Gerrit Vossen

Gerrit Vossen (1936 - 2 June 2024) was a Dutch road cyclist. He won cycling races  between 1955 and 1962. He won eigteen road cycling races and became a local cycling 'legend'. He had his own supporters club during his career. He remained known after his career, as for example, in 2023 a special lecture was given about his cycling career.

Biography
Cycling career

Vossen started cycling while his mother thought it was actually too dangerous. He won his first race being a junior in Nederweert in 1955. He won also his last junior race in 1956. He became a member of cycling club “Het Zuiden” in Eindhoven. From 1958 he started riding with the Dutch cycling association KNWU. He competed four years with the KNWU. One of his main victories during these years was in Lommel, Belgium in 1959. In the same year he won the combativity award in Bayeux, France. From 1962 he returned to the cycling association of Limburg.

Already in the late 1950s he had his own supporters club. The supporters club also organized the annual Tour of Someren-Eind. Vossen won this race himself in 1962.

In November 2023 a lecture was given about his cycling career in Someren-Eind.

Personal life
Vossen was born in 1936 in Someren. Next to cycling he worked at bicycle repair shop. He followed trainings and after his cycling career, he started a successful specialty store for racing bikes named “Sporthuis Gerrit Vossen”. He lived in Someren-Eind. The last part of his life he lived in the Sonnehove residential care center in Someren where he died on 2 June 2024.

References

Category:1936 births
Category:2024 deaths
Category:Dutch cyclists