Gilbert Desmet (born 2 February 1931 in

Roeselare Roeselare (; french: Roulers, ; West Flemish: ''Roeseloare'') is a Belgian city and municipality in the Flemish province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Roeselare proper and the towns of Beveren, Oekene and Rumbeke. The ...

), nicknamed ''Smetje van Lichtervelde'', is a former Belgian cyclist who was professional from 1952 to 1967. In the

1956 Tour de France The 1956 Tour de France was the 43rd edition of the Tour de France, taking place from 5 to 28 July. It consisted of 22 stages over . There was no previous Tour winner competing for the 1956 Tour, which had only previously happened in 1903 and ...

, he wore the yellow jersey for 2 days, and in the

1963 Tour de France The 1963 Tour de France was the 50th instance of that Grand Tour. It took place between 23 June and 14 July, with 21 stages covering a distance of . Stages 2 and 6 were both two part stages, the first half being a regular stage and the second hal ...

he wore it for 9 days. Desmet won 101 professional races, including

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, ...

, La Flèche Wallonne and

Four Days of Dunkirk The Four Days of Dunkirk (french: Quatre Jours de Dunkerque) is road bicycle race around the Nord-Pas de Calais region of northern France. Despite the name of the race, since the addition of an individual time trial in 1963, the race has been h ...

. His best result in the Tour de France was his 4th place in

1962 Events January * January 1 – Western Samoa becomes independent from New Zealand. * January 3 – Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro for preaching communism. * January 8 – Harmelen train disaster: 93 die in the wors ...

. He finished second in the

1959 Paris–Roubaix The 1959 Paris–Roubaix was the 57th edition of the Paris–Roubaix, a classic one-day cycle race in France. The single day event was held on 12 April 1959 and stretched from Paris to the finish at Roubaix Velodrome. The winner was Noël ...

. Throughout his career, he was often confused with Gilbert De Smet, another Belgian cyclist with a similar name.

Major results

;1951 : 2nd Kattekoers ;1954 : 1st

GP Stad Zottegem Egmont Cycling Race is a single-day road bicycle race held annually in August in Zottegem, Belgium. Since 2005, the race is organized as a 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle racing competit ...

: 8th

Omloop Het Volk Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, previously Omloop Het Volk, is a one-day Road bicycle racing, road cycling race in Belgium, held annually in late February. It is the opening event of the Belgian cycling season, as well as the first race of the year in Nort ...

;1956 :

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 ...

::Held after Stages 3–4a : 1st Overall Drielandentrofee ::1st Stage 1 : 1st Omloop van Oost-Vlaanderen : 2nd Overall

: 2nd Vijfbergenomloop ;1957 : 1st Omloop van het Houtland : 2nd Overall

Driedaagse van Antwerpen The Driedaagse van Antwerpen was a short-lived Belgian stage cycling race organized for the last time in 1960. The course was situated in the Antwerp Province. It also included a team time trial, which was held in the city park (Stadspark) of ...

: 6th Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne ;1958 : 1st

: 1st Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne : 1st Omloop van het Houtland : 1st Stage 7

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 ...

: 2nd Grand Prix Jules Lowie : 3rd

GP Lugano The Gran Premio di Lugano ( en, Grand Prix of Lugano) is a road bicycle race held annually in Lugano, Switzerland. Prior to 1981 it was held as an individual time trial but in recent years it has been organised as a 1.1 event on the UCI Europe ...

;1959 : 1st Vijfbergenomloop : 2nd Paris–Roubaix : 3rd Tour of Flanders : 3rd Overall

Vuelta a la Comunidad Valenciana The Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana (; en, Tour of the Valencian Community or Tour of Valencia) is a road cycling stage race held in the Valencian Community (''Comunitat Valenciana''), Spain. Its position in the cycling calendar means it is often ...

: 5th La Flèche Wallonne : 8th Gent–Wevelgem : 8th Overall Giro di Sardegna : 9th Liège–Bastogne–Liège ;1960 : 1st Overall Menton–Genoa–Rome ::1st Stage 1 : 1st Kampioenschap van Vlaanderen : 1st Grand Prix Jules Lowie : 1st Stage 3

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 ...

: 2nd

: 4th Tour of Flanders : 5th Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne : 7th Paris–Roubaix ;1961 : 1st

Gran Premio Industria e Commercio di Prato The Gran Premio Industria e Commercio di Prato is a single-day road bicycle race held annually in Prato, Italy. Since 2005, the race has been organised as a 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicy ...

: 1st Stage 1 Giro di Sardegna : 2nd

: 2nd Paris–Brussels : 2nd Grand Prix des Nations : 3rd

Trofeo Matteotti Trofeo Matteotti is a single-day road bicycle race held annually in Pescara, Italy. Since 2005, the race has been organised as a 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle racing competitions which ...

: 7th Gent–Wevelgem : 10th Paris–Roubaix ;1962 : 1st

De Kustpijl De Kustpijl is a cycling race held annually in Belgium. It is part of UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle racing competitions which were introduced in 2005 by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) to expand ...

: 1st

Omloop der drie Provinciën The Omloop der drie Provinciën was a Belgian post-WW II cycling race organized for the last time in 1982. The course, variating between 185 and 225 km always ended in Avelgem, West Flanders. The competition's roll of honor includes the succes ...

: 4th Overall

Tour de Suisse The Tour de Suisse ( en, Tour of Switzerland) is an annual road cycling stage race. Raced over eight days, the event covers two weekends in June, and along with the Critérium du Dauphiné, it is considered a proving ground for the Tour de France ...

::1st Stage 5 ;1963 :

::Held after Stages 6–16 : 6th Road race,

UCI Road World Championships The UCI Road World Championships are the annual world championships for bicycle road racing organized by the (UCI). The UCI Road World Championships consist of events for road race and individual time trial, and a mixed team relay. Events ...

: 7th Grand Prix des Nations : 9th

Milan–San Remo Milan–San Remo (in Italian ''Milano-Sanremo''), also called "''The Spring classic''" or "''La Classicissima''", is an annual road cycling race between Milan and Sanremo, in Northwest Italy. With a distance of 298 km (~185.2 miles) it is t ...

;1964 : 1st Overall

: 1st La Flèche Wallonne : 1st Stage 2

Tour de Luxembourg The Tour de Luxembourg is an annual stage race in professional road bicycle racing held in Luxembourg. The Tour de Luxembourg is classified as a 2.Pro race, the highest rating below the World Tour, by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), the ...

: 3rd Overall Tour of Belgium : 5th Paris–Brussels : 6th Brabantse Pijl : 8th Overall

: 9th Tour of Flanders : 9th Paris–Roubaix ;1965 : 1st Omloop van het Houtland : 1st Stage 2b Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré : 2nd Overall Tour of Belgium : 8th Liège–Bastogne–Liège : 9th La Flèche Wallonne ;1966 : 2nd Omloop van het Houtland ;1967 : 8th Overall

;1968 : 1st

Ronde van Oost-Vlaanderen The Ronde van Oost-Vlaanderen was a Belgian cycling race organized for the last time in 1973. The course, in the province of East Flanders, was around 200 km. Evergem was both start and finish place. The competition's roll of honor includes t ...

References

Notes

*Cornillië, Patrick (1994). ''Lichtervelde op twee wielen'' . De Beer. *Cornillië, Patrick (2004). ''Gilbert Desmet – Smetje van Lichtervelde'' . De Eecloonaar.

External links

*
Palmares

Short biography

Belgian male cyclists 1931 births Living people People from Roeselare Tour de Suisse stage winners Cyclists from West Flanders Belgian Vuelta a España stage winners {{Belgium-cycling-bio-1930s-stub