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.