Patrick Sercu (27 June 1944 – 19 April 2019) was a Belgian cyclist who was active on the road and track between 1961 and 1983. On track, he won the gold medal in the 1 km time trial at the 1964 Summer Olympics, as well as three world titles in the sprint in 1963, 1967 and 1969. On the road, he earned the green jersey in the 1974 Tour de France. Sercu is the record holder for the number of six-day track race victories, having won 88 events out of 223 starts between 1961 and 1983; several of these wins were with cycling great Eddy Merckx.Patrick Sercu . www.famousbelgians.net. Gives information on record number of six day wins. He also won six stages at the Tour de France and eleven stages at the Giro d'Italia.
With 38 national and 15 European championship titles, he is considered as one of the most successful track cyclists ever.
In total, he won no less than 1,206 races, of which 168 road races and 1,038 track races.
Biography
Early life At a young age, Patrick Sercu was pushed towards the track by his father Albert, himself a successful rider. "He was afraid I would break down too quickly on the road", Patrick Sercu himself said about that.
With his fast legs, Sercu was also born for explosive work on the track. In 1962, aged 18, he won his first national titles, in the sprint and madison events. At 19, Sercu became world amateur sprint champion in Rocourt, near Liège.
A year later, the still very young Sercu captured gold at the kilometre in Tokyo, his only participation in the Games as only amateurs were allowed to compete in the cycling events at the time. That year, he was the star attraction at the Manchester Wheelers' Club Race Meet at the Fallowfield track in Manchester.
Professional career After the Olympics, professional life and also increasingly the road races beckoned for Sercu. Super team Solo–Superia, which also included Eddy Merckx, Rik Van Looy and Rik Van Steenbergen, brought in the West-Fleming.
While on the road he still lacked power and speed, on the track he was increasingly successful. Between 1965 and 1969, he won two more golds and two more silver medals at the World Sprint Championships, each time after a duel with his Italian rival Giuseppe Beghetto.
He was also an instant winner in the Six Days. With Eddy Merckx at his side, he won his first of 11 Six Days in Ghent in 1965. Until the early 1980s, Sercu would remain the uncrowned king of the Six Days.
With 88 final victories, Sercu leads the eternal rankings. "It's Merckx's fault there weren't more", he later said jokingly. After all, Merckx could not ride a full winter programme due to his busy schedule.
Gradually, Sercu began to find his feet on the road as well. In 1970, he rode his first major tour, the Giro, and took his first stage win. Twelve more stage wins in the Italian Tour would follow in the following years.
By the mid-1970s, Sercu had become one of the most renowned sprinters in the peloton. In his first participation in the Tour at the age of 30, he snatched 3 stages as well as the green jersey. Three years later, he would bring his total in the Tour to six stage wins. By then, he had already won the overall classification of another stage race Giro di Sardegna in 1970, and the points classification of the Critérium du Dauphiné and La Méditerranée in 1977.
Retirement
Patrick Sercu retired from competitions in 1983. He became organizer of six days events and omniums all over the world, and director of the Six Days of Ghent and the former Six Days of Hasselt.. britishcycling.org.uk. March 2004Lotto Zesdaagse – sport.be (in Dutch) After a few years with unstable health, Sercu died on 19 April 2019, aged 74.Zesdaagsekoning en olympisch kampioen Patrick Sercu overleden , sporza.be, 19 April 2019 (in Dutch)
Riding Style Sercu had the quality not only to have a very fast sprint, but he could also maintain that top speed for a long time. He celebrated his most notable success there in the one kilometer time trial, where he often outwitted the stockier, more explosive types in a long sprint. It earned him the world records in the shorter distances. Moreover, his performances often appeared relatively effortless, often to the chagrin of his opponents. With his exceptional recovery ability, he was able to participate in more than ten six-days in a winter season. In the years that he combined the track with the road, he competed in more than 200 races every year.
The six-day combination with Eddy Merckx was a success. Merckx was able to maintain a high, constant pace for a long time, while Sercu often finished it off with his final sprint.
Major results
Road
1964 1st Gent–Wevelgem Amateur race 1965 1st Criterium Zolder 1966 1st Criterium Bourcefranc 1967 1st Memorial Tom Simpson 1968 1st Omloop van Midden-Vlaanderen 2nd Ronde van Limburg 1969 1st Omloop Leiedal 1st Stage 5 Tirreno–Adriatico 3rd Omloop der Vlaamse Gewesten 1970 Giro d'Italia 1st Stage 5 2nd Coppa Sabatini 2nd Milano–Vignola 2nd Giro di Calabria 2nd Nokere Koerse 3rd Giro della Provincia di Reggio Calabria 3rd Overall Tirreno–Adriatico 1st Stage 5 1st Overall Giro di Sardegna 1st Stage 4 1971 1st Izegem koers Giro d'Italia 1st Stages 13 & 14 1st Stage 2 Giro di Sardegna 1st Criterium Tortoretto 2nd Coppa Bernocchi 1st Stage 1 Tour de Romandie 1st GP Roeselare 2nd Grote 1-MeiPrijs 2nd Milano–Vignola 2nd Giro di Campania 3rd Sassari-Cagliari 1972 1st Omloop van het Houtland 1st Kampioenschap van Vlaanderen 1st Criterium Lignano 2nd Coppa Bernocchi 2nd Paris–Camembert 1st Stage 3 Tirreno–Adriatico 3rd Overall Giro di Sardegna 1st Stage 6 3rd Sassari-Cagliari 1973 1st Maaslandse Pijl Giro d'Italia 1st Stage 9 1st Stage 2 Giro di Puglia 1st Elfstedenronde 1st Sassari-Cagliari 2nd Milano–Vignola
1974 Tour de France 1st Points classification 1st StageS 3, 4 and 10 1st Halle–Ingooigem Giro d'Italia 1st Stages 1, 10 & 12 (ITT), 7 & 15 (ITT) 1st De Kustpijl 1st Dwars door West-Vlaanderen 1st Criterium Rouergue 2nd Giro di Sicilia 2nd Omloop Het Nieuwsblad 5th Overall Giro di Sardegna 1st Stages 2, 3 and 5 1975 1st Izegem Koers 1st Circuit of Dunkirk (fr) Giro d'Italia 1st Stages 2, 13 and 18 Tour de Romandie 1st Stages 2 and 5 Tirreno–Adriatico 1st Stage 4 1st Dwars door West-Vlaanderen 1st Stage 3 Giro di Sardegna 2nd Omloop Het Nieuwsblad 2nd Milano–Vignola 2nd Grand Prix Cemab (fr) 1976 Giro d'Italia 1st Stages 1, 2 and 11 1st Stage 4 Giro di Puglia 1st Stage 5 Giro di Sardegna 1st Criterium Nantes 3rd Omloop Het Nieuwsblad 1977 Tour de France 1st Stages 8, 9 (TTT), 14 and 15 Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré 1st Points classification 1st Stages 3, 4, 5 and 8 Paris–Nice 1st Stages 8 and 10 1st Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne 3rd Overall Giro di Sardegna 1st Stages 2 and 3 La Méditerranéenne 1st Points classification 1st Stages 4 and 5 2nd E3 Harelbeke 1978 1st Stage 2 Tour of Belgium 1st Omloop van de Grensstreek 1st Criterium Hank 1979 1st GP Union Dortmund 1st Stage 6 Deutschland Tour 1980 1st Omloop van het Zuidwesten 1st Criterium Mol
Track
1962 Belgian National Championships 1st Amateur Sprint 1963 1st Men's Amateur sprint, UCI Track World Championships Belgian National Championships 1st Amateur Madison (with Romain De Loof) 1st Amateur Sprint 1st Amateur Omnium 1st Brussels Omnium (with Eddy Merckx) 1st Roucourt Sprint 1964 Summer Olympics 1st Men's track time trial World Record Flying 500 m time trial amateurs (29"66) World Record 1 km time trial amateurs (1'06"76) Belgian National Championships 1st Amateur Madison (with Eddy Merckx) 1st Amateur Sprint 1st Amateur Omnium 1st Brussels Omnium (with Eddy Merckx) 1st Cologne Omnium (with Eddy Merckx) 1st Antwerp Omnium (with Eddy Merckx) 1st Forest-Vorst Omnium (with Eddy Merckx) 1965 1st European Track Championships – Omnium Belgian National Championships 1st Omnium 1st Amateur Madison (with Eddy Merckx) 1st Sprint 2nd Men's sprint, UCI Track World Championships 1st Six Days of Ghent (with Eddy Merckx) 2nd Six Days of Brussels (with Eddy Merckx) 3rd Six Days of Antwerp (with Emile Severeyns and Theo Verschueren) 1966 Belgian National Championships 1st Omnium 1st Madison (with Eddy Merckx) 1st Six Days of Frankfurt (with Klaus Bugdahl) 1st Antwerp Omnium (with Eddy Merckx 1st Rocourt Omnium (with Eddy Merckx 1st Ostend Omnium (with Eddy Merckx 1st Brussels Omnium (with Eddy Merckx 1st Ghent Omnium (with Eddy Merckx, Rik Van Steenbergen and Noël Van Clooster 2nd Six Days of Ghent (with Klaus Bugdahl) 2nd Six Days of Antwerp (with Eddy Merckx and Klaus Bugdahl) 3rd Six Days of Milan (with Leandro Faggin) 3rd Six Days of Zürich (with Klaus Bugdahl) 3rd Six Days of Amsterdam (with Jan Janssen) 1967 1st Men's sprint, UCI Track World Championships 1st European Track Championships – Omnium World Indoor Record Flying 1 km time trial (1'01"23) Belgian National Championships 1st Omnium 1st Madison (with Eddy Merckx) 1st Sprint 2nd Derny 1st Six Days of Cologne (with Klaus Bugdahl) 1st Six Days of Ghent (with Eddy Merckx) 1st Six Days of Charleroi (with Ferdinand Bracke) 1st Six Days of Montreal I (with Emile Severeyns) 1st Six Days of Münster (with Klaus Bugdahl) 1st Madison Ostend (with Eddy Merckx) 1st Madison Rocourt (with Eddy Merckx) 2nd Six Days of Antwerp (with Eddy Merckx and Klaus Bugdahl) 2nd Six Days of Dortmund (with Klaus Bugdahl) 2nd Six Days of Berlin II (with Eddy Merckx) 2nd Six Days of Zürich (with Klaus Bugdahl) 2nd Six Days of Milan (with Klaus Bugdahl) 3rd Six Days of Berlin I (with Klaus Bugdahl) 3rd Six Days of Bremen (with Klaus Bugdahl) 3rd Six Days of Frankfurt (with Klaus Bugdahl) 3rd Six Days of Montreal II (with Emile Severeyns) 1968 European Track Championships 1st Omnium 3rd Madison (with Klaus Bugdahl)) Belgian National Championships 1st Omnium 1st Madison (with Eddy Merckx) 1st Sprint 1st Six Days of London (with Peter Post) 1st Six Days of Frankfurt (with Rudi Altig) 1st Six Days of Dortmund (with Rudi Altig) 2nd Men's sprint, UCI Track World Championships 2nd Six Days of Zürich (with Peter Post) 2nd Six Days of Cologne (with Eddy Merckx) 2nd Six Days of Ghent (with Rik Van Looy) 2nd Six Days of Montreal (with Emile Severeyns) 3rd Six Days of Antwerp (with Jan Janssen and Klaus Bugdahl) 3rd Six Days of Charleroi (with Rik Van Looy) 1969 1st Men's sprint, UCI Track World Championships European Track Championships 1st Omnium 1st Madison (with Peter Post) Belgian National Championships 1st Madison (with Rik Van Looy) 1st Sprint 1st Six Days of London (with Peter Post) 1st Six Days of Frankfurt (with Peter Post) 1st Six Days of Dortmund (with Peter Post) 1st Six Days of Antwerp (with Rik Van Looy and Peter Post) 1st Six Days of Bremen (with Peter Post) 2nd Six Days of Cologne (with Peter Post) 2nd Six Days of Berlin (with Peter Post) 2nd Six Days of Ghent (with Alain van Lancker) 2nd Six Days of Milan with Eddy Merckx) 2nd Six Days of Montreal (with Emile Severeyns) 3rd Six Days of Zürich (with Alain van Lancker) 1970 European Track Championships 1st Omnium 1st Madison (with Eddy Merckx) Belgian National Championships 1st Omnium 1st Madison (with Norbert Seeuws) 1st Six Days of London (with Peter Post) 1st Six Days of Cologne (with Peter Post) 1st Six Days of Bremen (with Peter Post) 1st Six Days of Ghent (with Jean-Pierre Monseré) 2nd Six Days of Berlin (with Albert Fritz) 2nd Six Days of Antwerp (with Romain Deloof and Alain van Lancker) 3rd Six Days of Zürich (with Sigi Renz and Jürgen Schneider) 1971 European Track Championships 1st Omnium 3rd Madison (with Graeme Gilmore)) Belgian National Championships 1st Omnium 1st Madison (with Jean-Pierre Monseré) 1st Six Days of London (with Peter Post) 1st Six Days of Ghent (with Roger De Vlaeminck) 1st Six Days of Frankfurt (with Peter Post) 1st Six Days of Berlin (with Peter Post) 1st Six Days of Rotterdam (with Peter Post) 2nd Six Days of Bremen (with Peter Post) 2nd Six Days of Brussels (with Roger De Vlaeminck) 3rd Six Days of Dortmund (with Peter Post)