# Marc Demeyer

Marc Demeyer (19 April 1950 – 20 January 1982) was a professional road racing cyclist from Avelgem, Belgium. Although known as the "master servant" for Freddy Maertens, the powerful Demeyer was able to win 60 professional road races. He died of a heart attack at the age of 31.
Demeyer turned professional in 1972 for the Flandria team managed by Briek Schotte. He signed the contract while resting it on a car beside the start of Dwars door België, which he then won. Shortly afterwards he won the Grand Prix d'Isbergues.
Demeyer was one of the so-called "Three Musketeers", riding with and for Freddy Maertens and Michel Pollentier He led out sprints for Maertens in particular but could win them for himself, including stages of the Tour de France. He rode the Tour six times, finishing 72nd in 1973, 41st in 1974, 42nd in 1975, 56th in 1976, 49th in 1978 and 57th in 1979.
He won the intermediate sprints competition, known then as Points Chaud ('hot spot sprints') in the Tours of 1973 and 1975. He won two stages: the 19th in 1978 from Lausanne to Belfort, and the 14th in 1979 from Belfort to Evian-les-Bains. In 1974 he won Paris–Brussels and two years later Paris–Roubaix.
In January 1982, two weeks after an ambitious-looking Demeyer was presented as the new signing of Splendor, he died of a heart attack. Various causes were subsequently mentioned, including suicide.

## Honours

Demeyer was particularly suited to the cobbled Classics and won the 1976 edition of Paris-Roubaix, famously captured in Jorgen Leth’s film A Sunday in Hell.
Demeyer was honored in the 2012 edition of Paris–Roubaix.
A book Marc Demeyer-Een Flandrien uit Outrijve by Eric Demets was published in 2016.

## Major results
### 1971

    1st Ronde Van Vlaanderen Beloften
    Peace Race
       1st Stages 5 & 9

### 1972

    1st Dwars door België
    1st Grand Prix d'Isbergues
    1st Grand Prix Fayt-le-Franc
    7th Overall Tour d'Indre-et-Loire

### 1973

    1st Grand Prix de Denain
    1st Stage 1 Four Days of Dunkirk
    1st Intermediate sprints classification Tour de France
    3rd Scheldeprijs
    9th Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne

### 1974

    1st Scheldeprijs
    1st Grand Prix Pino Cerami
    1st Paris–Brussels
    3rd Paris–Roubaix
    5th Overall Tour de Luxembourg
    5th Tour of Flanders
    6th Dwars door België
    6th Grand Prix Fayt-le-Franc
    6th Rund um den Henninger Turm Frankfurt
    7th Overall Four Days of Dunkirk
       1st Stage 2
    8th Overall Tour of Belgium
    8th Coppa Ugo Agostoni
    9th E3 Prijs Vlaanderen
    9th Grote Prijs Jef Scherens

### 1975

    1st Nokere Koerse
    1st Stage 3a Four Days of Dunkirk
    1st Intermediate sprints classification in the Tour de France
    3rd Tour of Flanders
    4th Paris–Roubaix
    5th Gent–Wevelgem
    5th Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne
    5th Rund um den Henninger Turm Frankfurt
    6th Scheldeprijs
    7th Road race, National Road Championships
    9th E3 Prijs Vlaanderen
    9th Omloop Het Volk
    10th Overall Tour de Luxembourg
       1st Stage 2

### 1976

    1st Paris–Roubaix
    2nd Dwars door België
    3rd Tour of Flanders
    6th Overall Four Days of Dunkirk
    7th Scheldeprijs

### 1977

    1st Scheldeprijs
    1st Omloop van het Houtland
    1st Circuit des Frontières
    Giro d'Italia
       1st Stages 14 & 16a
    2nd Paris–Brussels
    2nd Grand Prix de Wallonie
    3rd Dwars door België
    5th Kampioenschap van Vlaanderen
    7th Tour of Flanders
    7th Grote Prijs Jef Scherens

### 1978

    1st Stage 19 Tour de France
    3rd Grand Prix Fayt-le-Franc
    4th Grote Prijs Stad Zottegem
    6th E3 Prijs Vlaanderen
    6th De Kustpijl
    9th Omloop Het Volk
    10th Paris–Roubaix

### 1979

    1st De Kustpijl
    1st Stage 14 Tour de France
    1st Stage 4 Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré
    1st Stage 2 Tour of Belgium
    1st Stage 1 Setmana Catalana de Ciclisme
    Grand Prix du Midi Libre
       1st Stages 3 & 4
    Four Days of Dunkirk
       1st Stages 1, 2 & 5a
    2nd Tour of Flanders
    3rd Züri-Metzgete
    4th Gent–Wevelgem
    4th La Flèche Wallonne
    8th Paris–Roubaix
    9th Road race, National Road Championships
    9th Omloop Het Volk

### 1980

    1st Circuit des Frontières
    1st Stage 3 Grand Prix du Midi Libre
    2nd Paris–Brussels
    5th Paris–Roubaix
    5th Tour of Flanders
    6th Grote Prijs Jef Scherens
    8th Overall Four Days of Dunkirk
    9th Omloop Het Volk

### 1981

    5th Paris–Roubaix
    5th Gent–Wevelgem
    10th E3 Prijs Vlaanderen