Félicien Vervaecke

Félicien Vervaecke (; 11 March 1907 – 31 October 1986, in Brussels) was a Belgian professional cycling racist from 1930 to 1939. In the Tour de France he showed good results, finishing three times on the podium (second once, third twice). In 1935 and 1937 he won the mountain classification, and overall he won six stages. In the 1936 Tour de France, Vervaecke was on his way to the second place, but bad luck prevented it. First his bicycle broke, and he had to convince a spectator to lend his. Then he suffered a flat tire, and Tour officials forced him to wait for the reserve car. Antonin Magne passed him. When Vervaecke got his tire, he raced back to Magne, and finished 18 seconds behind him. But he still finished third, as he received 10 minutes penalty because his wife had given him drinks during the race, which was not allowed. In the 1937 Tour de France, Vervaecke won the mountain classification despite not finishing the race, something no longer allowed.

He was the first Belgian cyclist to win a stage in the Giro d'Italia.

After his cycling career, Vervaecke started a bicycle shop in Brussels. He was the first manager of Eddy Merckx.

His older brother Julien Vervaecke was also successful, finishing third in the 1927 Tour de France.

Major results

1929 Paris-Lens Tourcoing-Dunkerque-Tourcoing 1932 Tour de France: Did not finish Tour de Corrèze 1934 Tour de France: Final classification: 4th place Giro d'Italia: Stage 8 1935 Tour de France Final classification: 3rd place Winner Mountains classification Paris–Nice: Stage 5B 1936 Tour de France Final classification: 3rd place Winner of stage 19B Paris–Nice: Stage 1 1937 Tour de France did not finish Winner Mountains classification Winner stage 10 Paris–Nice: Stage 5A 1938 Tour de France Final classification: 2nd place Winner of stage 4C Winner of stage 8 Winner of stage 10B Winner of stage 20B 1939 Tour de France did not finish

Teams 1930: Alcyon 1931: Alcyon and Labor 1932-1933: Labor 1934: Labor and Gamma 1935-1936: Labor and Alcyon 1937-1939: Labor

Later life and death As an older man, Vervaecke lived a simple life with his wife and children. On October 31, 1986, he went on a short, leisurely bike ride around his neighborhood in Brussels late in the night when he was spooked by a black cat. He fell from his bicycle and experienced blunt force trauma to his skull. He died shortly after. His body was discovered by a shocked American tourist de France.