Patrick Sercu (27 June 1944 – 19 April 2019)[1] 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 titles in the sprint in 1963, 1967 and 1969. On the road, he earned the green jersey in the 1974 Tour de France. Sercu is the record holder for the number of six-day track race victories, having won 88 events out of 223 starts between 1961 and 1983; several of these wins were with cycling great Eddy Merckx.[2] He also won six stages at the Tour de France and eleven stages at the Giro d'Italia.[3][4]
With 38 national and 15 European championship titles, he is considered as one of the most successful track cyclists ever.[5]
In total, he won no less than 1,206 races, of which 168 road races and 1,038 track races.[6]
Biography
Early life
At a young age, Patrick Sercu was pushed towards the track by his father Albert, himself a successful rider. "He was afraid I would break down too quickly on the road", Patrick Sercu himself said about that.
With his fast legs, Sercu was also born for explosive work on the track. In 1962, aged 18, he won his first national titles, in the sprint and madison events. At 19, Sercu became world amateur sprint champion in Rocourt, near Liège.
A year later, the still very young Sercu captured gold at the kilometre in Tokyo, his only participation in the Games as only amateurs were allowed to compete in the cycling events at the time. That year, he was the star attraction at the Manchester Wheelers' Club Race Meet at the Fallowfield track in Manchester.[7]
Professional career
After the Olympics, professional life and also increasingly the road races beckoned for Sercu. Super team Solo–Superia, which also included Eddy Merckx, Rik Van Looy and Rik Van Steenbergen, brought in the West-Fleming.
While on the road he still lacked power and speed, on the track he was increasingly successful. Between 1965 and 1969, he won two more golds and two more silver medals at the World Sprint Championships, each time after a duel with his Italian rival Giuseppe Beghetto.
He was also an instant winner in the Six Days. With Eddy Merckx at his side, he won his first of 11 Six Days in Ghent in 1965. Until the early 1980s, Sercu would remain the uncrowned king of the Six Days.
With 88 final victories, Sercu leads the eternal rankings. "It's Merckx's fault there weren't more", he later said jokingly. After all, Merckx could not ride a full winter programme due to his busy schedule.
Gradually, Sercu began to find his feet on the road as well. In 1970, he rode his first major tour, the Giro, and took his first stage win. Twelve more stage wins in the Italian Tour would follow in the following years.
By the mid-1970s, Sercu had become one of the most renowned sprinters in the peloton. In his first participation in the Tour at the age of 30, he snatched 3 stages as well as the green jersey. Three years later, he would bring his total in the Tour to six stage wins. By then, he had already won the overall classification of another stage race Giro di Sardegna in 1970, and the points classification of the Critérium du Dauphiné and La Méditerranée in 1977.
Retirement
Patrick Sercu in 1998
Patrick Sercu retired from competitions in 1983. He became organizer of six days events and omniums all over the world,[3] and director of the Six Days of Ghent and the former Six Days of Hasselt.[8][9] After a few years with unstable health, Sercu died on 19 April 2019, aged 74.[10]
Riding Style
Sercu had the special quality not only to have a very fast sprint, but he could also maintain that top speed for a long time. He celebrated his greatest success there with one kilometer time trial, where he often outwitted the stockier, more explosive types in a long sprint. It earned him the world records in the shorter distances. Moreover, everything seemed to come very easily to him, often to the chagrin of his opponents. With his unequalled recuperation ability, he was able to participate in more than ten six-days in a winter season. In the years that he combined the track with the road, he competed in more than 200 races every year.
The six-day combination with Eddy Merckx was a success. Merckx was able to maintain a high, constant pace for a long time, while Sercu often finished it off with his final sprint.[11]
^"Patrick SercuInterview". Archived from the original on 5 March 2005. Retrieved 22 December 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link). britishcycling.org.uk. March 2004
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