Alberic "Briek" Schotte (7 September 1919 – 4 April 2004) was a Belgian professional road racing cyclist, one of the champions of the 1940s and 1950s. His stamina earned him the nickname "Iron Briek" (IJzeren Briek).
He was world champion in 1948 and 1950, won the last stage of the 1947 Tour de France and finished second in the 1948 Tour, behind Gino Bartali. He twice won the Tour of Flanders (1942, 1948), Paris–Tours (1946, 1947) and Paris–Brussels (1946, 1952). He also won the inaugural Challenge Desgrange-Colombo, a season-long competition to identify the world's best road rider, in 1948. He holds the record with twenty consecutive participations in the Tour of Flanders and in addition to his two victories made the podium on six other occasions. Schotte corresponded to the archetype of the Flandrien, the diligent farm boy who competes against better equipped and guided riders from France and Italy. Although he himself put that into perspective: "Because of my position on the bike, I gave the impression that I was suffering more than was actually the case".
After retirement in 1959, he was a team coach for 30 years, mostly for Flandria where he also served as Directeur Sportif for many years. Riders such as Rik Van Looy, Herman Van Springel, Freddy Maertens, Eddy Merckx, Sean Kelly, Joop Zoetemelk, Michel Pollentier, Walter Godefroot and Roger De Vlaeminck rode for Schotte at various points during their respective careers. None of these riders would win the Tour de France while riding for Flandria, however Zoetemelk would finish 2nd in 1970 and 1971 while riding under Schotte's direction.
He died on the day of the 2004 Tour of Flanders. The commentators during the race said "God must have been one of Briek's greatest fans".
Major results
Awards and honours
- Challenge Desgrange-Colombo: 1948
- Trophée Edmond Gentil: 1948
- Belgian National Sports Merit Award: 1950
- Swiss AIOCC Trophy: 1972
- Honorary Citizen of Waregem: 1987
- Statue in Kanegem: 1996
- UCI Hall of Fame: 2002
- GP Briek Schotte: since 2004
- Monument and square in Desselgem: 2005
- Bust in Waregem: 2007
- Monument in Moorslede: 2010
- 10 Euro Silver commemorative coin: 2019
Books
- 20 jaren rennersloopbaan van Briek Schotte by Berten Lafosse in 1955, Atlas Kortrijk, 79 p. (Dutch)
- IJzeren Briek: de wielersport zal niet sterven: het levensverhaal van Briek Schotte by André Blancke in 1987, Het Volk, 192 p. (Dutch) ISBN 9063340982
- Briek Schotte by Noël Truyers in 1998, De Eecloonaar, 48 p. (Dutch) ISBN 9074128297
- Briek Schotte: de laatste der Flandriens by Rik Vanwalleghem and Bo Decramer in 1999, Lannoo, 176 p. (Dutch) ISBN 9789020939163
- Briek Schotte: De erfenis van Briek by Rik Vanwalleghem and Anna Luyten in 2011, Kannibaal, 187 p. (Dutch) ISBN 9789081623735
- Briek! De laatste Flandrien by Herman Chevrolet in 2019, De Arbeiderspers, 248 p. (Dutch) ISBN 9789029526425
- Flandrien by Stephan Vanfleteren in 2021, Kannibaal, 132 p. (Dutch) ISBN 9789081623711
References
External links
- Albéric Schotte at Cycling Archives (archived)
- Albéric Schotte at ProCyclingStats
- Albéric Schotte at CycleBase
- Official Tour de France results for Alberic Schotte
