Joseph Bruyère

Joseph Bruyère
Joseph Bruyere or Bruyère (born 5 October 1948 in Maastricht, Netherlands) is a former Belgian cyclist.
Career
Professional from 1970 to 1980, Joseph Bruyère, athlete of one meter 88 for 80 kilo, notably won Liège-Bastogne-Liège twice and an individual stage of the Tour de France 1972.
He is one of the specialists of the classic Het Volk, which he won in 1974, 1975 and 1980 (a shared record) and of Liège-Bastogne-Liège which he won in 1976 and 1978.
Bruyère participated in six Tours de France and achieved a victory in 1972 in the 19th stage between Auxerre and Versailles. He wore the yellow jersey twice, in 1974 for three days and in 1978 for eight days. On the 1978 edition, he finished fourth in the general classification, despite a size that was not well suited to the mountains.
From the start of his professional career, he was part of Eddy Merckx's team, until the latter retired from sport.
Team mate of Eddy Merckx
Bruyère rode several seasons as the strongest, and most loyal lieutenants, to the super-star rider Eddy Merckx. He was known to ride on the front of the peloton for many miles, and often for much of a mountain stage until the last climb, doing the work of a whole team of domestiques.
After Merckx retired from racing Bruyère tried to take over from Merckx as a big star, but he wasn't able to, having given his best years to the service of Merckx.
Major results
As amateur
1968
1st stage 4 Tour de Namur
3rd National Track Championship - Men's individual pursuit
1969
1st Flèche Ardennaise
1st Championship of the Liège province
1st Romsée-Stavelot-Romsée
1st Seraing-Aix-Seraing
As professional
1970
1st Stage 3a Tour de France (TTT)
2nd Trophée des Grimpeurs
2nd Tour du Condroz
2nd Flèche Hesbignonne
1971
1st Prologue Tour de France (TTT)
1st Ronde van Oost-Vlaanderen
1st Prologue Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré (TTT)
2nd Overall Tour de la Nouvelle France
5th Milan-San Remo
7th Liège-Bastogne-Liège
1972
Tour de France
1st Stage 3b (TTT) & 19
1st Overall Cronostaffetta
1st Stage 1b (ITT)
1st Flèche rebecquoise
3rd Leiedal Koerse
1973
1st Stage 3b (TTT) Vuelta a España
1st Overall Cronostaffetta
1st Stage 1c (ITT)
3rd Grand Prix de Fourmies
1974
Tour de France
1st Stage 6b (TTT)
Held for 3 days
1st Omloop Het Volk
1st Prologue Paris–Nice (with Eddy Merckx)
2nd GP Union Dortmund
3rd Classica Sarda
1975
1st Overall Tour Méditerranéen
1st Omloop Het Volk
1st stage 1 Setmana Catalana de Ciclisme
3rd Amstel Gold Race
5th Milan-San Remo
8th Paris–Nice
1976
1st Liège–Bastogne–Liège
1st Prologue Tour de Romandie (with Eddy Merckx)
1t Stage 22 Giro d'Italia (ITT)
1st Druivenkoers Overijse
1977
2nd Overall Setmana Catalana de Ciclisme
1st stage 1 Setmana Catalana de Ciclisme
1st Stage 7b Tour de France (TTT)
2nd Belgian National Road Race Championships - Road Race
3rd Tour du Condroz
4rd Paris–Nice
10th Liège–Bastogne–Liège
1978
4th Overall Tour de France
Held for 8 days
1st Liège–Bastogne–Liège
1st Tour du Condroz
2nd Overall La Méditerranéenne
10th La Flèche Wallonne
1980
1st Omloop Het Volk
Tour de France
1970 - 50th
1971 - 60th
1972 - 26th; winner of 19th stage
1974 - 21st (4 days in the yellow jersey)
1978 - 4th (8 days in the yellow jersey)
References
External links
Palmarès
1948 births
Belgian male cyclists
Sportspeople from Maastricht
Living people
Belgian Tour de France stage winners
Cyclists from Limburg (Netherlands)