Albéric Schotte

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

1939 1st Overall Tour de l'Ouest 1st GP de Bruxelles 1940 1st Ransart–Beaumont–Ransart 3rd Tour of Flanders 1941

1st Desselgem Koerse 1st Merelbeke 2nd Grote 1-MeiPrijs 3rd GP Stad Zottegem 1942 1st Tour of Flanders 1st Desselgem Koerse 1st Oostkamp 3rd Omloop der Vlaamse Gewesten 1943 1st Desselgem Koerse 3rd La Flèche Française (TTT) 3rd Liège–Bastogne–Liège 1944 1st Wetteren 2nd Tour of Flanders 2nd La Flèche Wallonne 1945 1st Nokere Koerse 1st Tielt–Antwerpen–Tielt 1st Olsene 1st Waregem 2nd Dwars door België 2nd Halle–Ingooigem 2nd Gullegem Koerse 2nd Brussels–Everbeek 2nd Circuit de Paris 3rd Across Paris 3rd Circuit de la Capitale 3rd Brussels–Sint-Truiden 1946

1st Omloop Mandel-Leie-Schelde 1st Paris–Tours

1st Stages 1 & 2 1st Omloop der Vlaamse Gewesten 1st Paris–Brussels 2nd Gullegem Koerse 2nd Halle–Ingooigem 2nd Road race, National Road Championships 3rd Tour of Flanders 3rd Overall Dwars door België 1st Stage 1 3rd Nokere Koerse 1947

1st Paris–Tours 1st Stage 21 Tour de France 1st Circuit de la Region Liniere 1st Heule 2nd GP Tielt 3rd GP Stad Vilvoorde 1948

1st Challenge Desgrange-Colombo 1st Tour of Flanders 2nd Road race, National Road Championships 2nd La Flèche Wallonne 2nd Road race, National Road Championships 2nd Overall Tour de France 1949 1st GP Stad Vilvoorde 3rd Tour of Flanders 1950

1st Gent–Wevelgem 1st Stage 5 Tour of the Netherlands 1st Critérium Aalst 1st Montenaken 2nd Road race, National Road Championships 2nd Tour of Flanders 2nd Gullegem Koerse 3rd Omloop Het Volk 1951 1st Vijfbergenomloop 3rd Brussels–Izegem 1952 1st Omloop der Zuid-West-Vlaamse Bergen 1st Paris–Brussels 2nd Paris–Tours 3rd Tour of Flanders 1953 1st Overall Dwars door België 1st Stage 2b 1st Grote Bevrijdingsprijs 1st Antwerpen–Luik–Antwerpen 1st Antwerpse Havenpijl 1st Waregem 2nd Paris–Brussels 2nd Overall Tour of Belgium 1954

1st Omloop der drie Provinciën 1st Prix de Soignies 1st Oedelem 2nd Overall Dwars door België 2nd Overall Omloop Mandel-Leie-Schelde 3rd GP Mesen 1955 1st Gent–Wevelgem 1st Overall Dwars door België 1st Stage 2b 1st Scheldeprijs Vlaanderen 2nd Nokere Koerse 2nd Paris–Limoges 1956 1st Overall GP Bali 1st Stage 1 1st Lauwe 1st Boulogne-sur-Mer 1st Stage 1 (TTT) Driedaagse van Antwerpen 2nd Omloop Het Volk 3rd Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne 1957

1st Wervik 1st Langemark 3rd Circuit des Régions Frontalières 1958

1st Wervik 1st De Panne 1st Stage 1 (TTT) Driedaagse van Antwerpen 2nd GP Roeselare 3rd Harelbeke–Antwerp–Harelbeke 1959 3rd Dwars door België

Awards and honours

Challenge Desgrange-Colombo: 1948 Trophée Edmond Gentil: 1948 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) Briek Schotte by Noël Truyers in 1998, De Eecloonaar, 48 p. (Dutch) Briek Schotte: de laatste der Flandriens by Rik Vanwalleghem and Bo Decramer in 1999, Lannoo, 176 p. (Dutch) Briek Schotte: De erfenis van Briek by Rik Vanwalleghem and Anna Luyten in 2011, Kannibaal, 187 p. (Dutch) Briek! De laatste Flandrien by Herman Chevrolet in 2019, De Arbeiderspers, 248 p. (Dutch) Flandrien by Stephan Vanfleteren in 2021, Kannibaal, 132 p. (Dutch)