Personal information | |
---|---|
Full name | Jean Majerus |
Born | Luxembourg | 6 February 1914
Died | 16 June 1983 |
Height | 187 cm (6 ft 2 in) [1] |
Team information | |
Discipline | Road |
Role | Rider |
Rider type | Classics specialist |
Professional teams | |
1936-1940 | Ruche |
1941-1942 | Wanderer |
1943-1947 | Unknown |
Major wins | |
Tour de France 1937: one stage, 2 yellow jerseys Tour de France 1938: one stage, 4 yellow jerseys |
Jean Majerus (6 February 1914 in Luxembourg City - 16 June 1983 in Esch-sur-Alzette) was a professional Luxembourgian cyclist from 1936 to 1947. Jean had a younger brother, Jacques Majerus, who was also a successful cyclist.
Majerus was educated in Rumelange and then Esch-sur-Alzette, where he trained as a locksmith. He received his first bicycle at the age of seven. He took his first race win in 1933 at a race in Itzig. He was the Luxembourg national junior road race champion in 1934 and 1935, finishing ahead of his brother in the latter year. Majerus turned professional in 1936: that year he also made his Tour de France debut, however he was eliminated at the end of the 13th stage. Similarly, he failed to finish the world championship road race that season. [1]
His first great success was in the 1937 Tour de France, where Majerus won the first stage from Paris to Lille, staging a solo attack in Arras and finishing ahead of his compatriot Arsène Mersch. He remained in the yellow jersey for two days, but was later forced to abandon the race during the eighth stage due to an anorectal abscess. [2] [1] He was, however fit for competition by the time of that year's road world championships, where he was part of the winning breakaway but missed out on the podium in the final sprint, finishing fourth. [1]
In the 1938 Tour de France, Jean Majerus repeated his achievement of the previous year by winning the second stage between Caen and Saint-Brieuc, after he and team-mate Mathias Clemens attacked with 20 km to go: they were joined by another group of eight riders, including former Tour winners Georges Speicher and Antonin Magne. At the entrance to the velodrome where the stage finished, Jean-Marie Goasmat attacked from the lead group, but was hauled back by Majerus who pipped him to the line. By winning the stage he once again took the yellow jersey, this time keeping it for four days. He went on to complete the Tour, finishing in 49th place. [3] [1]
In 1939, Majerus put in some strong performances in one-day classics, finishing 13th in Paris-Robaix after suffering a puncture in the final kilometres, and finishing third in Bordeaux-Paris. [1]
During WWII, when Luxembourg was occupied by the German military, Majerus raced a lot in German-occupied Europe. He also obtained good results at home, finishing fourth in the Tour de Luxembourg in 1942 and 1943. He briefly continued competing after the war, winning the 1946 Grand Prix de Lorraine and the 1947 Luxembourg national individual pursuit title on the track. [1]
After retiring from competition, between 1949 and 1952 he served as driver for Nicolas Frantz in the latter's role as technical director for the Luxembourg national team in the Tour de France. He also worked as a representative of a confectionery wholesaler and a supplier of baked goods, and managed a café in Esch-sur-Alzette. In 1957 he started working for ARBED in Schifflange. After undergoing surgery for thrombosis in his right leg, he became partially paralysed and began using a wheelchair. [1]
Jean Majerus was good in one-day races; in the all-time list he still can be found around place 583. [4] In the world championship road race-ranking he even can be found around place 164, [5] although his best result was fourth place in the 1937 world road race championship. [6]
Erik Zabel is a German former professional road bicycle racer who last raced with Milram. With 152 professional wins and 211 wins in his career, he is considered by some to be one of the greatest German cyclists and cycling sprinters of all-time. Zabel won a record nine points classifications in grands tours including the points classification in the Tour de France six consecutive years between 1996 and 2001 and the points classification in the Vuelta a España in 2002, 2003 and 2004. Zabel won the Milan–San Remo four times and numerous six-day track events. He was one of the few road cyclists of recent times who raced all year, including track cycling in winter. For season 2012 he joined Team Katusha as sprint coach. He previously held that same position with the HTC–Highroad team until their dissolution. Zabel admitted to doping from 1996 to 2004. He is the father of cyclist Rick Zabel.
Crédit Agricole was a French professional cycling team managed by Roger Legeay. From 1998 to 2008, the team was sponsored by the French bank Crédit Agricole. Prior to 1997, the team was known as Vêtements Z-Peugeot (1987), Z-Peugeot (1988-89), Z (1990–92) and GAN (1993–98). In 1990, the team's leading cyclist, the American Greg LeMond, won the Tour de France. The team also won the team title at the Tour de France that year. Crédit Agricole announced that they would cease to sponsor the team after 2008, and the team was subsequently disbanded.
Andreas Klöden is a German former professional road bicycle racer, who competed as a professional between 1998 and 2013. His major achievements include a bronze medal at the 2000 Olympic Games and finishing second in the general classification at the 2004 and 2006 Tour de France. Klöden is a tall, lightly built racer with enough strength to place high in the overall classifications of the Grand Tours, but his performances have been afflicted by injuries.
Jacky Durand is a French former professional road bicycle racer. Durand had an attacking style, winning the Tour of Flanders in 1992 after a 217 kilometres (135 mi) breakaway, and three stages in the Tour de France.
Nicolas Frantz was a Luxembourgish bicycle racer with 60 professional racing victories over his 12-year career. He rode for the Thomann team in 1923 and then for Alcyon-Dunlop from 1924 to 1931. He won the Tour de France in 1927 and 1928.
Marc Wauters is a former Belgian cyclist who was professional from 1991 until 2006. The 2004 Olympian, nicknamed The Soldier was a member of the Rabobank cycling team of the UCI ProTour since 1998 and had to end his career several weeks short because of a broken collarbone which he suffered during a training on 20 September 2006.
Fred "Freddie" Rodriguez is an American former professional road racing cyclist. His nickname, Fast Freddie, is due to his reputation as a sprint specialist. Rodriguez won the United States National Road Race Championships four times, and won four stages at the Tour de Georgia. He competed in the men's individual road race at the 2000 Summer Olympics.
Martin Elmiger is a Swiss former road racing cyclist, who rode professionally between 2001 and 2017 for the Post Swiss Team, Phonak, Ag2r–La Mondiale, IAM Cycling and BMC Racing Team squads. During his career, Elmiger was a four-time winner of the Swiss National Road Race Championships.
Grégory Rast is a Swiss former professional road bicycle racer, who rode professionally between 2001 and 2018 for the Post Swiss Team, Phonak, Astana, Team RadioShack and Trek–Segafredo teams. He was the winner of the Swiss National Road Race Championships in 2004 and 2006. Rast now works as a directeur sportif for the Trek–Segafredo team. His sporting career began with RMV Cham-Hagendorn.
Edvald Boasson Hagen is a Norwegian professional road racing cyclist, who currently rides for UCI ProTeam Team TotalEnergies. He was ranked as no. 3 in the world by UCI as of 31 August 2009, when he was 22 years old. He is known as an all-rounder, having won the Norwegian National Road Race Championships in 2012, 2015 and 2016. He is also a ten-time winner of the Norwegian National Time Trial Championships.
Jean "Bim" Diederich was a professional Luxembourgian road bicycle racer, with an impressive record in the Tour de France.
Jean Goldschmit was a professional Luxembourgian road bicycle racer. He was professional from 1946 to 1953 and had 14 victories which included two stage wins and wearing the yellow jersey as leader of the general classification in the Tour de France for three stages. Other wins included cyclo-cross champion of Luxembourg in 1946 and 1947 and road race champion of Luxembourg in 1947 and 1950.
Mathias Clemens was a Luxembourgish professional road bicycle racer. Mathias Clemens was the brother of cyclist Pierre Clemens.
Maxime Bouet is a French road racing cyclist, who currently rides for UCI ProTeam Arkéa–Samsic.
Fränk René Schleck is a Luxembourgish former professional road bicycle racer, who rode professionally between 2003 and 2016, for Team Saxo Bank and Trek–Segafredo. Schleck is the older brother of Andy, winner of the 2010 Tour de France. Their father, Johny Schleck, was a professional road bicycle racer between 1965 and 1974, as was their grandfather, Gustave Schleck, who contested events in the 1930s.
Sam Bennett is an Irish professional cyclist who rides for UCI WorldTeam Deceuninck–Quick-Step. A road sprinter, he turned professional in 2011, and has won eight Grand Tour stages: three stages for Bora–Hansgrohe in the 2018 Giro d'Italia, two stages for Bora–Hansgrohe at the 2019 Vuelta a España, two stages for Deceuninck–Quick-Step at the 2020 Tour de France, where he also won the Points classification, and one stage for Deceuninck–Quick-Step at the 2020 Vuelta a España.
Bob Jungels is a Luxembourgish road bicycle racer, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam AG2R Citroën Team.
John Degenkolb is a German professional road bicycle racer, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam Lotto–Soudal. His biggest wins to date are the 2015 Milan–San Remo and the 2015 Paris–Roubaix, two of cycling's five monuments. He is a winner of stages in all three Grand Tours, with ten stages and the points classification at the Vuelta a España, one stage of the Giro d'Italia, and one stage in the Tour de France.
Christine Majerus is a Luxembourgish professional road and cyclo-cross cyclist, who currently rides for UCI Women's WorldTeam SD Worx. She won the 2013 Sparkassen Giro Bochum one-day road race.
SD Worx is a professional cycling team based in the Netherlands, which competes in elite road bicycle racing events such as the UCI Women's World Tour.