Roy Schuiten (16 December 1950 – 19 September 2006) was a Dutch track and road racing cyclist. After retirement he became a team manager before starting a restaurant.

Background

Schuiten was a tall (), stylish rider who shone as an amateur. He was the 1972 national pursuit champion, broke the amateur record for 4,000 m on an indoor track, and won numerous team time-trials. He finished in fifth place in the individual pursuit and team pursuit events at the

1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and commonly known as Munich 1972 (german: München 1972), was an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. ...

. He came close to not turning professional because his father died in a traffic accident in 1973.Coup de Pédales, Belgium, September 2006 He stopped cycling for a season to help his mother run the family wine and spirits business in Zandvoort. The following year Schuiten's younger brother, Fred, took over the business and on 17 July 1974 Schuiten turned professional for the

TI–Raleigh TI–Raleigh was a Dutch professional track cycling and road bicycle racing team between 1972 and 1983. In that decade the team won over 900 races. The team was created and led by Peter Post. In his own cycling career, his nickname was the ''Six D ...

team run by

Peter Post Peter Post (12 November 193314 January 2011) was a Dutch professional cyclist whose career lasted from 1956 to 1972. Post competed in road and track racing. As a rider he is best remembered for Six-day racing, having competed in 155 races and wo ...

Track career

Schuiten established himself with Raleigh by winning the world pursuit championship in September 1974, beating

Ferdinand Bracke Ferdinand Bracke (born 25 May 1939) is a Belgian former professional road and track cyclist who is most famous for holding the World Hour Record (48.093 km) and winning the overall title at the 1971 Vuelta a España in front of Wilfried ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

in the final. Bracke had been leading until an official indicated there were four laps still to ride when there were six. Bracke faded and Schuiten won. Schuiten won again in 1975 by beating Knut Knudsen of

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...

. He won silver medals in 1976 and 1978. He was national champion six times. In 1975 Post encouraged Schuiten to attempt

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 ...

's world

hour record The hour record is the record for the longest distance cycled in one hour on a bicycle from a stationary start. Cyclists attempt this record alone on the track without other competitors present. It is considered one of the most prestigious reco ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

.Roy Schuiten (55) overleden
nos.nl 19 September 2006 The frame-builder Jan Legrand made him a bicycle weighing only 5.7 kg. but Schuiten failed at his two attempts, unable to cope with the rarified air of

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital city, capital and primate city, largest city of Mexico, and the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North Amer ...

. Press criticism in the Netherlands was marked and Schuiten, demoralised, never again rode on the track at the same level. ''Main track achievements'' * World championship :

Team pursuit The team pursuit is a track cycling event similar to the individual pursuit, except that two teams, each of up to four riders, compete, starting on opposite sides of the velodrome. Race format Both men's and women's events are competed over ...

(amateurs), 3rd (1973) * World championship : Individual pursuit, 1st (1974, 1975), 2nd (1976, 1978) * European championship : Team pursuit, 3rd (1974) * Sixdays of Berlin (GER), 1st (1974) (paired with

René Pijnen Marinus "René" Augustinus Josephus Pijnen (born 3 September 1946) is a Dutch former racing cyclist. He became Olympic champion in the 100 km team time-trial in the 1968 Summer Olympics with Joop Zoetemelk, Fedor den Hertog and Jan Kreke ...

) * National championship : Individual pursuit (amateurs), 1st (1972, 1973) * National championship : Individual pursuit, 1st (1974, 1975,1976, 1977, 1978, 1980), 2nd (1981) * National championship : 50 km, 1st (1975) * National championship : Motor-paced, 1st (1978) * National championship : track, Scratch, 1st (1975) * National championship : track, Omnium (amateurs) (1975) * National championship : track, Omnium, (1975)

Road

Schuiten rode 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 ...

twice (finishing 2nd and 3rd in time trials) the Giro d'Italia five times.Roy Schuiten, achtergronden
Tourdefrance.nl In 1975 he won the

Rund um den Henninger-Turm Rund is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Cathleen Rund (born 1977), German swimmer * Hanno Rund (1925–1993), German mathematician * Thorsten Rund Thorsten Rund (born 25 February 1976 in Lübben) is a German former profes ...

. He won the

Grand Prix des Nations The Grand Prix des Nations was an individual time trial (against the clock) for both professional and amateur racing cyclists. Held annually in Cannes, France, it was instituted in 1932 and often regarded as the unofficial time trial championship ...

in 1974 and 1975. He won the Trofeo Baracchi (1974 with

Francesco Moser Francesco Moser ( or ; ; born 19 June 1951), nicknamed "Lo sceriffo" (The sheriff), is an Italian former professional road bicycle racer. He finished on the podium of the Giro d'Italia six times including his win in the 1984 edition. Moser wa ...

and in 1978 with

Knut Knudsen Knut Knudsen (born 12 October 1950) is a retired Norwegian road and track cyclist. As an amateur, he placed fifth in the 4000m individual pursuit at the 1968 Olympics before becoming Olympic champion in the same discipline in 1972. He would fol ...

), the GP Kanton Aargau Gippingen (1976) and the GP Forli (1979). He changed teams frequently after leaving Raleigh in 1976, doing well in races up to a week long but best of all when riding against the clock. ''Main road achievements''Uitslagen van Roy Schuiten
dewielersite.nl * 1968: 1e in de ronde van Hasselt, Zevenaar, Harderwijk en Delden en clubkampioen * 1971: 1e in NK op de weg, Militair * 1974: 1e in 9e etappe Milk Race, Whitley Bay (GBR) * 1974: 1e in 10e etappe Milk Race, Carlisle (GBR) * 1974: 1e in Eindklassement Milk Race (GBR) * 1974: 1e in Proloog Milk Race, Brighton (GBR) * 1974: 1e in Eindklassement Olympia's Tour (NED) * 1974: 1e in 7e etappe deel b Olympia's Tour, Oss (NED) * 1974: (FRA) * 1974: 1e in 2e etappe deel b Etoile des Espoirs, Fougères (FRA) * 1974: 1e in Eindklassement Etoile des Espoirs (FRA) * 1974: 1e in GP des Nations (FRA) * 1974: 1e in Trofeo Baracchi (ITA) * 1975: 1e in Made (NED) * 1975: 1e in 2e etappe deel b Tour d'Indre-et-Loire, Chanceaux (FRA) * 1975: 1e in Eindklassement Tour d'Indre-et-Loire (FRA) * 1975: 1e in Rund um den Henninger Turm (GER) * 1975: 1e in Zele (b) (BEL) * 1975: 1e in Köln (GER) * 1975: 1e in Maldegem (b) (BEL) * 1975: 1e in GP des Nations (FRA) * 1975: 1e in 4e etappe Etoile des Espoirs, Caen (FRA) * 1975: 1e in GP Lugano, Chrono (SUI) * 1976: 1e in GP Aix-en-Provence (FRA) * 1976: 1e in GP Kanton Aargau Gippingen (SUI) * 1976: 1e in 1e etappe Tour Méditerranéen, Aubagne (FRA) * 1976: 1e in 2e etappe deel b Tour Méditerranéen, Mont Faron (FRA) * 1976: 1e in Eindklassement Tour Méditerranéen (FRA) * 1976: 1e in Poiré-sur-Vie (FRA) * 1976: 1e in 6e etappe deel b Criterium du Dauphiné Libéré, Carpentras (FRA) * 1976: 1e in Bussières (FRA) * 1977: 1e in 5e etappe deel a Paris – Nice, Plan de Campagne (FRA) * 1977: 1e in 5e etappe deel b Quatre jours de Dunkerque, Dunkerque (FRA) * 1978: 1e in 3e etappe Ruota d'Oro (ITA) * 1978: 1e in Levanger (NOR) * 1978: 1e in Trofeo Baracchi (ITA) * 1979: 1e in Essen (BEL) * 1979: 1e in Ulvenhout (NED) * 1979: 1e in GP Forli (ITA) * 1981: 1e in 5e etappe Tirreno – Adriatico, San Benedetto del Tronto (ITA) * 1981: 1e in

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 ...

(NED) * 1982: 1e in Eindklassement Costa del Azahar (ESP) 1982: 1e in Proloog Costa del Azahar (ESP)

Retirement and death

After retirement in 1982 he became manager of PDM-Concorde in 1986 for a year. He then moved to

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

and started his own restaurant. He died on 19 September 2006 in Praia de Carvoeiro, aged 55, from a stomach haemorrhage.Schuiten dead at 55
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References

External links