Jean-Pierre "Jempi" Monseré (8 September 1948 – 15 March 1971) was a Belgian

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 comm ...

who died while champion of the world.

Career

Early life

As a child, the energetic Monseré excelled in different sports like football and athletics. He rode his first bicycle race in

Lendelede Lendelede (; ) is a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality located in the Belgium, Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises only the town of Lendelede proper. On January 1, 2006, Lendelede had a total population of 5,399. The ...

at the age of 12, competing against fifteen-year-old cyclists. Monseré won his first official race on 7 July 1963 in the Sint-Elooi Prize in

Ruddervoorde Oostkamp (; ) is a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality located in the Belgium, Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the villages of Hertsberge, Oostkamp proper, Ruddervoorde and Waardamme. On January 1, 2019, Oostkamp h ...

. He managed to put this race completely in his hands and he finished with a lead of no less than 7 minutes. At 15, Monseré, already targeted by several competitors, won the Belgian Road Championship for under-novices. In 1965, Dr. Derluyn joined the staff of Jean-Pierre Monseré. Under his guidance, "Jempi" switched from the then popular training methods, consisting of endless endurance training, to interval training. As a result, training had to be done less and they could build more peace, so a rider had much more recuperation.

Amateur career

Monseré became amateur cyclist in 1967. In the Belgian Road Championship, he and Roger De Vlaeminck were considered as favourites. But their rivalry both cost them the title with Monseré ending second. The following year, he again finished as second in the Belgian Road Championship. Following his victory in the mountain race GP Peugeot, Monseré was included in the Belgian national team for the

1968 Summer Olympics The 1968 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Mexico 1968 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 12 to 27 October 1968, in Mexico City, Mexico. These were the first Ol ...

as a support rider for Roger De Vlaeminck. After De Vlaeminck crashed in a training ride, Monseré could ride for himself and finished in 6th place in the individual road race. Once more, Monseré ended as second in the 1969 Belgian Road Championship. In his last World Amateur Championship, he hoped to win the world title in

Brno Brno ( , ; ) is a Statutory city (Czech Republic), city in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. Located at the confluence of the Svitava (river), Svitava and Svratka (river), Svratka rivers, Brno has about 403,000 inhabitants, making ...

, Czechoslovakia. However, the Dane

Leif Mortensen Leif Mortensen (born 5 May 1946) is a former Danish professional road bicycle racer. He won a silver medal in the individual road race at the 1968 Summer Olympics while finishing fourth in the team time trial. In 1970–1975 he rode professiona ...

was crowned world champion. Monseré won the silver medal and compatriot Staf Van Roosbroeck bronze.

Professional career and death

He became professional for Flandria in 1969, and won the

Giro di Lombardia The Giro di Lombardia (), officially ''Il Lombardia'', is a cycling race in Lombardy, Italy. It is traditionally the last of the five 'Cycling monument, Monuments' of the season, considered to be one of the most prestigious one-day events in cycli ...

that year, after

Gerben Karstens Gerben Karstens (14 January 1942 – 8 October 2022) was a Dutch professional racing cyclist, who won the gold medal in the 100 km team trial at the 1964 Summer Olympics, alongside Bart Zoet, Evert Dolman, and Jan Pieterse. At the same Ol ...

tested positive for taking amphetamines. A year later, Monseré became the Belgian track

omnium An omnium (from Latin ''omnium'': of all, belonging to all) is a multiple race event in track cycling. Historically the omnium has had a variety of formats. In recent years, road racing has also adopted the term to describe multi-day races that f ...

champion.

Monseré continued to affirm his exceptional qualities, including his self-discipline and hunger for victory. He owed a lot to the strong bond with his blind masseur Jacques Delva, who, among other things, let him perform the basic yoga

asana An āsana (Sanskrit: आसन) is a body posture, originally and still a general term for a sitting meditation pose,Verse 46, chapter II, "Patanjali Yoga sutras" by Swami Prabhavananda, published by the Sri Ramakrishna Math p. 111 and late ...

s. He was selected in the Belgian team for the 1970 World Championship in

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...

, England. In the final,

Eddy Merckx Édouard Louis Joseph, Baron Merckx (born 17 June 1945), known as Eddy Merckx (, ), is a Belgian former professional road and track cyclist racer who is the most successful rider in the history of competitive cycling. His victories include an ...

encouraged Monseré to chase the leading cyclists, saying 'if you want to win, you have to go to Gimondi'. Monseré escaped with a small group and eventually won the world championship. He was the second-youngest world champion after another Belgian,

Karel Kaers Karel Kaers (3 June 1914 – 20 December 1972) was a Belgian professional cyclist with 30 wins. Kaers was born in Vosselaar. In 1934 he became the youngest world road champion, winning in Leipzig at 20. It was the first time he had ridden the ...

. In 1971, he was again Belgian track champion, this time in the madison discipline. On the road, he won the

Vuelta a Andalucía The Vuelta a Andalucía (Tour of Andalusia) or Ruta del Sol (Route of the Sun) is a regional Spanish road bicycle race first held in 1925. Since 2005, it has been a 2.1 category race on the UCI Europe Tour. The race became a part of the new UCI ...

in February 1971. On 15 March 1971, Monseré was riding the Grote Jaarmarktprijs in

Retie Retie (; , ) is a municipality located in the Campine region of the province of Antwerp (province), Antwerp, Belgium. The municipality comprises the town of Retie proper and several hamlets of which Schoonbroek is the largest. In 2021, Retie had a ...

after being convinced by

Eric The given name Eric, Erich, Erikk, Erik, Erick, Eirik, or Eiríkur is derived from the Old Norse name ''Eiríkr'' (or ''Eríkr'' in Old East Norse due to monophthongization). The first element, ''ei-'' may be derived from the older Proto-N ...

and Roger De Vlaeminck to participate. Monseré realised it was good training for

Milan–San Remo Milan–Sanremo (in italian language, Italian ''Milano-Sanremo''), also called "''The Spring classic''" or "''La Classicissima''", is an annual road bicycle racing, road cycling race between Milan and Sanremo, in Northwest Italy. With a distance ...

the following weekend. On the road from

Lille Lille (, ; ; ; ; ) is a city in the northern part of France, within French Flanders. Positioned along the Deûle river, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, the Prefectures in F ...

to Gierle, he and Roger De Vlaeminck agreed they had trained enough and they were about to exit the race. However, when Monseré looked back to estimate the distance with the peloton, a car driving onto the course collided head-on with Monseré killing him outright. Within a few minutes, a local doctor was with him but he could only diagnose the cyclist's death. His funeral was attended by more than 20,000 people, including several government ministers, and top cyclists including

, Roger De Vlaeminck,

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 title ...

and

Joop Zoetemelk Gerardus Joseph "Joop" Zoetemelk (; born 3 December 1946) is a Dutch former professional racing cyclist. He started and finished the Tour de France 16 times, which were both records when he retired. He also holds the distance record in Tour de F ...

. Merckx placed the flowers he had received after his Milan–San Remo victory on the coffin. In a cruel twist of fate, in 1976 Monseré's seven-year-old son Giovanni died after a collision with a car, while riding his racing bike which was given to him on his first communion by a family friend, another world champion

Freddy Maertens Freddy Maertens (born 13 February 1952) is a Belgian people, Belgian former professional racing cyclist who was twice UCI Road World Championships – Men's road race, world road race champion. His career coincided with the best years of anothe ...

. Like his father, the little boy was also wearing a

rainbow jersey The rainbow jersey is the distinctive cycling jersey, jersey worn by the reigning World Cycling Championship, world champion in a cycling discipline, since 1927. The jersey is predominantly white with five horizontal bands in the Union Cycli ...

Aftermath

Investigation of the accident showed blunders of both the local

law enforcement Law enforcement is the activity of some members of the government or other social institutions who act in an organized manner to enforce the law by investigating, deterring, rehabilitating, or punishing people who violate the rules and norms gove ...

forces and the race organization. As it was a small local race, the gendarmerie had refused to cooperate, and the police did not find it necessary to stop traffic on the course. Moreover, other than a car driving in front, there were no other signs warning that a race was ongoing. The driver of the car, a woman in her twenties, was not blamed. Following the accident, the regulations related to cycling races at all levels were tightened. In a documentary years later, Roger De Vlaeminck stated that "Merckx would have had a lot of trouble with him. Monseré was better than him, I think. He was more of an all-rounder. He could sprint and climb very well. He rode … also more reasoned than Merckx and me. In my view, he had to do less to achieve the same results." Jean-Pierre Monseré is remembered each year with a memorial cycle trophy, the Grote Herdenkingsprijs Monseré,Monseré Memorial GP organized by the Retiese Wielerclub 'De Zonnestraal'. Jempi Monseré's medals are in the Belgian national cycle museum in

Roeselare Roeselare (; ; ) 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 name of the city is derived from two ...

Major results

Road

;1966 : 2nd Road race, National Under-23 Championships ;1967 : 1st Stage 1 Amateur Ronde van Limburg : 2nd Road race, National Amateur Championships : 5th

Ronde Van Vlaanderen Beloften Tour of Flanders U23 () is a Flanders Classics road bicycle race. It is the version of the Tour of Flanders (men's race), Tour of Flanders for under-23 riders and is usually contested a week after the men's event. Ludovic Capelle is the only ride ...

; 1968 : 1st Amateur Elfstedenronde : 1st Trophée Peugeot : National Amateur Championships ::2nd Road race ::3rd Interclubs road race : 6th Road race,

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a Multi-s ...

; 1969 : 1st

: 1st Amateur Omloop der Vlaamse Gewesten : 1st Amateur Omloop Het Volk : 2nd Silver medal uci

Road race, UCI Amateur World Championships : 2nd Road race, National Amateur Championships : 2nd

Coppa Ugo Agostoni The Coppa Ugo Agostoni is a semi classic European bicycle race held in Lissone, Italy. The race is held in memory of Italian cyclist Ugo Agostoni, winner of prestigious classic Milan–San Remo, killed during World War II. It is also called ''G ...

: 2nd

Circuit de Wallonie Circuit de Wallonie is a cycling race held annually in Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherla ...

: 3rd

Kampioenschap van Vlaanderen Kampioenschap van Vlaanderen (Championship of Flanders) or Koolskamp Koerse is a single-day road bicycle race held annually in September in Koolskamp (part-municipality of Ardooie), West Flanders, Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom ...

: 6th

Grand Prix de Fourmies The Grand Prix de Fourmies is a bicycle race held in the Fourmies commune of France. From 2005 to 2019 it was organised as a 1.HC event on the UCI Europe Tour. In 2021, it joined the UCI ProSeries The UCI ProSeries is the second tier men's ...

; 1970 : 1st Jersey rainbow

Road race,

UCI World Championships The UCI World Championships are annual competitions promoted by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) to determine world champion cyclists. They are held in several different styles of racing, in a different country each year. Championship winn ...

: 1st Stage 1 Paris–Luxembourg :

::1st Stages 2 & 4 : 1st Omloop der Zuid-West-Vlaamse Bergen : 1st Zomergem–Adinkerke : 1st Stage 1 ( TTT)

Four Days of Dunkirk The Four Days of Dunkirk () 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 held over a 5 or 6 day period for ...

: 2nd

Bruxelles–Meulebeke Brussels-Meulebeke () was a men's road cycling road race held in Belgium annually in May from 1964 to 1975. The competition's roll of honor includes two victories by Rik Van Looy and Eddy Merckx. The record of victories, however, belongs to Fred ...

: 2nd Omloop van de Grensstreek : 2nd : 2nd

Omloop van het Houtland Omloop van het Houtland ("Circuit of Houtland") is a single-day road bicycle race held annually in Lichtervelde in the region of West Flanders, Belgium. Since 2007, the race is organized as a 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour. In 2002 it was held ...

: 2nd GP Roeselare : 3rd Road race, National Championships : 4th

Critérium des As The ''Critérium des As'' (''Race of the Aces'') was a cycle race that was generally held at the end of the season, with entry by invitation only, for the leading riders of the season. Competitors rode behind pacers on tandems or motorcycles. It w ...

: 4th

Druivenkoers Overijse Druivenkoers Overijse is a single-day road bicycle race held annually in August in Overijse, 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 compet ...

: 6th

Tour of Flanders The Tour of Flanders () may refer to the following cycle races: * Tour of Flanders (men's race) The Tour of Flanders (), also known as ''De Ronde'' (''"The Tour"''), is an annual road bicycle racing, road cycling race held in Belgium every spri ...

: 8th

Gent–Wevelgem Gent–Wevelgem, officially Gent–Wevelgem – In Flanders Fields, is a road bicycle racing, road cycling race in Belgium, held annually since 1934. It is one of the classic cycle races, classic races part of the Flemish Cycling Week, run in late ...

: 8th

La Flèche Wallonne La Flèche Wallonne (, French for "The Walloon Arrow") is a men's professional cycle road race held in April each year in Wallonia, Belgium. It is part of the UCI World Tour. The first of two Belgian Ardennes classics, La Flèche Wallonne is ...

: 10th

Paris–Roubaix Paris–Roubaix is a one-day professional bicycle road race in northern France, starting north of Paris and finishing in Roubaix, at the border with Belgium. It is one of cycling's oldest races, and is one of the 'Cycling monument, Monuments' ...

;1971 : 1st Jersey red

Overall

::1st Stages 1 & 3 : 2nd

Omloop van het Zuidwesten The Omloop van het Zuidwesten was a Belgian cycling race organized for the last time in 1982. The course was around , with Hulste as both start and finish place. The competition's roll of honor includes the successes of Roger De Vlaeminck, W ...

: 9th Circuit des Onze Villes : 10th

Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne is an annual single-day road bicycle racing, road cycling race in Belgium. It is held one day after Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, on the last Sunday of February or the first of March, and completes the opening weekend of the Be ...

Track

;1967 : 1st Team pursuit, National Amateur Championships ;1968 : 1st Team pursuit, National Amateur Championships ;1970 : 1st Omnium, National Amateur Championships : 1st

Six Days of Ghent The Six Days of Ghent () is a six-day track cycling race held annually in Ghent, Belgium. It takes place in the Kuipke velodrome A velodrome is an arena for track cycling. Modern velodromes feature steeply banked oval tracks, consisting of ...

(with

) : 1st Omnium of Antwerp (with

and Roger De Vlaeminck) : 1st Omnium of Milan (with

) : 1st Omnium of Ghent, October (with

) : 2nd Omnium of Ghent, January (with Roger De Vlaeminck and Erik De Vlaeminck) ;1971 : 1st Madison,

National Championships A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or competition, contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the be ...

(with

) : 1st Omnium of Brussels (with

, Roger De Vlaeminck and

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 ...

) : 2nd

Six Days of Antwerp The Six Days of Antwerp was a six-day track cycling race held annually in Antwerp, Belgium. The Six Days has seen 55 editions, was organized from 1934 with interruptions during World War II and the years 1984 to 1986 and last held in 1994. The ...

(with

Dieter Kemper Dieter Kemper (11 August 1937 – 11 October 2018) was a German cyclist who competed professionally between 1961 and 1980. During his career he won one UCI Motor-paced World Championships in 1975, seven European titles Julien Stevens Julien Stevens (born 25 February 1943) is a retired Belgian cyclist who raced from 1963 to 1977. Stevens spent most part of his career employed to help other riders, such as Rik Van Steenbergen, Rik Van Looy and Eddy Merckx. In 1969, at the road ...

)

Honours

* A monument in

in 1971. * :nl:De Dood van een Sandwichman, a 1972 film documentary by Robbe de Hert and Guido Henderickx. * A cycle race, Grote Trofee J.P. Monseré in Lille, from 1976. * A street, Jean-Pierre Monseréstraat in

and a road, Monseréweg in

. *

KOERS museum KOERS. Museum van de wielersport. (until 2018 the Cycling Museum - WieMu) is a museum in the Belgian city of Roeselare. The museum shows the history of the bicycle and cycling. It was officially opened on 27 March 1998 at the ''Polenplein''. His ...

in Roeselare in 1998 * A professional cycle race,

Grote Prijs Jean-Pierre Monseré The Grote Prijs Jean-Pierre Monseré is a one-day cycling race held annually in Belgium, named after Jean-Pierre Monseré. It is part of UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle racing competitions which were int ...

, from 2012. * A statue in Roeselare in 2021

Books

* ''De dood van Jempi'' by Jan Emiel Daele in 1972, 89 p. (Dutch) 5950991 * ''Jempi – Getuigenissen over wereldkampioen 1970'' by Manu Adriaens and Eddy Brouckaert in 1986, 95 p. (Dutch) * ''Jean-Pierre Monseré, voor altijd 22'' by Mark van Hamme in 2011, 296 p. (Dutch) * ''Monseré'' by Mark van Hamme in 2020, 120 p. (Dutch)

References

External links

Biographical information
at Cycling Hall of Fame * {{DEFAULTSORT:Monsere, Jean-Pierre 1948 births 1971 deaths Cyclists from Roeselare Belgian male cyclists UCI Road World Champions (elite men) Cyclists who died while racing Sport deaths in Belgium Olympic cyclists for Belgium Cyclists at the 1968 Summer Olympics 20th-century Belgian sportsmen

Career

Early life

Amateur career

Professional career and death

Aftermath

Major results

Road

Track

Honours

Books

See also

References

External links