Frans Melckenbeeck

Frans Melckenbeeck was a Belgian professional road bicycle racer, born on 15 November 1940 and died on 28 October 2025. In 1962 he won one stage of the Tour de France, and in 1963 he won Liège-Bastogne-Liège, one of the oldest classics. He took four stage wins across the 1964 and 1965 editions of the Vuelta a España, and he also competed in the team pursuit on the track at the 1960 Summer Olympics. The English Wikipedia article counts 240 victories in total, 64 of them as a professional, and notes that he also had success on the cycling tracks. His hometown of Lede holds a yearly race, the Grand Prix Frans Melckenbeek, and he was made an honorary citizen of the municipality in 2018.