Marinus "Rini" Wagtmans (born 26 December 1946 in

Sint Willebrord Sint Willebrord is a town in the municipality of Rucphen in the Netherlands. It is also known by the name 't Heike which was the semi-official name up until 1950/1970 (mostly written as Theike, or less often Heike), which is the diminutive form ...

) is a former

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

professional

road bicycle racer 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 commo ...

. He was the nephew of

Wout Wagtmans Wouter "Wout" Wagtmans (10 November 1929 – 15 August 1994) was a Dutch road bicycle racer. Together with Wim van Est he belonged to the generation that brought great popularity to cycling in the Netherlands in the 1950s. In 1947, Wagtmans sta ...

, a former professional who had won the

Tour de Romandie The Tour de Romandie is a stage race which is part of the UCI World Tour. It runs through the Romandie region, or French-speaking part of Switzerland. The competition began in 1947, to coincide with the 50-year anniversary of Swiss Cycling. It ...

stage race in 1952. His father was a masseur while

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 ...

stage winner

Wim van Est Wim is a masculine given name or a shortened form of Willem and other names and may refer to: * Wim Anderiesen (1903–1944), Dutch footballer * Wim Aantjes (1923–2015), Dutch politician * Wim Arras (born 1964), Belgian cyclist * Wim Blockmans ...

was his neighbour. In 1968 Rini turned professional. The following year he finished third overall in the 1969

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 ...

. He rode four editions of the

and won three stages, one in 1970, one in 1971 and one in 1972. In the

1970 Tour de France The 1970 Tour de France was the 57th edition of the Tour de France, one of cycling's Grand Tours. It took place between 27 June and 19 July, with 23 stages covering a distance of . It was the second victory for Belgian Eddy Merckx, who also won t ...

he finished fifth overall. In

1971 Tour de France The 1971 Tour de France was the 58th edition of the Tour de France, one of cycling's Grand Tours. The race consisted of 22 stages, including three split stages, starting in Mulhouse on 26 June and finishing at the Vélodrome de Vincennes in Pari ...

while riding for

Molteni Molteni was an Italian professional road bicycle racing team from 1958 until the end of 1976. It won 663 races, many of them earned by its most famous rider, Eddy Merckx. Other riders included Gianni Motta and Marino Basso, who contributed 48 a ...

, he wore the yellow jersey as leader of the

general classification The general classification (or the GC) in road bicycle racing is the category that tracks overall times for riders in multi-stage races. Each stage will have a stage winner, but the overall winner in the GC is the rider who has the fastest cumulati ...

for one day but teammate and team leader

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 ...

took the jersey the following day. He also won two stages in the 1970

. Wagtmans was known as one of the best descenders in the

peloton In a road bicycle race, the peloton (from French, originally meaning 'platoon') is the main group or pack of riders. Riders in a group save energy by riding close ( drafting or slipstreaming) to (particularly behind) other riders. The reductio ...

. His hair earned him the nickname "witte bles", which translates as "white blaze". Wagtmans ended his career early due to heart problems. Afterwards he was a cycling coach, a member for the

Royal Dutch Cycling Union The Royal Dutch Cycling Union or KNWU (in Dutch: ''Koninklijke Nederlandsche Wielren Unie'') is the national governing body of cycle racing in the Netherlands. The aim of the KNWU is to give adequate support for all types of cycling in the Netherl ...

, and then a successful businessman. In 2005, Wagtmans was invested as a

Knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...

of the

Order of Orange-Nassau The Order of Orange-Nassau ( nl, Orde van Oranje-Nassau, links=no) is a civil and military Dutch order of chivalry founded on 4 April 1892 by the queen regent, Emma of the Netherlands. The order is a chivalric order open to "everyone who has ...

. In 2006, Wagtmans’ biography was published.

Major results

;1966 :Ronde van Midden-Zeeland ;1967 :

Tour of Austria The Tour of Austria (german: Internationale Österreich Rundfahrt) is a stage cycling race held in Austria. From 1949 to 1995 it was a race for amateur cyclists, turning into a professional event in 1996. In 2005 and 2006 it was organised as a 2 ...

;1968 :Roosendaal (NED) :

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 ...

;1969 :Sint-Willebrord :Ulvenhout :Kortenhoef :

: ::6th place overall classification ;1970 :

: ::Winner stages 11 and 13 :Koksijde :

: ::Winner stage 15 ::5th place overall classification :Plumeliau ;1971 :Sint-Willebrord :

: ::Winner stage 3 ::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 one day :

;1972 :

: ::Winner stage 18

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wagtmans, Rini 1946 births Living people Dutch male cyclists Dutch Tour de France stage winners Dutch Vuelta a España stage winners Cyclists from Rucphen Knights of the Order of Orange-Nassau UCI Road World Championships cyclists for the Netherlands

Major results

See also

References

External links