Dieter Kemper

Dieter Kemper was a German track cyclist from Dortmund who raced professionally from 1961 to 1980. He was at his best in motor-paced racing, where a rider follows a pacing motorbike at high speed, and won the professional world title in that event in 1975. Over his career he also collected seven European titles and 26 six-day races, the indoor team events that dominated European track racing, and he finished third at three world championships in motor-paced and individual pursuit events. Before taking up cycling in 1957 he had been a successful water polo player with SV Westphalia in Dortmund. He started the 1961 Tour de France but withdrew early after a crash, and a heavy fall during a motor-paced race in Cologne in December 1976 left him in a coma for nine days. He later moved to North Holland.