Hennie Kuiper

Hendrikus Andreas "Hennie" Kuiper (born 3 February 1949) is a Dutch former professional road racing cyclist. His career includes a gold medal in the Olympic road race at Munich in 1972, becoming world professional road race champion in 1975, as well as winning four of the five "Monument" classics. He rode the Tour de France 12 times, finishing second twice and winning the stage to Alpe d'Huez on two occasions. Kuiper, Ercole Baldini, Paolo Bettini and Remco Evenepoel are the only male riders to have won both the Olympic road race and the world professional road race.

Biography Kuiper was born in Denekamp, in Overijssel province. His serious introduction to the bicycle was to and from school in Enschede. He started participating in junior races from 14 and from 19 to 23 he won 39 times as an amateur. The climax of his amateur career was gold in the Olympic road race in Munich in 1972, riding the final 40 km alone. He also won the Tour of Britain (Milk Race) that year.

Professional career Kuiper turned professional in 1973 with the small German team Haro-Rokado. His career took off in 1975 when he signed for the Dutch team, Frisol, where he got more chances to shine and formed a partnership with José De Cauwer (who worked for Kuiper in races) that lasted until 1980. The 1975 season saw Kuiper become world champion at Yvoir in Belgium, winning a tough race over 260 km, with 21 ascents of a climb.

Kuiper signed for TI–Raleigh in 1976 and finished second in the 1977 Tour de France 48 seconds behind Bernard Thévenet, who later admitted using steroids. Kuiper won the mountain stage at Alpe d'Huez, a feat he repeated in 1978. Kuiper finished fourth in the 1979 Tour and second in 1980 behind fellow Dutchman Joop Zoetemelk. That second place ended his best years as a stage race rider and in 1981 he moved to DAF Trucks and reinvented himself as a one-day classics rider. 1981 saw him win the Tour of Flanders and the Giro di Lombardia while in 1983 he won Paris–Roubaix, his 11th attempt at the hell of the north. In 1985, at 36, he won Milan–San Remo. His retirement came on 6 November 1988 at 39 at a small cyclo-cross at Oldenzaal in his home province.

Team manager After retirement Kuiper managed the small German pro squad Team Stuttgart between 1989 and 1990. In 1991 he became head of the Telekom team. In 1992 he was approached by Jim Ochowicz, manager of the American Motorola team, to become assistant team manager. Kuiper stayed with Motorola for four years. Since 1997 he has worked for the Rabobank team in public relations, as well as coaching the Dutch national team on occasions. He has two sons from his first marriage with Ine Nolten: Patrick Kuiper and Bjorn Kuiper. He lives with his second wife, Marianne, in Lonneker.

Career achievements Major results

1970 3rd Overall Tour of Yugoslavia 1st Stage 2 1971

1st Stage 5 Tour of Yugoslavia 1st Stage 1a Trois jours de Hénin Liétard 3rd Overall Rheinland-Pfalz Rundfahrt 1st Stage 7 1972

2nd Overall Tour du Limousin 10th Overall Trophée Peugeot de l'Avenir 1973 1st Stage 2 Tour de l'Aude 2nd Züri-Metzgete 4th Overall Tour de Luxembourg 5th Amstel Gold Race 10th Overall Volta a Catalunya 1974

1st GP Union Dortmund 2nd Paris–Camembert 7th Overall Paris–Nice 7th Overall Volta a Catalunya 9th Züri-Metzgete 1975

2nd Grand Prix Le Télégramme de Brest 2nd Kampioenschap van Vlaanderen 3rd Trofeo Baracchi 4th Overall Tour de Luxembourg 5th Overall Vuelta a España 1st Stage 18 7th Paris–Brussels 9th Overall Tirreno–Adriatico 9th Amstel Gold Race 10th Overall Tour of the Netherlands 1976 Tour de France 1st Stages 4 & 5a (TTT) 2nd Overall Paris–Nice 2nd Overall Vuelta a Andalucía 2nd Omloop Het Volk 2nd Paris–Brussels 3rd Road race, National Road Championships 4th Paris–Roubaix 5th Liège–Bastogne–Liège 5th Amstel Gold Race 6th Overall Vuelta a España 1st Stage 4

1st Stage 3 10th Overall Tour of the Netherlands 1977 2nd Overall Tour de France 1st Stage 17 2nd Overall Vuelta a Andalucía 3rd Amstel Gold Race 3rd Paris–Tours 4th Road race, UCI Road World Championships 6th Paris–Brussels 4th Overall Four Days of Dunkirk 8th Overall Tour de Luxembourg 10th Paris–Roubaix 10th Tour of Flanders 1978 Tour de France 1st Stages 4 (TTT) & 16 2nd Overall Tour de Romandie 2nd Trofeo Baracchi 3rd Rund um den Henninger Turm 3rd Grand Prix des Nations 4th Overall Tour de Suisse 5th Overall Tour Méditerranéen 5th Amstel Gold Race 6th Liège–Bastogne–Liège 6th Paris–Roubaix 6th La Flèche Wallonne 7th Overall Paris–Nice 9th Overall Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré 1st Prologue 1979 3rd Paris–Roubaix 4th Overall Tour de France 4th Overall Critérium National de la Route 5th Overall Grand Prix du Midi Libre 6th Grand Prix de Wallonie 7th Overall Tour de l'Aude 7th Tour of Flanders 7th Grand Prix des Nations 8th Overall Four Days of Dunkirk 8th Overall Tour Méditerranéen 9th La Flèche Wallonne 10th Giro di Lombardia 10th Gent–Wevelgem 1980 2nd Overall Tour de France 2nd Overall Tour d'Indre-et-Loire 2nd Liège–Bastogne–Liège 4th Overall Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré 4th Paris–Brussels 5th Overall Grand Prix du Midi Libre 5th Giro di Lombardia 7th La Flèche Wallonne 7th Grand Prix de Wallonie 8th Gent–Wevelgem 1981 1st Giro di Lombardia 1st Tour of Flanders 2nd Overall Tour of the Netherlands 6th Paris–Roubaix 6th Giro dell'Emilia 6th Nationale Sluitingsprijs 7th E3 Prijs Vlaanderen 8th Paris–Tours 9th Rund um den Henninger Turm 1982 1st Grand Prix de Wallonie 2nd Overall Tour de Luxembourg 2nd Trofeo Baracchi 5th La Flèche Wallonne 6th Amstel Gold Race 6th Brabantse Pijl 6th Paris–Tours 7th Overall Paris–Nice 8th Paris–Brussels 9th Overall Tour de France 10th Giro di Lombardia 1983 1st Paris–Roubaix 2nd Trofeo Baracchi 4th Giro di Lombardia 5th Overall Vuelta a España 6th Liège–Bastogne–Liège 1984 6th Grand Prix de Fourmies 9th Paris–Roubaix 10th Züri-Metzgete 1985 1st Milan–San Remo 3rd Tour of Flanders 5th Bordeaux–Paris 6th Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne 8th Paris–Roubaix 10th Trofeo Laigueglia 1986 10th E3 Prijs Vlaanderen 1987 5th Rund um den Henninger Turm 1988 3rd Veenendaal–Veenendaal Classic 8th Grand Prix d'Ouverture La Marseillaise 10th Overall Critérium International

Grand Tour general classification results timeline

DNF = Did Not Finish