Félicien Vervaecke (; 11 March 1907 – 31 October 1986, in

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

) was a Belgian professional cyclist from 1930 to 1939. In the

Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage bicycle race primarily held in France, while also occasionally passing through nearby countries. Like the other Grand Tours (the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España), it consists ...

he showed good results, finishing three times on the podium (second once, third twice). In 1935 and 1937 he won the mountain classification, and overall he won six stages. In the

1936 Tour de France The 1936 Tour de France was the 30th edition of the Tour de France, taking place from 7 July to 2 August. It was composed of 21 stages with a total length of . Because of health problems, Henri Desgrange stopped as Tour director, and was succeede ...

, Vervaecke was on his way to the second place, but bad luck prevented it. First his bicycle broke, and he had to convince a spectator to lend his. Then he suffered a flat tire, and Tour officials forced him to wait for the reserve car. Antonin Magne passed him. When Vervaecke got his tire, he raced back to Magne, and finished 18 seconds behind him. But he still finished third, as he received 10 minutes penalty because his wife had given him drinks during the race, which was not allowed.'De angst voor de Pyreneeën' - www.tourdefrance.nl Tour Legendes
In the

1937 Tour de France The 1937 Tour de France was the 31st edition of the Tour de France, taking place from 30 June to 25 July. It consisted of 20 stages with a total length of . Charles Holland and Bill Burl became the first British cyclists to ride the Tour. Burl ...

, Vervaecke won the mountain classification despite not finishing the race, something no longer allowed. He was the first Belgian cyclist to win a stage in the Giro d'Italia. After his cycling career, Vervaecke started a bicycle shop in Brussels. He was the first manager of

Eddy Merckx Édouard Louis Joseph, Baron Merckx (, ; born 17 June 1945), better known as Eddy Merckx, is a Belgian former professional road and track bicycle racer who is among the most successful riders in the history of competitive cycling. His victorie ...

. His older brother

Julien Vervaecke Julien Vervaecke (3 November 1899 – May 1940) was a Belgian professional road bicycle racer. He won Paris–Roubaix, Paris–Brussels, 2 stages in the Tour de France and finished 3rd in the 1927 Tour de France. At the start of the Second Worl ...

was also successful, finishing third in the

1927 Tour de France The 1927 Tour de France was the 21st edition of the Tour de France, taking place from 19 June to 17 July. It consisted of 24 stages over . This tour featured the first win by Nicolas Frantz, a cyclist from Luxembourg. Frantz had come in second i ...

Major results

;1929 : Paris-Lens : Tourcoing-Dunkerque-Tourcoing ;1932 :

: ::Did not finish :Tour de Corrèze ;1934 :

: ::Final classification: 4th place : Giro d'Italia: Stage 8 ;1935 :

::Final classification: 3rd place ::Winner

Mountains classification The King of the Mountains (KoM) is an award given to the best climbing specialist in a men's cycling road race; in women's cycle racing A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a femal ...

Paris–Nice Paris–Nice is a professional cycling stage race in France, held annually since 1933. Raced over eight days, the race usually starts with a prologue in the Paris region and ends with a final stage either in Nice or on the Col d'Èze overlookin ...

: Stage 5B ;1936 :

::Final classification: 3rd place ::Winner of stage 19B :

: Stage 1 ;1937 :

::did not finish ::Winner

::Winner stage 10 :

: Stage 5A ;1938 :

::Final classification: 2nd place ::Winner of stage 4C ::Winner of stage 8 ::Winner of stage 10B ::Winner of stage 20B ;1939 :

::did not finish

Teams

*1930: Alcyon *1931: Alcyon and Labor *1932-1933: Labor *1934: Labor and Gamma *1935-1936: Labor and Alcyon *1937-1939: Labor

References

External links

Official Tour de France palmares
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Vervaecke, Felicien Belgian male cyclists Belgian Tour de France stage winners 1907 births 1986 deaths Cyclists from West Flanders People from Moorslede