Marc Demeyer

Marc Demeyer (19 April 1950 – 20 January 1982) was a professional road racing cyclist from Avelgem, Belgium. Although known as the "master servant" for Freddy Maertens, the powerful Demeyer was able to win 60 professional road races. He died of a heart attack at the age of 31.

Demeyer turned professional in 1972 for the Flandria team managed by Briek Schotte. He signed the contract while resting it on a car beside the start of Dwars door België, which he then won. Shortly afterwards he won the Grand Prix d'Isbergues.

Demeyer was one of the so-called "Three Musketeers", riding with and for Freddy Maertens and Michel Pollentier He led out sprints for Maertens in particular but could win them for himself, including stages of the Tour de France. He rode the Tour six times, finishing 72nd in 1973, 41st in 1974, 42nd in 1975, 56th in 1976, 49th in 1978 and 57th in 1979.

He won the intermediate sprints competition, known then as Points Chaud ('hot spot sprints') in the Tours of 1973 and 1975. He won two stages: the 19th in 1978 from Lausanne to Belfort, and the 14th in 1979 from Belfort to Evian-les-Bains. In 1974 he won Paris–Brussels and two years later Paris–Roubaix.

In January 1982, two weeks after an ambitious-looking Demeyer was presented as the new signing of Splendor, he died of a heart attack. Various causes were subsequently mentioned, including suicide.

Honours Demeyer was particularly suited to the cobbled Classics and won the 1976 edition of Paris-Roubaix, famously captured in Jorgen Leth’s film A Sunday in Hell.

Demeyer was honored in the 2012 edition of Paris–Roubaix.

A book Marc Demeyer-Een Flandrien uit Outrijve by Eric Demets was published in 2016.

Major results

1971 1st Ronde Van Vlaanderen Beloften Peace Race 1st Stages 5 & 9 1972 1st Dwars door België 1st Grand Prix d'Isbergues 1st Grand Prix Fayt-le-Franc 7th Overall Tour d'Indre-et-Loire 1973 1st Grand Prix de Denain 1st Stage 1 Four Days of Dunkirk 1st Intermediate sprints classification Tour de France 3rd Scheldeprijs 9th Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne 1974 1st Scheldeprijs 1st Grand Prix Pino Cerami 1st Paris–Brussels 3rd Paris–Roubaix 5th Overall Tour de Luxembourg 5th Tour of Flanders 6th Dwars door België 6th Grand Prix Fayt-le-Franc 6th Rund um den Henninger Turm Frankfurt 7th Overall Four Days of Dunkirk 1st Stage 2 8th Overall Tour of Belgium 8th Coppa Ugo Agostoni 9th E3 Prijs Vlaanderen 9th Grote Prijs Jef Scherens 1975 1st Nokere Koerse 1st Stage 3a Four Days of Dunkirk 1st Intermediate sprints classification in the Tour de France 3rd Tour of Flanders 4th Paris–Roubaix 5th Gent–Wevelgem 5th Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne 5th Rund um den Henninger Turm Frankfurt 6th Scheldeprijs 7th Road race, National Road Championships 9th E3 Prijs Vlaanderen 9th Omloop Het Volk 10th Overall Tour de Luxembourg 1st Stage 2 1976 1st Paris–Roubaix 2nd Dwars door België 3rd Tour of Flanders 6th Overall Four Days of Dunkirk 7th Scheldeprijs 1977 1st Scheldeprijs 1st Omloop van het Houtland 1st Circuit des Frontières Giro d'Italia 1st Stages 14 & 16a 2nd Paris–Brussels 2nd Grand Prix de Wallonie 3rd Dwars door België 5th Kampioenschap van Vlaanderen 7th Tour of Flanders 7th Grote Prijs Jef Scherens 1978 1st Stage 19 Tour de France 3rd Grand Prix Fayt-le-Franc 4th Grote Prijs Stad Zottegem 6th E3 Prijs Vlaanderen 6th De Kustpijl 9th Omloop Het Volk 10th Paris–Roubaix 1979 1st De Kustpijl 1st Stage 14 Tour de France 1st Stage 4 Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré 1st Stage 2 Tour of Belgium 1st Stage 1 Setmana Catalana de Ciclisme Grand Prix du Midi Libre 1st Stages 3 & 4 Four Days of Dunkirk 1st Stages 1, 2 & 5a 2nd Tour of Flanders 3rd Züri-Metzgete 4th Gent–Wevelgem 4th La Flèche Wallonne 8th Paris–Roubaix 9th Road race, National Road Championships 9th Omloop Het Volk 1980 1st Circuit des Frontières 1st Stage 3 Grand Prix du Midi Libre 2nd Paris–Brussels 5th Paris–Roubaix 5th Tour of Flanders 6th Grote Prijs Jef Scherens 8th Overall Four Days of Dunkirk 9th Omloop Het Volk 1981 5th Paris–Roubaix 5th Gent–Wevelgem 10th E3 Prijs Vlaanderen