# Ferdinand Bracke

Ferdinand Bracke (born 25 May 1939) is a Belgian former professional road and track cyclist who is most famous for holding the World Hour Record (48.093 km) and winning the overall title at the 1971 Vuelta a España in front of Wilfried David of Belgium and Luis Ocaña of Spain. He also became world pursuit champion on the track in 1964 and 1969.

## Biography

Bracke was born in Hamme East Flanders, Belgium, on 24 May 1939. A rouleur and time trialist, he emerged as an amateur in 1962 by winning the tenth stage of the Peace Race. In May of the same year he won the Grand Prix des Nations, a time trial race. He turned pro on 26 September 1962, joining the Peugeot-BP-Dunlop team headed by Gaston Plaud.
In the following years he obtained numerous prestigious victories on road: he won the Trofeo Baracchi, together with Eddy Merckx, in 1966 and 1967, a stage in the 1966 Tour de France and the final time trial of the 1976 Tour de France. He finished in third place in the general classification at the 1968 Tour de France. In 1971 he won the Vuelta a España, beating compatriot Wilfried David (who placed second) and Spaniard Luis Ocaña (who placed third).
He became world champion in track pursuit in 1964 in Paris and again in Antwerp in 1969, then winning second place in 1972 and 1974 and placing third in 1973. On 30 October 1967 he recorded the hour record with 48,093 kilometers at the Olympic Velodrome in Rome, becoming the first cyclist to reach the milestone of 48 kilometers. The record, broken the following year by Ole Ritter, remained the best performance on track below 600 meters of altitude for a long time.
In 1978 he ended his cycling career and took over a furniture business with his wife. On 17 February 1979, Bracke was bid farewell to cycling at a cycling gala in the Sports Palace in Ghent.

## Honours

In 1967 Bracke was voted Belgian Sportsman of the Year (the first in history to receive this award) and was awarded the Belgian Sports Merit Award.

## Major results
### Road
#### 1961

    1st Overall Tour of Austria amateurs
    1st Stages 1 & 2a (TTT) Etoile Hennuyère
    1st Stage 2 Ronde van Limburg amateurs
    1st Stage 2b (ITT)Tour de Wallonie

#### 1962

    1st Grand Prix des Nations (ITT)
    1st Stage 10 Peace Race
    2nd Grand Prix du Parisien
    3rd Gran Premio di Lugano

#### 1963

    1st Grand Prix du Parisien
    2nd Flèche Hesbignonne
    2nd Manche-Océan
    2nd Grand Prix des Nations
    2nd Gran Premio di Lugano
    3rd Trofeo Baracchi (with Walter Boucquet)

#### 1964

    1st Stage 2b Tour du Sud-Est
    1st Stage 5b (TTT) Four Days of Dunkirk
    1st Stage 4 Grand Prix du Midi Libre
    1st Gran Premio di Lugano
    2nd Tour de l'Oise
    3rd Bruxelles-Verviers
    3rd Omloop van West Brabant

#### 1965

    1st Tour de Haute-Loire
    1st GP de la Basse-Sambre

#### 1966

    1st Trofeo Baracchi (with Eddy Merckx)
    1st Stage 19 Tour de France
    1st Stage 1b (ITT) Tour of Belgium
    1st Stage 2b (TTT) Four Days of Dunkirk
    2nd Escalada a Montjuïc

#### 1967

    1st Trofeo Baracchi (with Eddy Merckx)
    3rd Interclubs road race, National Road Championships

#### 1968

    1st European Time Trial Cup (with Vittorio Adorni)
    1st LuK Challenge Chrono (with Vittorio Adorni)
    2nd National Road Championships
    2nd Overall Paris-Nice
       1st Stage 8b (ITT)
    3rd Overall Tour de France

#### 1969

    1st Stage 2b (ITT) Four Days of Dunkirk
    1st Stage 1c Critérium du Dauphiné
    2nd Overall Grand Prix du Midi Libre
       1st Stage 3

#### 1970

    1st Grand Prix de Wallonie
    1st Stage 5b (ITT) Four Days of Dunkirk

#### 1971

    1st Overall Vuelta a España
    1st Flèche Hesbignonne
    2nd Overall Tour de Luxembourg
    3rd Overall Tour of Belgium

#### 1972

    1st Stage 5 Étoile des Espoirs
    1st Prologue (TTT) Critérium du Dauphiné
    3rd Overall Four Days of Dunkirk

#### 1973

    1st Grand Prix Pino Cerami

#### 1974

    1st Grand Prix de Monaco
    Tour de Picardie
       1st stage 3
    3rd Overall Tour of Belgium
       1st stage 6
    3rd Circuit de la Région Linière
    2nd Le Samyn

#### 1975

    3rd GP de Wallonie

#### 1976

    1st Stage 17 Tour de France

#### 1977

    1st Bruxelles-Biévène

#### 1978

    2nd Bruxelles-Ingooigem
    3rd Trofee Luc Van Biesen

### Track
#### 1964

    1st Individual pursuit, UCI World Championships
    3rd Individual pursuit, National Track Championships

#### 1965

    1st Individual pursuit, National Track Championships
    2nd Individual pursuit, UCI World Championships
    3rd Omnium, European Championships

#### 1966

    2nd Individual pursuit, UCI World Championships

#### 1967

    World Hour Record – 48.093km
    1st Individual pursuit, National Track Championships
    1st Six Days of Charleroi (with Patrick Sercu)

#### 1968

    1st Six Days of Charleroi (with Eddy Merckx)
    2nd Omnium, National Track Championships

#### 1969

    1st Individual pursuit, UCI World Championships
    3rd Six Days of Charleroi (with Rudi Altig)

#### 1970

    2nd Six Days of Brussels
    3rd Omnium, National Track Championships

#### 1971

    2nd Six Days of Ghent (with Peter Post
    3rd Six Days of Grenoble
    3rd Six Days of Brussels
    3rd Omnium, National Track Championships

#### 1972

    Belgian National Championships
       1st Individual Pursuit
       1st Derny
    2nd Individual pursuit, UCI World Championships

#### 1973

    1st Individual pursuit, National Track Championships
    1st Six Days of Montreal (with Robert Van Lancker)
    3rd Individual pursuit, UCI World Championships
    3rd Derny, European Championships

#### 1974

    2nd Individual pursuit, UCI World Championships
    2nd Individual pursuit, National Track Championships
    3rd Six Days of Herning (with Julien Stevens)

#### 1975

    Belgian National Championships
       2nd Madison (with Willy Debosscher)
       3rd Derny

#### 1977

    3rd Omnium, National Track Championships

#### 1979

    3rd Six Days of Antwerp (with Constant Tourné)

#### World record info

| Discipline | Record | Date | Velodrome | Ref |
| Hour Record | 48,093 km | 30 October 1967 | Velodromo Vigorelli, Milan (Italy) | |