Gerben Karstens (14 January 1942 – 8 October 2022) was a Dutch professional
racing cyclist
Cycle sport is Competition, competitive physical activity using bicycles. There are several categories of bicycle racing including road bicycle racing, cyclo-cross, mountain bike racing, track cycling, BMX, and cycle speedway. Non-racing ...
, who won the gold medal in the
100 km team trial at the
1964 Summer Olympics
The , officially the and commonly known as Tokyo 1964 ( ja, 東京1964), were an international multi-sport event held from 10 to 24 October 1964 in Tokyo, Japan. Tokyo had been awarded the organization of the 1940 Summer Olympics, but this ho ...
, alongside
Bart Zoet
Hubertus Balthazar "Bart" Zoet (20 October 1942 – 13 May 1992) was a Dutch cyclist who was active between 1961 and 1969. He competed at the 1964 Summer Olympics and won the gold medal in the 100 km team time trial, alongside Gerben K ...
,
Evert Dolman
Evert "Eef" Gerardus Dolman (22 February 1946 – 12 May 1993) was a Dutch racing cyclist, who won the gold medal in the 100 km team trial at the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan, alongside Gerben Karstens, Bart Zoet, and Jan Pi ...
, and
Jan Pieterse
Johannes ("Jan") Aloysius Maria Pieterse (born 29 October 1942) is a former professional racing cyclist from the Netherlands, who won the gold medal in the Men's 100 km Team Trial at the 1964 Summer Olympics, alongside Bart Zoet, Evert Do ...
. At the same Olympics he finished 27th in the
individual road race. Karstens ranks 6th in all-time stage wins in
Vuelta a España
The Vuelta a España (; en, Tour of Spain) is an annual multi-stage bicycle race primarily held in Spain, while also occasionally making passes through nearby countries. Inspired by the success of the Tour de France and the Giro d'Italia, the r ...
history.
Biography
After the Olympic Games, Karstens started a successful professional career, where he won six stages 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 ...
, 14 stages in the
Vuelta a España
The Vuelta a España (; en, Tour of Spain) is an annual multi-stage bicycle race primarily held in Spain, while also occasionally making passes through nearby countries. Inspired by the success of the Tour de France and the Giro d'Italia, the r ...
, 1 stage in the
Giro d'Italia, and other races such as
Paris–Tours
Paris–Tours is a French one-day classic road cycling race held every October from the outskirts of Paris to the cathedral city of Tours. It is a predominantly flat course through the Chevreuse and Loire valleys; the highest point is 200 m, ...
and
GP Fourmies. He became Dutch national road race champion in 1966.
In the
1974 Tour de France, Karstens finished second in the fourth stage. Afterwards, he forgot to take the doping tests. The tour organisation set him back to the last place of the stage results, and gave him 10 minutes penalty time in the overall classification, which made him lose his third place. One day later, the jury took the penalty time back. Thanks to 5 seconds of bonification that Karstens won during intermediate sprints, he took over the
yellow jersey
The general classification is the most important classification, the one by which the winner of the Tour de France is determined. Since 1919, the leader of the general classification wears the yellow jersey (french: maillot jaune ).
History
Th ...
from
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 ...
. He wore yellow for one stage before losing it to
Patrick Sercu
Patrick Sercu (27 June 1944 – 19 April 2019) was a Belgian cyclist who was active on the road and track between 1961 and 1983. On track, he won the gold medal in the 1 km time trial at the 1964 Summer Olympics, as well as three world titl ...
after stage 6A, but he reclaimed the overall lead after stage 6B to spend another stage in Yellow before Merckx took over the lead for the remainder of the Tour.
Karstens died of complications from a stroke on 8 October 2022, at the age of 80.
Major results
;1962
:Ronde van Limburg
;1964
:Ronde van Noord-Holland
:Ronde van Overijssel
:Gold medal 100 km team time trial 1964 Olympic Games
;1965
:Beveren-Waas
:Sint-Amands
:Rijen
:Essen
:Boom
:
Paris–Tours
Paris–Tours is a French one-day classic road cycling race held every October from the outskirts of Paris to the cathedral city of Tours. It is a predominantly flat course through the Chevreuse and Loire valleys; the highest point is 200 m, ...
:
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 ...
:
::Winner stage 21
;1966
:
Acht van Chaam
Acht van Chaam ( en, Eight of Chaam) is an elite men's and women's professional road bicycle racing event held annually in Chaam, Netherlands. The first edition was in 1932 and since 1992 the event also includes a women's race.
Results
Men
S ...
:Critérium des As
:
Dutch National Road Race Championship
The Dutch National Road Race Championships take place annually, on the weekend prior to the start of the Tour de France. First held in 1888, today it is organized by the Top Sports Group, commissioned by the KNWU.
Men
Until 1927, the race wa ...
:
Vuelta a España
The Vuelta a España (; en, Tour of Spain) is an annual multi-stage bicycle race primarily held in Spain, while also occasionally making passes through nearby countries. Inspired by the success of the Tour de France and the Giro d'Italia, the r ...
:
::Winner stages 12, 15B and 17
:Denderleeuw
:Eede
:Bonheiden
:
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 ...
:
::Winner stages 3B and 9
;1967
:Saint-Claid
:
Vuelta a España
The Vuelta a España (; en, Tour of Spain) is an annual multi-stage bicycle race primarily held in Spain, while also occasionally making passes through nearby countries. Inspired by the success of the Tour de France and the Giro d'Italia, the r ...
:
::Winner stages 7, 10B, 17 and 18
:Hamme
;1968
:Belsele
:Hansweert
:
Grand Prix de Fourmies
The Grand Prix de Fourmies is a bicycle race held in the Fourmies commune of France. Since 2005 it has been organised as a 1.HC event on the UCI Europe Tour
The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle racing competitions which we ...
;1969
:Gap
:Rijkevoorsel
:Putte-Mechelen
:Langemark
;1971
:Booischot
:Heusden
:
Vuelta a España
The Vuelta a España (; en, Tour of Spain) is an annual multi-stage bicycle race primarily held in Spain, while also occasionally making passes through nearby countries. Inspired by the success of the Tour de France and the Giro d'Italia, the r ...
:
::Winner stage 11A
:
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 ...
:
::Winner stage 1B
:Born
:Koersel
:Le Quillo
;1972
:Pléaux
:Ulestraten
:Polderpijl
:Plessala
;1973
:Critérium des As
:Omloop van het Waasland
:
Vuelta a España
The Vuelta a España (; en, Tour of Spain) is an annual multi-stage bicycle race primarily held in Spain, while also occasionally making passes through nearby countries. Inspired by the success of the Tour de France and the Giro d'Italia, the r ...
:
::Winner stage 2, 5, 7 and 12
:
Giro d'Italia:
::Winner stage 5
:Zwijndrecht
:Six days of London (with
Leo Duyndam)
;1974
:Nice-Seillans
:
Tour du Haut Var
The Tour du Haut Var ( en, Tour of the Haut Var) is an early-season two-day road bicycle race in the Var department region in the south of France. Until 2008 it was run as a one-day race, part of the UCI Europe Tour. In 2009, the race transformed ...
:Stekene
:
Vuelta a España
The Vuelta a España (; en, Tour of Spain) is an annual multi-stage bicycle race primarily held in Spain, while also occasionally making passes through nearby countries. Inspired by the success of the Tour de France and the Giro d'Italia, the r ...
:
::Winner stage 16
:Sint-Amandsberg
:
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 ...
:
::Wearing
yellow jersey
The general classification is the most important classification, the one by which the winner of the Tour de France is determined. Since 1919, the leader of the general classification wears the yellow jersey (french: maillot jaune ).
History
Th ...
for two days
;1975
:Kamerik
:Six days of Rotterdam (with
Leo Duyndam)
:Dongen
;1976
:
Gouden Pijl Emmen
:
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 ...
:
::Winner stages 18C and 22B
:Profronde van Pijnacker
:Saussignac
:
Vuelta a España
The Vuelta a España (; en, Tour of Spain) is an annual multi-stage bicycle race primarily held in Spain, while also occasionally making passes through nearby countries. Inspired by the success of the Tour de France and the Giro d'Italia, the r ...
:
::Winner stage 12
;1977
:Dordrecht
:Petegem-aan-de-Leie
;1978
:Leiden
:Mijl van Mares
See also
*
List of Dutch Olympic cyclists
This is a list of all Dutch cyclists who competed at the Summer Olympics. As of 2012 events in four cycling disciplines ( BMX, mountain biking, road cycling, and track cycling) have been contested at the Summer Olympics. Dutch cyclist did not com ...
*
References
External links
*
*
*
Official Tour de France results for Gerben Karstens
{{DEFAULTSORT:Karstens, Gerben
1942 births
2022 deaths
Dutch male cyclists
Cyclists at the 1964 Summer Olympics
Olympic cyclists of the Netherlands
Olympic gold medalists for the Netherlands
Dutch Tour de France stage winners
Dutch Vuelta a España stage winners
Sportspeople from Voorburg
Olympic medalists in cycling
Dutch Giro d'Italia stage winners
Tour de France Champs Elysées stage winners
Tour de Suisse stage winners
Medalists at the 1964 Summer Olympics
UCI Road World Championships cyclists for the Netherlands
Cyclists from South Holland