Johan De Muynck (born 30 May 1948 in
Sleidinge
Sleidinge is a village in the municipalities of Evergem in the province of East Flanders, Belgium. It is located about north-west of Ghent.
History
Sleidinge was originally located in a large heath and forest area. The village was first mentione ...
,
East Flanders
, native_name_lang =
, settlement_type = Province of Belgium
, image_flag = Flag of Oost-Vlaanderen.svg
, flag_size =
, image_shield = Wapen van O ...
) is a former Belgian professional
road racing cyclist
Road bicycle racing is the cycle sport discipline of road cycling, held primarily on paved roads. Road racing is the most popular professional form of bicycle racing, in terms of numbers of competitors, events and spectators. The two most common ...
who raced from 1971 to 1983. The highlight of his career was his overall win in the
1978 Giro d'Italia
The 1978 Giro d'Italia was the 61st running of the Giro, one of cycling's Grand Tours. It started in Saint-Vincent, on 7 May, with a prologue and concluded in Milan, on 28 May, with a mass-start stage. A total of 130 riders from thirteen t ...
. He was an outstanding climber. Other
Grand Tour
The Grand Tour was the principally 17th- to early 19th-century custom of a traditional trip through Europe, with Italy as a key destination, undertaken by upper-class young European men of sufficient means and rank (typically accompanied by a tuto ...
highlights include a very strong performance in the closely contested
1976 Giro d'Italia
The 1976 Giro d'Italia was the 59th running of the Giro, one of cycling's Grand Tours. It started in Catania, on 21 May, with a set of split stages and concluded in Milan, on 12 June, with another split stage, consisting of an individual time ...
where he held the
Maglia Rosa
The general classification in the Giro d'Italia is the most important classification of the Giro d'Italia, which determines who is the overall winner. It is therefore considered more important than secondary classifications as the points classif ...
until the final time trial finishing on the podium in 2nd just nineteen seconds behind
Felice Gimondi
Felice Gimondi (; 29 September 1942 – 16 August 2019) was an Italian professional racing cyclist. With his 1968 victory at the Vuelta a España, only three years after becoming a professional cyclist, Gimondi, nicknamed "The Phoenix", was the ...