Briek Schotte

Alberic "Briek" Schotte (born Kanegem, West Flanders, 7 September 1919 – died Kortrijk, 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 Jersey yellow flanders.svg Kampioenschap van Vlaanderen
 * 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 MaillotBélgica.PNG Interclubs road race, National Road Championships
 * 1st Omloop Mandel-Leie-Schelde
 * 1st Paris–Tours
 * 1st Jersey gold.svg Overall Tour de Luxembourg
 * 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 MaillotBélgica.PNG Interclubs road race, National Road Championships
 * 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 Jersey rainbow.svg Road race, UCI Road World Championships
 * 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 Jersey rainbow.svg Road race, UCI Road World Championships
 * 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 Jersey yellow flanders.svg Kampioenschap van Vlaanderen
 * 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 MaillotBélgica.PNG Interclubs road race, National Road Championships
 * 1st Wervik
 * 1st Langemark
 * 3rd Circuit des Régions Frontalières


 * 1958
 * 1st MaillotBélgica.PNG Interclubs road race, National Road Championships
 * 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
 * Belgian National Sports Merit Award: 1950
 * Swiss AIOCC Trophy: 1972
 * 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) ISBN 9063340982
 * Briek Schotte by Noël Truyers in 1998, De Eecloonaar, 48 p. (Dutch) ISBN 9074128297
 * Briek Schotte: de laatste der Flandriens by Rik Vanwalleghem and Bo Decramer in 1999, Lannoo, 176 p. (Dutch) ISBN 9789020939163
 * Briek Schotte: De erfenis van Briek by Rik Vanwalleghem and Anna Luyten in 2011, Kannibaal, 187 p. (Dutch) ISBN 9789081623735
 * Briek! De laatste Flandrien by Herman Chevrolet in 2019, De Arbeiderspers, 248 p. (Dutch) ISBN 9789029526425
 * Flandrien by Stephan Vanfleteren in 2021, Kannibaal, 132 p. (Dutch) ISBN 9789081623711