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Gerrie Knetemann

Personal information
Full name	Gerrie Knetemann
Nickname	de Kneet
Date of birth	March 6, 1951(1951-03-06)
Date of death	November 2, 2004 (aged 53)
Country	Netherlands
Team information
Discipline	Road
Role	Rider
Major wins
10 stages Tour de France 1978 World Championship Amstel Gold Race (1974 and 1985)
Medal record Competitor for the  Netherlands Road bicycle racing World Championships Gold 1978 Nürburgring Elite Men's Road Race
Infobox last updated on:
July 1, 2008

Gerrie Knetemann (6 March 1951 in Amsterdam – 2 November 2004 in Bergen) was a Dutch road bicycle racer who won the 1978 World Championship.

A four-time winner of the Ronde van Nederland, he also rode the Tour de France 11 times between 1974 and 1987, winning 10 stages, a Dutch record equalled only by Jan Raas and Joop Zoetemelk. Knetemann won 127 races as a professional.

Knetemann maintained an Amsterdam accent and a sharp sense of humour that made him a favourite with reporters and earned him television and radio appearances. His best year in the Tour de France was 1978, when he led from the sixth stage. Although he lost the leader's yellow jersey two days later, he won the stage into Lausanne and then the final stage on the Champs Elysées in Paris.

His career dwindled after a crash in A Travers la Belgique in Belgium in March 1983. Recovery took months and, although he did again ride the Tour de France, there was nothing of the once sparkling star. Knetemann did win the Amstel Gold Race in 1985. He retired from racing and in 1991 and became Dutch team selector.

Knetemann died while riding his bike. He collapsed from a heart attack with friends in Bergen, Netherlands.

Teams

Knetemann raced for several different sponsored teams in his career, one of the most famous was the Raleigh team, managed by Peter Post, with which he won the 1978 world road race championship.

Palmarès

External links

• Knetemann's death on Cyclingnews.com
• Report on Knetemann's death in Le Monde (French)
• Gerrie Knetemann profile at the Cycling Website
• Official Tour de France results for Gerrie Knetemann

See also

• List of Dutch cyclists who have led the Tour de France general classification

Tour de France Combativity award winners 1956 Darrigade • 1957 Barone • 1958 Bahamontes • 1959 Saint • 1960 Graczyk • 1961 Team West-Southwest • 1962 Pauwels • 1963 van Looy • 1964 Anglade • 1965 Gimondi • 1966 Altig • 1967 Letort • 1968 Pingeon • 1969–1970 Merckx • 1971 Ocaña • 1972 Guimard • 1973 Ocaña • 1974–1975 Merckx • 1976 Delisle • 1977 Knetemann • 1978 Wellens • 1979 Kuiper • 1980 Levavasseur • 1981 Hinault • 1982 Clère • 1983 Demierre • 1984 Hinault • 1985 Ducrot • 1986 Hinault • 1987 Delgado • 1988 Simon • 1989 Fignon • 1990 Chozas • 1991–1992 Chiappucci • 1993 Ghirotto • 1994 Poli • 1995 Buenahora • 1996–1997 Virenque • 1998–1999 Durand • 2000 Dekker • 2001–2002 Jalabert • 2003 Vinokourov • 2004 Virenque • 2005 Pereiro • 2006 de la Fuente • 2007 Txurruka • 2008 Chavanel • 2009 Pellizotti