Gilbert Desmet

Desmet in 2019
Personal information
Nickname	Smetje van Lichtervelde
Born	(1931-02-02)2 February 1931 Roeselare, Belgium
Died	30 June 2024(2024-06-30) (aged 93) Rumbeke, Belgium
Team information
Discipline	Road
Role	Rider
Professional teams
1952–1955	Groene Leeuw
1956	Bertin–d'Allessandro
1957–1959	Faema–Guerra
1959–1962	Carpano
1963–1965	Wiel's–Groene Leeuw
1966–1967	Roméo–Smith's
Major wins
Paris–Tours (1958) La Flèche Wallone (1964) Four Days of Dunkirk (1964) Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne (1958)

Gilbert Desmet (2 February 1931 – 30 June 2024), nicknamed Smetje van Lichtervelde, was a Belgian cyclist who was professional from 1952 to 1967. In the 1956 Tour de France, he wore the yellow jersey for two days, and in the 1963 Tour de France he wore it for nine days. Desmet won 101 professional races, including Paris–Tours, La Flèche Wallonne and Four Days of Dunkirk. His best result in the Tour de France was his 4th place in 1962. He finished second in the 1959 Paris–Roubaix.^[1] In total, Desmet won 101 professional races.^[2]

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

Desmet died on 30 June 2024, at the age of 93.^[3]

• Cornillië, Patrick (1994). Lichtervelde op twee wielen (in Dutch). De Beer.
• Cornillië, Patrick (2004). Gilbert Desmet – Smetje van Lichtervelde (in Dutch). De Eecloonaar. ISBN 90-74128-99-8

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Gilbert Desmet.

• "Palmares" (in French). Archived from the original on 22 April 2007. Retrieved 11 June 2007.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
• Palmares (in Dutch)
• Short biography (in Dutch)
• Team index (in French)
• Gilbert Desmet at Cycling Archives (archived)
• Gilbert Desmet at ProCyclingStats
• Gilbert Desmet at CycleBase