Niko Eeckhout

Niko Eeckhout (born 16 December 1970) is a Belgian former professional road racing cyclist, who rode professionally between 1992 and 2013. He was the 2005–2006 UCI Europe Tour series and the 2006 Belgian National Cycling Championship Road Race champion, and currently works for the  Team as a coach.

Career
Born in Izegem, Eeckhout started his career in 1993 riding for the small Collstrop-team. He immediately started winning minor Belgian races like the Championship of Flanders and the Omloop Mandel-Leie-Schelde. In 1997 and 1998 he rode for, and then rode two years for Palmans. Eeckhout had a breakthrough season when he transferred to Lotto-Adecco in 2001, winning 11 races, including Dwars door Vlaanderen and the GP van Steenbergen.

Eeckhout struggled through the next two seasons and at the end of 2004 his contract with Lotto-Adecco ended and he needed to find a new team. He signed with the Belgian squad Chocolade Jacques and found his second youth. He started the 2005 season by winning Dwars door Vlaanderen, and went on to win major races including the Grand Prix d'Isbergues and a stage of the Three Days of De Panne. In 2006 he continued his winning form, taking the Three Days of West-Flanders. In June 2006 he won the biggest race in his career, the Belgian National Road Championship in Antwerp by beating Tom Boonen and Philippe Gilbert. Eeckhout had another great season in 2006, winning 12 races, including the 2005-2006 UCI Europe Tour. In the peloton he earned the nickname "Rambo" for being particularly tough during hard races in severe conditions.

Major achievements

 * 1992
 * 1st Kattekoers
 * 1st Stage 3 Tour de Liège
 * 3rd Nationale Sluitingprijs


 * 1993
 * 1st Omloop der Vlaamse Ardennen Ichtegem
 * 1st Omloop van de Vlaamse Scheldeboorden
 * 1st Stages 2 & 3 Tour du Poitou-Charentes
 * 2nd GP Rik Van Steenbergen


 * 1994
 * 4th Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne


 * 1995
 * 2nd GP Stad Zottegem


 * 1996
 * 1st Kampioenschap van Vlaanderen
 * 1st Omloop van het Waasland
 * 1st Grand Prix de la Ville de Lillers
 * 3rd A Travers le Morbihan
 * 4th Paris–Bourges
 * 4th Le Samyn
 * 5th Veenendaal–Veenendaal
 * 6th GP Rik Van Steenbergen
 * 8th Grote Prijs Jef Scherens


 * 1997
 * 1st Omloop van het Waasland
 * 1st Grand Prix de la Ville de Lillers
 * 4th Nokere Koerse
 * 6th Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne
 * 9th Cholet-Pays de Loire


 * 1998
 * 1st Kampioenschap van Vlaanderen


 * 1999
 * 1st Omloop van de Westhoek
 * 2nd De Kustpijl
 * 2nd Omloop van het Waasland
 * 2nd Leeuwse Pijl
 * 3rd Grand Prix de Denain
 * 4th Kampioenschap van Vlaanderen


 * 2000
 * 1st Kampioenschap van Vlaanderen
 * 1st Grand Prix Rudy Dhaenens
 * 1st Omloop van het Houtland
 * 1st Omloop van de Westhoek
 * 2nd Ronde van Midden-Zeeland
 * 2nd Veenendaal–Veenendaal
 * 3rd Sparkassen Giro Bochum
 * 3rd GP Aarhus
 * 3rd Grand Prix Midtbank
 * 4th Grand Prix Pino Cerami
 * 4th Nokere Koerse
 * 5th Paris–Brussels


 * 2001
 * 1st Overall Étoile de Bessèges
 * 1st Points classification
 * 1st Stage 1
 * 1st Dwars door Vlaanderen
 * 1st Ronde van Midden-Zeeland
 * 1st Memorial Rik Van Steenbergen
 * 1st Grote Prijs Jef Scherens
 * 1st Stage 3 Circuit Franco-Belge
 * 2nd Paris–Brussels
 * 3rd Schaal Sels
 * 3rd Cholet-Pays de Loire
 * 3rd Nokere Koerse
 * 9th Overall Danmark Rundt
 * 1st Stage 2
 * 9th Overall Three Days of De Panne
 * 1st Points classification
 * 9th Paris–Tours


 * 2002
 * 4th Overall Three Days of De Panne
 * 6th Dwars door Vlaanderen
 * 8th Nokere Koerse
 * 9th GP Rik Van Steenbergen
 * 9th Schaal Sels


 * 2003
 * 1st Memorial Rik Van Steenbergen
 * 1st Stage 1 Tour de Wallonie
 * 2nd Omloop van de Vlaamse Scheldeboorden
 * 3rd Grote Prijs Jef Scherens


 * 2004
 * 1st Ronde van Midden-Zeeland
 * 1st Stage 4 Ster Elektrotoer
 * 2nd Memorial Rik Van Steenbergen
 * 6th Dwars door Vlaanderen
 * 7th Overall Circuit Franco-Belge
 * 10th Paris–Brussels


 * 2005
 * 1st Dwars door Vlaanderen
 * 1st Grand Prix d'Isbergues
 * 1st Grote Prijs Beeckman-De Caluwé
 * 1st Omloop van de Vlaamse Scheldeboorden
 * 1st Stage 2 Three Days of De Panne
 * 4th Paris–Brussels
 * 4th Omloop Het Volk
 * 4th Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne
 * 5th Overall Tour of Belgium
 * 5th Scheldeprijs
 * 6th Nationale Sluitingprijs
 * 8th Veenendaal–Veenendaal
 * 8th Omloop van het Waasland


 * 2006
 * 1st Overall UCI Europe Tour
 * 1st MaillotBélgica.svg Road race, National Road Championships
 * 1st Overall Driedaagse van West-Vlaanderen
 * 1st Stage 3
 * 1st Kampioenschap van Vlaanderen
 * 1st Omloop van het Waasland
 * 1st Memorial Rik Van Steenbergen
 * Circuit Franco-Belge
 * 1st Points classification
 * 1st Stage 3
 * 2nd Omloop van het Houtland
 * 2nd Cholet-Pays de Loire
 * 4th Ronde van Midden-Zeeland
 * 4th Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne
 * 4th Scheldeprijs
 * 4th Dwars door Vlaanderen
 * 6th Omloop van de Vlaamse Scheldeboorden
 * 7th Overall Tour of Belgium
 * 8th Halle–Ingooigem


 * 2007
 * 1st Omloop van het Waasland
 * 2nd Memorial Rik Van Steenbergen
 * 3rd Omloop van het Houtland
 * 4th Overall Driedaagse van West-Vlaanderen
 * 6th Kampioenschap van Vlaanderen


 * 2008
 * 1st Omloop van het Waasland
 * 2nd Overall Driedaagse van West-Vlaanderen
 * 3rd Road race, National Road Championships
 * 3rd Dutch Food Valley Classic
 * 3rd Dwars door Vlaanderen
 * 4th Ronde van het Groene Hart
 * 5th Omloop van de Vlaamse Scheldeboorden
 * 5th Kampioenschap van Vlaanderen
 * 6th Overall Tour de Picardie
 * 7th Nokere Koerse
 * 10th Omloop van het Houtland


 * 2009
 * 1st Grote Prijs Stad Zottegem
 * 1st Memorial Briek Schotte-Desselgem
 * 1st Memorial Rik Van Steenbergen
 * FBD Insurance Ras
 * 1st Points classification
 * 1st Stage 1
 * 1st Stages 4 & 5 Vuelta a Extremadura
 * 2nd Dwars door Vlaanderen
 * 3rd Omloop van het Houtland
 * 6th Omloop van het Waasland
 * 7th Sparkassen Giro
 * 10th Nokere Koerse


 * 2010
 * 1st Stage 5 Étoile de Bessèges
 * 1st Stage 3 Ronde de l'Oise
 * 2nd Ronde van het Groene Hart
 * 7th Omloop Het Nieuwsblad


 * 2011
 * 3rd Handzame Classic
 * 4th Omloop van het Waasland
 * 8th Overall Driedaagse van West-Vlaanderen
 * 1st Stage 2


 * 2012
 * 1st Wanzeel Koerse
 * 1st Omloop der Kempen
 * 1st Schaal Sels
 * 3rd Dwars door het Hageland
 * 5th Ronde van Noord-Holland
 * 7th Overall Ronde de l'Oise
 * 8th Kampioenschap van Vlaanderen


 * 2013
 * 2nd Omloop van het Waasland
 * 2nd Zuid Oost Drenthe Classic I
 * 5th Grote Prijs Wase Polders
 * 6th Arno Wallaard Memorial