Rudy Dhaenens

Rudy Dhaenens (10 April 1961 – 6 April 1998) was a Belgian professional road bicycle racer who is most famous for winning the road race at the 1990 UCI Road World Championships as a member of the Belgian national team.

Dhaenens excelled several times in the Paris–Roubaix classic race; finishing second in 1986 and third the following year. Dhaenens won the 1990 World Championship Road Race, held in Utsunomiya, Japan, ahead of Dirk De Wolf of Belgium and Gianni Bugno of Italy. In 1992, Dhaenens was forced to stop his career because of heart problems. For a long time, he was in the service of the PDM cycling team, usually as tactical captain. Dhaenens was known for his calm, reserved attitude.

He died in 1998, at the age of 36, from head injuries sustained in a car accident in Aalst while driving to the finish of the Tour of Flanders bicycle race. From 1999 to 2007, the Grand Prix Rudy Dhaenens was held in his honour in late March, in Nevele, Belgium.

Major results

 * 1981
 * 2nd Ronde van Vlaanderen Beloften


 * 1984
 * 3rd Overall Tour de Luxembourg
 * 4th Amstel Gold Race
 * 8th Gent–Wevelgem


 * 1985
 * 1st Druivenkoers Overijse
 * 3rd Gent–Wevelgem
 * 3rd Road race, National Road Championships
 * 5th Paris–Roubaix
 * 10th Overall 4 Jours de Dunkerque
 * 10th Overall Tour of Belgium
 * 10th Paris–Tours


 * 1986
 * 1st Stage 11 Tour de France
 * 2nd Paris–Roubaix
 * 2nd De Kustpijl
 * 6th Overall Tour de Luxembourg
 * 1st Stage 1
 * 7th Gent–Wevelgem
 * 10th Overall 4 Jours de Dunkerque


 * 1987
 * 3rd Paris–Roubaix
 * 4th Trofeo Laigueglia
 * 6th Gent–Wevelgem


 * 1988
 * 4th Omloop Het Volk
 * 8th Tour of Flanders
 * 8th Gent–Wevelgem


 * 1989
 * 5th Grand Prix de la Libération (TTT)
 * 7th Milan–San Remo
 * 9th Overall Tirreno–Adriatico
 * 10th Overall Ronde van Nederland


 * 1990
 * 1st Jersey rainbow.svg Road race, UCI Road World Championships
 * 1st Stage 2a Vuelta a Asturias
 * 2nd Tour of Flanders
 * 2nd Druivenkoers Overijse
 * 3rd Wincanton Classic
 * 4th Liège–Bastogne–Liège
 * 5th Tre Valli Varesine
 * 8th GP des Amériques
 * 9th Paris–Roubaix
 * 10th Gent–Wevelgem

Tour de France record

 * 1985: 101st overall
 * 1986: 122nd overall; 1 stage win
 * 1988: 87th overall
 * 1990: 43rd overall