Rudi Altig

Rudi Altig (18 March 1937 to 11 June 2016) was a German professional track and road racing cyclist who won the 1962 Vuelta a Espana and the road world championship in 1966. Born in Mannheim, he began racing in 1952 with his older brother Willi, became national sprint champion in 1957 and 1958, then turned to pursuit racing and won the 1959 amateur world pursuit title in Amsterdam. He turned professional in 1960, won the world pursuit championship in 1960 and 1961, and took 22 six-day races on the track. Encouraged by Raphael Geminiani to move to the road, he won the 1962 Vuelta with three stage wins, then won three stages and the points competition in his first Tour de France. He won the Tour of Flanders in 1964 after riding 60 kilometres alone, and his 1966 world title at the Nurburgring was confirmed by the UCI despite a doping-control protest by the first three finishers. After retiring he worked as a television commentator.