Michel Vaarten

Michel Vaarten ( born January 17, 1957 in Turnhout, Antwerp) is a former Belgian cyclist, world champion and current coach.

Life

Even as an amateur Michel Vaarten was in the years 1976-1979 eight times Belgian champion in various railway disciplines Sprint, Points race, 1- km time trial, Derny Race and Omnium and so proved his versatility. In 1976 he won also the silver medal in the 1 km time trial at the Olympic Games in Montreal.

1979 joined Vaarten over to the professionals and took immediately a third place in the Six Days of Ghent ( with René Pijnen ); little later he won in Antwerp ( with Pijnen and Albert Fritz). In the same year he won at the UCI Track World Championships in Amsterdam a third place in the sprint. In 1980 he was European champion together in a two - team driving with Pijnen.

In the following years Vaarten drove good races on the track and on the road. In 1986 he became world champion in keirin and vice-world champion in the points race in Colorado Springs. In 1990, he was able to further runners-up in the keirin at the Track World Championships in Maebashi. Eleven times, more often than any other non-Japanese driver, he also took part in the keirin series in Japan and was very popular there.

Michel Vaarten worked as manager of the Belgian Cycling Federation to July 2010. In championships since he is also as derny pacemaker. So he led in 2006 Ballerup / Denmark the Belgian driver Iljo Keisse and 2009 in Ghent / Belgium Belgian rider Kenny De Ketele to Derny Championship. Vaarten is the son of the Belgian cycling idol Achiel Buysse.