# Hennie Kuiper

Hendrikus Andreas "Hennie" Kuiper (born 3 February 1949) is a Dutch former professional road racing cyclist. His career includes a gold medal in the Olympic road race at Munich in 1972, becoming world professional road race champion in 1975, as well as winning four of the five "Monument" classics. He rode the Tour de France 12 times, finishing second twice and winning the stage to Alpe d'Huez on two occasions. Kuiper, Ercole Baldini, Paolo Bettini and Remco Evenepoel are the only riders to have won both the Olympic road race and the world professional road race.

## Biography

Kuiper was born in Denekamp, in Overijssel province. His serious introduction to the bicycle was to and from school in Enschede. He started participating in junior races from 14 and from 19 to 23 he won 39 times as an amateur. The climax of his amateur career was gold in the Olympic road race in Munich in 1972, riding the final 40 km alone. He also won the Tour of Britain (Milk Race) that year.

## Professional career

Kuiper turned professional in 1973 with the small German team Haro-Rokado. His career took off in 1975 when he signed for the Dutch team, Frisol, where he got more chances to shine and formed a partnership with José De Cauwer (who worked for Kuiper in races) that lasted until 1980. The 1975 season saw Kuiper become world champion at Yvoir in Belgium, winning a tough race over 260 km, with 21 ascents of a 3 km (2 mi) climb.
Kuiper signed for TI–Raleigh in 1976 and finished second in the 1977 Tour de France 48 seconds behind Bernard Thévenet, who later admitted using steroids. Kuiper won the mountain stage at Alpe d'Huez, a feat he repeated in 1978. Kuiper finished fourth in the 1979 Tour and second in 1980 behind fellow Dutchman Joop Zoetemelk. That second place ended his best years as a stage race rider and in 1981 he moved to DAF Trucks and reinvented himself as a one-day classics rider. 1981 saw him win the Tour of Flanders and the Giro di Lombardia while in 1983 he won Paris–Roubaix, his 11th attempt at the hell of the north. In 1985, at 36, he won Milan–San Remo. His retirement came on 6 November 1988 at 39 at a small cyclo-cross at Oldenzaal in his home province.

## Team manager

After retirement Kuiper managed the small German pro squad Team Stuttgart between 1989 and 1990. In 1991 he became head of the Telekom team. In 1992 he was approached by Jim Ochowicz, manager of the American Motorola team, to become assistant team manager. Kuiper stayed with Motorola for four years. Since 1997 he has worked for the Rabobank team in public relations, as well as coaching the Dutch national team on occasions. He has two sons from his first marriage with Ine Nolten: Patrick Kuiper and Bjorn Kuiper. He lives with his second wife, Marianne, in Lonneker.

## Career achievements
### Major results
#### 1970

    3rd Overall Tour of Yugoslavia
       1st Stage 2

#### 1971

    1st Overall Circuit de Saône-et-Loire
    1st Stage 5 Tour of Yugoslavia
    1st Stage 1a Trois jours de Hénin Liétard
    3rd Overall Rheinland-Pfalz Rundfahrt
       1st Stage 7

#### 1972

    1st Road race, Olympic Games
    1st Overall Milk Race
    1st Overall Ronde van Drenthe
    2nd Overall Tour du Limousin
    10th Overall Trophée Peugeot de l'Avenir

#### 1973

    1st Stage 2 Tour de l'Aude
    2nd Züri-Metzgete
    4th Overall Tour de Luxembourg
    5th Amstel Gold Race
    10th Overall Volta a Catalunya

#### 1974

    1st Overall Tour d'Indre-et-Loire
    1st GP Union Dortmund
    2nd Paris–Camembert
    7th Overall Paris–Nice
    7th Overall Volta a Catalunya
    9th Züri-Metzgete

#### 1975

    1st Road race, UCI Road World Championships
    1st Road race, National Road Championships
    2nd Grand Prix Le Télégramme de Brest
    2nd Kampioenschap van Vlaanderen
    3rd Trofeo Baracchi
    4th Overall Tour de Luxembourg
    5th Overall Vuelta a España
       1st Stage 18
    7th Paris–Brussels
    9th Overall Tirreno–Adriatico
    9th Amstel Gold Race
    10th Overall Tour of the Netherlands

#### 1976

    Tour de France
       1st Stages 4 & 5a (TTT)
    2nd Overall Paris–Nice
    2nd Overall Vuelta a Andalucía
    2nd Omloop Het Volk
    2nd Paris–Brussels
    3rd Road race, National Road Championships
    4th Paris–Roubaix
    5th Liège–Bastogne–Liège
    5th Amstel Gold Race
    6th Overall Vuelta a España
       1st Stage 4
    1st Overall Tour de Suisse
       1st Stage 3
    10th Overall Tour of the Netherlands

#### 1977

    2nd Overall Tour de France
       1st Stage 17
    2nd Overall Vuelta a Andalucía
    3rd Amstel Gold Race
    3rd Paris–Tours
    4th Road race, UCI Road World Championships
    6th Paris–Brussels
    4th Overall Four Days of Dunkirk
    8th Overall Tour de Luxembourg
    10th Paris–Roubaix
    10th Tour of Flanders

#### 1978

    Tour de France
       1st Stages 4 (TTT) & 16
    2nd Overall Tour de Romandie
    2nd Trofeo Baracchi
    3rd Rund um den Henninger Turm
    3rd Grand Prix des Nations
    4th Overall Tour de Suisse
    5th Overall Tour Méditerranéen
    5th Amstel Gold Race
    6th Liège–Bastogne–Liège
    6th Paris–Roubaix
    6th La Flèche Wallonne
    7th Overall Paris–Nice
    9th Overall Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré
       1st Prologue

#### 1979

    3rd Paris–Roubaix
    4th Overall Tour de France
    4th Overall Critérium National de la Route
    5th Overall Grand Prix du Midi Libre
    6th Grand Prix de Wallonie
    7th Overall Tour de l'Aude
    7th Tour of Flanders
    7th Grand Prix des Nations
    8th Overall Four Days of Dunkirk
    8th Overall Tour Méditerranéen
    9th La Flèche Wallonne
    10th Giro di Lombardia
    10th Gent–Wevelgem

#### 1980

    2nd Overall Tour de France
    2nd Overall Tour d'Indre-et-Loire
    2nd Liège–Bastogne–Liège
    4th Overall Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré
    4th Paris–Brussels
    5th Overall Grand Prix du Midi Libre
    5th Giro di Lombardia
    7th La Flèche Wallonne
    7th Grand Prix de Wallonie
    8th Gent–Wevelgem

#### 1981

    1st Giro di Lombardia
    1st Tour of Flanders
    2nd Overall Tour of the Netherlands
    6th Paris–Roubaix
    6th Giro dell'Emilia
    6th Nationale Sluitingsprijs
    7th E3 Prijs Vlaanderen
    8th Paris–Tours
    9th Rund um den Henninger Turm

#### 1982

    1st Grand Prix de Wallonie
    2nd Overall Tour de Luxembourg
    2nd Trofeo Baracchi
    5th La Flèche Wallonne
    6th Amstel Gold Race
    6th Brabantse Pijl
    6th Paris–Tours
    7th Overall Paris–Nice
    8th Paris–Brussels
    9th Overall Tour de France
    10th Giro di Lombardia

#### 1983

    1st Paris–Roubaix
    2nd Trofeo Baracchi
    4th Giro di Lombardia
    5th Overall Vuelta a España
    6th Liège–Bastogne–Liège

#### 1984

    6th Grand Prix de Fourmies
    9th Paris–Roubaix
    10th Züri-Metzgete

#### 1985

    1st Milan–San Remo
    3rd Tour of Flanders
    5th Bordeaux–Paris
    6th Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne
    8th Paris–Roubaix
    10th Trofeo Laigueglia

#### 1986

    10th E3 Prijs Vlaanderen

#### 1987

    5th Rund um den Henninger Turm

#### 1988

    3rd Veenendaal–Veenendaal Classic
    8th Grand Prix d'Ouverture La Marseillaise
    10th Overall Critérium International

#### Grand Tour general classification results timeline

| Grand Tour | 1973 | 1974 | 1975 | 1976 | 1977 | 1978 | 1979 | 1980 | 1981 | 1982 | 1983 | 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 |
| Vuelta a España | — | — | 5 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 5 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Giro d'Italia | 16 | DNF | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 22 | 44 | — |
| Tour de France | — | — | 11 | DNF | 2 | DNF | 4 | 2 | 30 | 9 | DNF | 56 | DNF | — | — | 95 |
DNF = Did Not Finish