Karel Kaers

Karel Kaers (3 June 1914 – 20 December 1972) was a Belgian professional cyclist with 30 wins.

Kaers was born in Vosselaar. In 1934 he became the youngest world road champion, winning in Leipzig at 20. It was the first time he had ridden the race. He also won the Tour of Flanders in 1939, and the Belgian national championship in 1937.

His last race was on the track at Ordrup, near Copenhagen, Denmark, on 9 May 1948. He finished fourth in an omnium competition.

Youngest world champion

Lance Armstrong is frequently described as the youngest world champion. In fact, he was only the third youngest road champion when he took the rainbow jersey in Oslo in 1993. Armstrong was two weeks short of 22; Kaers had just turned 20. Jean-Pierre Monseré was three weeks short of 22 when he became champion in Leicester on 16 August 1970.

History Karel Kaers started racing at 14 and won 37 events in his first two years, including the Belgian boys' championship on the road. He became a junior in 1931 and won the national sprint championship. He became an independent, or semi-professional, and then a full professional in 1932, riding mainly on the track until 1934.

In 1934 he began riding more on the road, winning the world championship at Leipzig. That winter he rode 1m 9.6s for a standing-start kilometre and, another track record, 1m 48s for the flying-start kilometre, both on the Vélodrome d'Hiver in Paris. He won the 320 km Circuit of Paris road race in 1937, then rode the track again in the winter and equalled Jef Scherens' record of 29.6s for 500 metres. He then broke the world one-mile record at Wembley, during the six-day race, by riding 1m 49.6s.

His weight, 85 kg, made him a poor climber and he never succeeded in hilly races.

Retirement Karel Kaers ran a bar inside the entrance to the Sportpaleis track in Antwerp after he stopped racing. He died in Antwerp, aged 58 after an intracranial hemorrhage.

Career Road

1930

1932 1st Etoile des Juniors 1933 1st Omloop Groot Oostende 1st Vosselaar 1934

1st Antwerp 1st Blankenberge 1st Sombreffe 1st Kontich 1st Ossendrecht 1st Sombreffe 1st Critérium de Zürich 7th Giro della Provincia di Milano 1935 – Francis Pélissier 1st Acht van Chaam 1st Grote 1-MeiPrijs 10th Circuit de Paris (fr) 1936 – Colin 1st Acht van Chaam 1st Antwerp 1st Bar-le-Duc 1st Muizen 1st Schaarbeek 7th Circuit de Paris (fr) 1937 – Alcyon, Bury

1st Circuit de Paris (fr) 1st Grote 1-MeiPrijs 1st Nationale Sluitingsprijs 1st Critérium de Zürich 1st Antwerp 1st Brasschaat 1st Bar-le-Duc 1938 – Alcyon, Bury 1st Acht van Chaam 1st Stage 1 Paris-Saint-Étienne (fr) 1st Critérium de Bruxelles 1st Wouw 1939 – Alcyon 1st Tour of Flanders 1st Prix Torpédo in Schweinfurt 1st Critérium de Liège 1940 – Alcyon 1st Critérium de Bruxelles 1st Mechelen 1941 1st Omloop der Vlaamse Gewesten 1st Critérium de Namur 1942 1st Kortrijk 1st Wakken 1st Hoboken 1st Herentals 1st Namur 3rd Gullegem Koerse 1943 1st Antwerp 1st Ougrée 1st Herentals 1946 1st Critérium de Zürich 1947 – Magali

Track

1931

1932

1934 3rd Sprint National Track Championships 1935 3rd Sprint National Track Championships 1936 1st Six Days of Paris (with Albert Billiet) 3rd Sprint National Track Championships 1937 3rd Sprint National Track Championships 1938 1st Six Days of Paris (with Albert Billiet) 1939 National Track Championships

3rd Sprint 1st Six Days of London (with Omer De Bruycker) 1st Six Days of Copenhagen (with Omer De Bruycker) 3rd Six Days of Antwerp (with Omer De Bruycker) 3rd Six Days of Brussels (with Omer De Bruycker) 1940 1st Six Days of Brussels (with Omer De Bruycker) 2nd National motor-paced championship 1941 2nd Sprint National Track Championships 1941 2nd Omnium National Track Championships 1944 2nd Omnium National Track Championships