Constant ("Stan") Ockers was a Belgian professional racing cyclist.
The Circuit de Charade, also known as Circuit Louis Rosier and Circuit Clermont-Ferrand, is a motorsport race track in Saint-Genès-Champanelle near Clermont-Ferrand in the Puy-de-Dôme department in Auvergne in central France. The circuit, built around the base of an extinct volcano, was known for its challenging layout which favored the most skillful drivers and motorcyclists. It hosted the French Grand Prix four times and the French motorcycle Grand Prix ten times.
La Flèche Wallonne is a men's professional cycle road race held in April each year in Wallonia, Belgium.
The Scheldeprijs is a cycling race in Flanders and the Netherlands which starts in Terneuzen, crosses the Scheldt River, and finishes in Schoten. Until 2018 it was held entirely in Belgium. The event, ranked as a 1.Pro race on the UCI ProSeries, features mostly sprinters on its roll of honour, as it is held on all-flat roads over roughly 200 kilometres.
Giuseppe "Pino" Cerami was a Belgian road bicycle racer. He joined the professional peloton in 1946 as an independent. Born in Misterbianco, Sicily, Italy he was naturalised as a Belgian on 16 March 1956.
Seamus "Shay" Elliott was an Irish road bicycle racer, Ireland's first major international rider, with a record comparable only to Sean Kelly and Stephen Roche. He was the first Irish person to ride the Tour de France, first to win a stage, and first to wear the yellow jersey, and first English speaker to win stages in all the Grand Tours.
Jos Hoevenaers was a Belgian cyclist, reputed for his attacking style.
Raymond Impanis was a Belgian professional cyclist from 1947 to 1963. He won Paris–Roubaix, the Tour of Flanders, Gent–Wevelgem and three stages in Tour de France.
René Privat was a French professional road bicycle racer. He was professional from 1952 to 1962 with 19 wins which included the classic Milan–San Remo. He also won three stages in the 1957 Tour de France and one stage in the 1960 Tour de France.
Jean-Pierre Schmitz was a Luxembourgish professional road bicycle racer. Schmitz won the Midi Libre in 1957, the Tour de Luxembourg in 1954 and 1958, and one stage in the 1956 Tour de France. In 1955, Schmitz was second in the World Road race championship after Stan Ockers.
The 1955 UCI Road World Championships was the 28th edition of the UCI Road World Championships. It took place on Saturday 27 and Sunday 28 August in Frascati, Italy.
Cycle racing is a popular sport in Belgium. It is governed by the Royal Belgian Cycling League since 1882, which became a founding member of the International Cycling Association in 1892 and later of the Union Cycliste Internationale in 1900. Since 2002, the Royal Belgian Cycling League is composed of the Wielerbond Vlaanderen (WBV), which governs the cycle racing in Flanders and of the Fédération Cycliste Wallonie-Bruxelles (FCWB), which governs the cycle racing in Wallonia and Brussels. Belgium has been one of the major countries in different categories of cycle racing over the years, including road cycling and cyclo-cross. The best Belgian cyclist of all times, Eddy Merckx, nicknamed the Cannibal, has won all of the three grand tours and all of the five monuments of cycling. He also won the UCI Road World Championships three times and set the hour record, among other achievements.
The 40th running of the Tour of Flanders cycling classic was held on Easter Monday, 2 April 1956. French rider Jean Forestier won the race after a late breakaway from a 30-strong group in Wetteren. Sprint specialist Stan Ockers won the sprint for second place; Leon Van Daele was third. 37 of 122 riders finished.
Fernand Picot was a French professional racing cyclist. He rode in eight editions of the Tour de France.
The men's road race at the 1955 UCI Road World Championships was the 22nd edition of the event. The race took place on Sunday 28 August 1955 in Frascati, Italy. The race was won by Stan Ockers of Belgium.
The 1955 Liège–Bastogne–Liège was the 41st edition of the Liège–Bastogne–Liège cycle race and was held on 1 May 1955. The race started and finished in Liège. The race was won by Stan Ockers.
The 1953 La Flèche Wallonne was the 17th edition of La Flèche Wallonne cycle race and was held on 2 May 1953. The race started in Charleroi and finished in Liège. The race was won by Stan Ockers.
The 1955 La Flèche Wallonne was the 19th edition of La Flèche Wallonne cycle race and was held on 30 April 1955. The race started in Charleroi and finished in Liège. The race was won by Stan Ockers.
The Rapha Lincoln Grand Prix is a road bicycle race that starts and finishes in Lincoln. The 2021 version was 166 km long. The race is characterised by its ascent of Michaelgate, an iconic cobbled climb in the centre of Lincoln with a maximum gradient of 20%. The Lincoln GP has run since the summer of 1956, making it the oldest annual bike in the UK, that still runs today.
Raymond Impanis (BEL)
