 | This article includes a list ofgeneral references, butit lacks sufficient correspondinginline citations. Please help toimprove this article byintroducing more precise citations.(March 2021) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
 Knetemann in 1977 | |||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Gerard Friedrich Knetemann | ||||||||||||||
| Nickname | de Kneet | ||||||||||||||
| Born | (1951-03-06)6 March 1951 Amsterdam, Netherlands | ||||||||||||||
| Died | 2 November 2004(2004-11-02) (aged 53) Bergen, Netherlands | ||||||||||||||
| Team information | |||||||||||||||
| Discipline | Road | ||||||||||||||
| Role | Rider | ||||||||||||||
| Major wins | |||||||||||||||
Grand Tours
| |||||||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||
Gerard Friedrich Knetemann (6 March 1951 – 2 November 2004) was a Dutchroad bicycle racer who won the 1978World Championship. He wore theYellow Jersey early in eachTour de France for four consecutive years between 1977 and 1980.
A four-time winner of theRonde van Nederland, he also rode the Tour de France 11 times between 1974 and 1987, winning 10 stages, a Dutch record equalled only byJan Raas andJoop 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'syellow jersey two days later, he won the stage intoLausanne and then the final stage on theChamps Elysées in Paris.
Together with Raas and his TI-Raleigh teammates Knetemann played a pivotal role in the victory of Zoetemelk in the1980 Tour de France, one of the most dominating team performances inTour de France history in which the team won twelve stages.
His career dwindled after a crash inDwars door België inBelgium in March 1983.
.jpg)
Recovery took months and, although he did again ride the Tour de France and win theAmstel Gold Race in 1985, he retired from racing in 1991 and became Dutch team selector.
Knetemann died in 2004 from aheart attack, while riding his bike with friends in De Schoorlse Duinen in Schoorl (gem. Bergen).
His wife, Gre Donker, was also a racing cyclist. They had a son and two daughters. Their daughterRoxane, born in 1987, was a professional cyclist as well.
Knetemann raced for several different sponsored teams in his career, one of the most famous was theTI–Raleigh team, managed byPeter Post, with which he won the1978 UCI Road World Championships.
1971
1974
1975
1976
1977
1978
World Road Race Champion1979
1980
1981
1982
1983
1984
1985
1986
1987
| Awards | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Dutch Sportsman of the Year 1978 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
