Gerrie Knetemann

Gerard Knetemann, known as Gerrie, was a Dutch road racer who lived from 1951 to 2004 and won the world championship in 1978. He wore the yellow jersey early in each Tour de France for four straight years from 1977 to 1980 and rode the Tour eleven times, winning ten stages, a Dutch record he shares with Jan Raas and Joop Zoetemelk. In 1978 he took the stage into Lausanne and the final stage on the Champs-Elysees. With his TI-Raleigh teammates he helped Zoetemelk win the 1980 Tour in one of the most dominant team performances in its history. He won 127 races as a professional, retired in 1991 and became the Dutch team selector. A favourite with reporters for his Amsterdam accent and humour, he died of a heart attack while cycling in 2004.