# Briek Schotte

Alberic "Briek" Schotte (7 September 1919 – 4 April 2004) was a Belgian professional road racing cyclist, one of the champions of the 1940s and 1950s. His stamina earned him the nickname "Iron Briek" (IJzeren Briek).
He was world champion in 1948 and 1950, won the last stage of the 1947 Tour de France and finished second in the 1948 Tour, behind Gino Bartali. He twice won the Tour of Flanders (1942, 1948), Paris–Tours (1946, 1947) and Paris–Brussels (1946, 1952). He also won the inaugural Challenge Desgrange-Colombo, a season-long competition to identify the world's best road rider, in 1948. He holds the record with twenty consecutive participations in the Tour of Flanders and in addition to his two victories made the podium on six other occasions. Schotte corresponded to the archetype of the Flandrien, the diligent farm boy who competes against better equipped and guided riders from France and Italy. Although he himself put that into perspective: "Because of my position on the bike, I gave the impression that I was suffering more than was actually the case".
After retirement in 1959, he was a team coach for 30 years, mostly for Flandria where he also served as Directeur Sportif for many years. Riders such as Rik Van Looy, Herman Van Springel, Freddy Maertens, Eddy Merckx, Sean Kelly, Joop Zoetemelk, Michel Pollentier, Walter Godefroot and Roger De Vlaeminck rode for Schotte at various points during their respective careers. None of these riders would win the Tour de France while riding for Flandria, however Zoetemelk would finish 2nd in 1970 and 1971 while riding under Schotte's direction.
He died on the day of the 2004 Tour of Flanders. The commentators during the race said "God must have been one of Briek's greatest fans".

## Major results
### 1939

    1st Overall Tour de l'Ouest
    1st GP de Bruxelles

### 1940

    1st Ransart–Beaumont–Ransart
    3rd Tour of Flanders

### 1941

    1st Kampioenschap van Vlaanderen
    1st Desselgem Koerse
    1st Merelbeke
    2nd Grote 1-MeiPrijs
    3rd GP Stad Zottegem

### 1942

    1st Tour of Flanders
    1st Desselgem Koerse
    1st Oostkamp
    3rd Omloop der Vlaamse Gewesten

### 1943

    1st Desselgem Koerse
    3rd La Flèche Française (TTT)
    3rd Liège–Bastogne–Liège

### 1944

    1st Wetteren
    2nd Tour of Flanders
    2nd La Flèche Wallonne

### 1945

    1st Nokere Koerse
    1st Tielt–Antwerpen–Tielt
    1st Olsene
    1st Waregem
    2nd Dwars door België
    2nd Halle–Ingooigem
    2nd Gullegem Koerse
    2nd Brussels–Everbeek
    2nd Circuit de Paris
    3rd Across Paris
    3rd Circuit de la Capitale
    3rd Brussels–Sint-Truiden

### 1946

    1st Interclubs road race, National Road Championships
    1st Omloop Mandel-Leie-Schelde
    1st Paris–Tours
    1st Overall Tour de Luxembourg
       1st Stages 1 & 2
    1st Omloop der Vlaamse Gewesten
    1st Paris–Brussels
    2nd Gullegem Koerse
    2nd Halle–Ingooigem
    2nd Road race, National Road Championships
    3rd Tour of Flanders
    3rd Overall Dwars door België
       1st Stage 1
    3rd Nokere Koerse

### 1947

    1st Interclubs road race, National Road Championships
    1st Paris–Tours
    1st Stage 21 Tour de France
    1st Circuit de la Region Liniere
    1st Heule
    2nd GP Tielt
    3rd GP Stad Vilvoorde

### 1948

    1st Road race, UCI Road World Championships
    1st Challenge Desgrange-Colombo
    1st Tour of Flanders
    2nd Road race, National Road Championships
    2nd La Flèche Wallonne
    2nd Road race, National Road Championships
    2nd Overall Tour de France

### 1949

    1st GP Stad Vilvoorde
    3rd Tour of Flanders

### 1950

    1st Road race, UCI Road World Championships
    1st Gent–Wevelgem
    1st Stage 5 Tour of the Netherlands
    1st Critérium Aalst
    1st Montenaken
    2nd Road race, National Road Championships
    2nd Tour of Flanders
    2nd Gullegem Koerse
    3rd Omloop Het Volk

### 1951

    1st Vijfbergenomloop
    3rd Brussels–Izegem

### 1952

    1st Omloop der Zuid-West-Vlaamse Bergen
    1st Paris–Brussels
    2nd Paris–Tours
    3rd Tour of Flanders

### 1953

    1st Overall Dwars door België
       1st Stage 2b
    1st Grote Bevrijdingsprijs
    1st Antwerpen–Luik–Antwerpen
    1st Antwerpse Havenpijl
    1st Waregem
    2nd Paris–Brussels
    2nd Overall Tour of Belgium

### 1954

    1st Kampioenschap van Vlaanderen
    1st Omloop der drie Provinciën
    1st Prix de Soignies
    1st Oedelem
    2nd Overall Dwars door België
    2nd Overall Omloop Mandel-Leie-Schelde
    3rd GP Mesen

### 1955

    1st Gent–Wevelgem
    1st Overall Dwars door België
       1st Stage 2b
    1st Scheldeprijs Vlaanderen
    2nd Nokere Koerse
    2nd Paris–Limoges

### 1956

    1st Overall GP Bali
       1st Stage 1
    1st Lauwe
    1st Boulogne-sur-Mer
    1st Stage 1 (TTT) Driedaagse van Antwerpen
    2nd Omloop Het Volk
    3rd Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne

### 1957

    1st Interclubs road race, National Road Championships
    1st Wervik
    1st Langemark
    3rd Circuit des Régions Frontalières

### 1958

    1st Interclubs road race, National Road Championships
    1st Wervik
    1st De Panne
    1st Stage 1 (TTT) Driedaagse van Antwerpen
    2nd GP Roeselare
    3rd Harelbeke–Antwerp–Harelbeke

### 1959

    3rd Dwars door België

## Awards and honours

* Challenge Desgrange-Colombo: 1948
* Trophée Edmond Gentil: 1948
* Belgian National Sports Merit Award: 1950
* Swiss AIOCC Trophy: 1972
* Honorary Citizen of Waregem: 1987
* Statue in Kanegem: 1996
* UCI Hall of Fame: 2002
* GP Briek Schotte: since 2004
* Monument and square in Desselgem: 2005
* Bust in Waregem: 2007
* Monument in Moorslede: 2010
* 10 Euro Silver commemorative coin: 2019

## Books

* 20 jaren rennersloopbaan van Briek Schotte by Berten Lafosse in 1955, Atlas Kortrijk, 79 p. (Dutch)
* IJzeren Briek: de wielersport zal niet sterven: het levensverhaal van Briek Schotte by André Blancke in 1987, Het Volk, 192 p. (Dutch) ISBN 9063340982
* Briek Schotte by Noël Truyers in 1998, De Eecloonaar, 48 p. (Dutch) ISBN 9074128297
* Briek Schotte: de laatste der Flandriens by Rik Vanwalleghem and Bo Decramer in 1999, Lannoo, 176 p. (Dutch) ISBN 9789020939163
* Briek Schotte: De erfenis van Briek by Rik Vanwalleghem and Anna Luyten in 2011, Kannibaal, 187 p. (Dutch) ISBN 9789081623735
* Briek! De laatste Flandrien by Herman Chevrolet in 2019, De Arbeiderspers, 248 p. (Dutch) ISBN 9789029526425
* Flandrien by Stephan Vanfleteren in 2021, Kannibaal, 132 p. (Dutch) ISBN 9789081623711