.net/p...lkamp_theo.php

Obit:
http://www.memoire-du-cyclisme.net/f...hp?id_news=625
http://www.nu.nl/news/520632/45/Oud-...overleden.html
http://www.vrtnieuws.net/sport_maste...den/index.html


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