Willy Vannitsen

Willy Vannitsen was a Belgian professional road bicycle racer, born on 8 February 1935 in Jeuk in Limburg and died on 19 August 2001. He was known in his day as one of the fastest finishers in the peloton and had won more than a hundred races as a youth before turning professional with Peugeot in 1954. Over a professional career that lasted until 1966 he collected 91 victories, his best year being 1958 with 14 wins. His one classic victory was La Flèche Wallonne in 1961, and among his other wins were the Scheldeprijs in 1965, the Omloop van Limburg three times and a stage in each of the Tour de France, where he won two stages in 1962, and the Giro d'Italia, where his 1958 stage win earned him a day in the pink jersey. He was also a capable track rider and won two Six Day races with Rik Van Looy, in Brussels in 1957 and in Antwerp in 1961. He finished second in Paris-Brussels in 1959 and third in Paris-Roubaix in 1965.