Frans Melckenbeeck
 Melckenbeeck in the 1962 Tour de France | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1940-11-15)15 November 1940Lede, German-occupied Belgium |
| Died | 28 October 2025(2025-10-28) (aged 84) |
| Team information | |
| Discipline | Road |
| Role | Rider |
| Professional teams | |
| 1962–1966 | Mercier–BP–Hutchinson |
| 1967–1969 | Groene Leeuw–Tibetan–Pull Over Centrale |
| 1970–1972 | Goldor |
| Major wins | |
Grand Tours
| |
Frans Melckenbeeck (15 November 1940 – 28 October 2025) was a Belgian professional road bicycle racer.[1] In 1962, Melckenbeeck won one stage of the Tour de France, and in 1963 he won Liège–Bastogne–Liège.[2] He won four stages in the 1964 and 1965 Vuelta a España. Melckenbeeck also competed in the team pursuit at the 1960 Summer Olympics.[3]
In total, Melckenbeeck collected 240 victories, 64 of which as a professional rider. He also achieved success on the cycling tracks.[4]
A cycling race, the Grand Prix Frans Melckenbeek, is organized every year in his hometown of Lede.[5] In 2018, Melckenbeeck became an honorary citizen of the municipality.[6]
Melckenbeeck died on 28 October 2025, at the age of 84.[7]
Major results
- 1958
- 1st Omloop der Vlaamse Gewesten Amateurs race
- 1st Overall Étoile des Débutants
- 1st Stages 1, 3 & 4
- 1960
- 1st Bruxelles–Lede
- 1961
- 5th UCI Road World ChampionshipsAmateur road race
- 1961
- 1st
National Road Race Championships Road race, amateurs - 1st National Track Championships Madison, amateurs
- 1st Overall Ronde van Limburg (for under age 26)
- 2nd Overall Tour of Belgium amateurs
- 1st Stages 5 & 6
- 1st Overall Tour du Berry
- 1st Stages 2 & 3 (ITT)
- 1st Paris–Vailly
- 1st Kampioenschap van Oost-Vlaanderen
- 1st Grand Prix Somalia
- 2nd Grand Prix Neuville
- 2nd Gent–Wevelgem Amateurs
- 1962
- 1st Schelde-Dender-Leie
- 1st Lede
- 1st Mere
- 1st Stage 1 Tour de Luxembourg
- 1st Stage 5 Four Days of Dunkirk
- 1st Mol
- 2nd Paris–Tours
- 2nd Berlare
- 3rd Overall Tour du Nord
- 1st Stage 2
- 3rd Gullegem Koerse
- 1963
- Tour de France:
- 1st Stage 4
- 1st Stage 2 Tour du Nord
- 1st Liège–Bastogne–Liège
- 1st GP Brasschaat
- 1st GP Gemeente Kortemark
- 1st Omloop Gemeente Melle
- 1st Stage 5 Four Days of Dunkirk
- 1st Grote 1-MeiPrijs
- 1st Stages 2, 4 & 7 Tour du Sud-Est
- 1st GP Roeselare
- 1st Provencial interclub championship
- 1st Aalst
- 1st Lede
- 1st Ninove
- 1st GP Gemeente Kortemark
- 2nd Tour of Flanders
- 2nd Schelde-Dender-Leie
- 2nd Boucles de l'Aulne
- 2nd National Road Race Championships Interclubs Road race
- 3rd Kampioenschap van Vlaanderen
- 3rd Schaal Sels
- 1964
- 1st Grand Prix de Fourmies
- 1st Stage 1 Tour de Picardie
- 1st Grand Prix d'Isbergues
- 1st Omloop Het Volk
- 1st GP Gemeente Kortemark
- 1st Lede
- 1st Grote Prijs Marcel Kint
- Vuelta a España
- 1st stages 3, 6 and 17
- 1st Omloop Het Volk
- 1st GP Roeselare
- 1st Stage 4 Paris–Nice
- 1st Temse
- 1st Zwevegem
- 1st Lede
- 1st Kortemark
- 2nd Schelde-Dender-Leie
- 2nd Grand Prix d'Aix-en-Provence
- 2nd Grand Prix de Saint-Raphaël
- 3rd National Road Race Championships Road race
- 3rd Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne
- 1965
- Vuelta a España:
- 1st Stage 10a
- 1st GP Monaco
- 1st Erembodegem-Terjoden
- 1966
- 1st Omloop van de Vlasstreek
- 1st Omloop Gemeente Melle
- 1st Stage 4 (TTT) Tour of Belgium
- 2nd Omloop van het Waasland
- 1967
- 1st Stages 3 & 4 (TTT) Tour of Belgium
- 1st Provencial interclub championship
- 1st Westouter
- 1968
- 1st Grote Prijs Stad Zottegem
- 1st Erembodegem-Terjoden
- 1st Herzele
- 1st Handzame
- 1969
- 1st Lede
- 1st Moorsele
- 1970
- 1st Roubaix-Cassel-Roubaix
- 1971
- 1st Omloop van Oost-Vlaanderen
- 1st Temse
- 3rd Schelde-Dender-Leie
- 1972
- 1st Ninove
References
- ^"Frans Melckenbeek". FirstCycling.com. 2022.
- ^"Palmarès de Frans Melckenbeeck (Bel)". Memoire-du-cyclisme.eu (in French). Retrieved 31 December 2021.
- ^"Frans Melckebeke Olympic Results". sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 20 October 2014. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
- ^"Frans Melckenbeeck, oud-winnaar van Luik-Bastenaken-Luik, overleden op 84-jarige leeftijd". Sporza (in Dutch). 28 October 2025.
- ^"De Oude Acht van Lede. Een koersfeest waar traditie en toekomst samenkomem". denderjournaal.be (in Dutch). 24 July 2025.
- ^"Wielergemeenschap rouwt om overlijden van Frans Melckenbeeck: Flandrien van de Jaren Stillekes en trots van Lede en Erpe-Mere". denderjournaal.be (in Dutch). 28 October 2025.
- ^Frans Melckenbeeck, oud-winnaar van Luik-Bastenaken-Luik, overleden op 84-jarige leeftijd(in Dutch)
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Frans Melckenbeeck.
- Frans Melckenbeeck at Cycling Archives
- Frans Melckenbeeck at ProCyclingStats
- Frans Melckenbeeck at CycleBase
- Frans Melckenbeeck at Olympedia
- Frans Melckenbeeck at IMDb
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Categories:
- 1940 births
- 2025 deaths
- Belgian male cyclists
- Belgian Tour de France stage winners
- Belgian Vuelta a España stage winners
- Cyclists from East Flanders
- Olympic cyclists for Belgium
- Cyclists at the 1960 Summer Olympics
- People from Lede, Belgium
- 20th-century Belgian sportsmen
- Belgian cycling biography, 1940s birth stubs