# Jozef Schils

Jozef "Jef" Schils (4 September 1931, in Kersbeek-Miskom – 3 March 2007, in Liège) was a Belgian cyclist.
In 1952, at the age of 21, Jozef Schils, who had just become a professional racing cyclist and was still in the army, became Belgian road racing champion. He was nominated for the road world championships in Luxembourg in the same year and finished tenth.
Schils rode as a professional until 1965 and won around 40 Belgian criteria during this time. 1953 was his most successful year, in which he won Paris-Tours and the Nationale Sluitingsprijs. In 1955 he won at Nokere Koerse. His nickname was "little Coppi", because Fausto Coppi had praised him. However, he turned down offers to go to Italy. In 1957, he won the Omloop der Vlaamse Gewesten in Ichtegem on a postman's bike. In 1960, he switched to the French team "Mercier", which was led by Antonin Magne and in which Raymond Poulidor rode. At the end of the season he had a hard crash and he crashed again heavily in 1961. In 1965, he ended his career.
Then Jozef Schils opened a café in Koekelberg, later a laundry and a bicycle shop. Jozef Schils was the father of the former professional racing cyclist Patrick Schils and was the grandfather of Dominic Schils, also a racing cyclist of note.

## Major results

Source:

### 1951

    4th Coppa Bernocchi

### 1952

    1st Belgian Road Champion Road race
    1st Stage 3a Tour de Romandie

### 1953

    1st Belgian Road Champion Interclubs road race
    1st Paris–Tours
    1st Nationale Sluitingsprijs
    1st Grote Prijs Beeckman-De Caluwé
    1st Vilvoorde–Houtem
    1st Grand Prix of Walloon Brabant
    1st Grand Prix of Haspengouw

### 1954

    1st Tour of Hesbaye
    1st De Drie Zustersteden
    1st Brussels–Bost
    1st Brussels–Couvin
    1st Grand Prix of Brabant Wallon
    1st Trophée des Trois Pays
    1st Ronde van Haspengouw
    3rd Grote Prijs Beeckman-De Caluwé
    4th Paris–Brussels
    4th Omloop van Limburg
    4th Omloop der Vlaamse Gewesten

### 1955

    1st Nokere Koerse
    1st GP Stad Vilvoorde
    1st Grote Prijs Berlare
    1st Hoeilaart-Diest-Hoeilaart
    1st GP Benego
    5th Flèche Halloise
    8th Liège–Bastogne–Liège
    8th Paris–Tours

### 1956

    1st Brussels–Ingooigem
    1st Schelde–Dender–Leie
    1st Schaal Sels
    1st Sint-Lievens-Esse
    2nd Overall Tour de l'Ouest
    3rd Heistse Pijl

### 1957

    1st GP Benego
    1st Omloop der Vlaamse Gewesten
    1st Flèche Halloise
    1st Brussels–Bost
    2nd Omloop Mandel-Leie-Schelde
    2nd Brussels–Ingooigem
    2nd Grote Prijs Berlare
    3rd Coppa Bernocchi
    3rd Etoile du Leon
    4th Overall Tour of Belgium
    5th Tour de Wallonie
    8th Omloop Het Volk
    9th Gent–Wevelgem

### 1958

    1st Trofee Luc Van Biesen
    1st Vilvoorde–Houtem
    1st Stage 5 Tour of the Netherlands
    1st Stage 3 (TTT) Tour du Levant
    1st Stage 3 Driedaagse van Antwerpen
    1st Antwerp–Genk
    1st Stage 3 (TTT) & 8 Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana
    2nd GP Flandria
    2nd Milano–Mantova
    2nd Nationale Sluitingsprijs
    2nd De Drie Zustersteden
    3rd Heistse Pijl
    3rd Overall GP Marvan
       1st Stage 1
    4th Overall Tour of Lombardy
    5th Scheldeprijs
    5th Brussels–Ingooigem
    6th Belgian Road Champion Road race

### 1959

    1st Circuit des 3 Provinces
    1st Stages 1b and 5 Tour du Levant
    1st Stage 2 & 6 Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana
    5th Tour de Wallonie
    6th Overall Tour of Belgium
    8th Paris–Brussels

### 1960

    1st Grand Prix of Isbergues
    1st Stage 4 Tour du Nord
    1st Dokter Tistaertprijs Zottegem
    1st GP de la Basse-Sambre
    1st GP Brabant Wallon
    1st Flèche Hesbignonne-Cras Avernas
    1st Stages 2 and 4b Tour of Belgium
    1st Circuit of Basse-Sambre
    2nd Heistse Pijl
    2nd Schaal Sels
    2nd Schelde–Dender–Leie
    2nd Paris–Valenciennes
    3rd GP Flandria
    5th Brussels–Ingooigem
    8th Tour de Wallonie

### 1961

    1st Hoegaarden–Antwerp–Hoegaarden
    1st Sint-Lievens-Esse

### 1962

    1st Flèche Hesbignonne-Cras Avernas
    1st Dokter Tistaertprijs Zottegem
    3rd Druivenkoers Overijse
    3rd Schelde–Dender–Leie
    3rd Trofee Luc Van Biesen
    4th Omloop van de Vlasstreek
    5th Dwars door West-Vlaanderen
    8th Tour de Wallonie
    10th La Flèche Wallonne

### 1963

    1st Trofee Luc Van Biesen
    4th Schelde–Dender–Leie
    5th Scheldeprijs
    5th Brussels–Ingooigem
    5th GP Stad Vilvoorde

### 1964

    2nd Grand Prix Pino Cerami
    2nd Omloop van het Houtland
    4th De Kustpijl