Léon Vanderstuyft

Mauricius Carolus Leo " Léon " Vanderstuyft ( born May 5, 1890 in Ypres, † February 26, 1964 in Paris) was a Belgian cyclist and World Champion.

Léon Vanderstuyft came from a cycling family. His father Fritz became third in the 1899 Belgian Road Championships; his seven- year older brother Arthur was also successful cyclists.

In 1908 Léon Vanderstuyft third in the amateur stayer at the Track World Championships in Leipzig- Lindenau. In 1910 he became vice-champion among professionals in Brussels. In 1922, he was finally in Paris World Champion. During his career, it did not succeed him one more time, to become Belgian champion stayer: Six times he was runner-up behind his opponent Victor LINART.

Special gained fame Léon Vanderstuyft when he takes on the Autodrome of Montlhery near Paris with 122.771 km / h a new hour record behind a motorized pacer on a yellow Opel wheel, a so-called ZR3, aufstellte on 29 September 1928. This sensational record should have decades of existence.

In later years, Léon Vanderstuyft worked as a pacemaker. So he led the British Bunker Joe at the Track World Championships 1954 at the Velodrome stadium at the zoo in Wuppertal- Elberfeld to third place.

Works

• Léon Vanderstuyft / Andrè Ravaud: Sur slopes Demi- Fond, Paris 1929