The trophies - 41
ITEM N° 340
ZOETEMELK Joop (NL)
(03.12.1946 – )
His trophy for winning the 1983 Tour du Haut-Var
Born on 3 December 1946 in The Hague, Joop Zoetemelk is a former Dutch professional cyclist who competed from 1970 to 1987. Renowned for his consistency, endurance and longevity, he remains one of the greatest figures in the history of Dutch cycling.
An Olympic champion in the team time trial in 1968, he went on to win the 1979 Vuelta a España and the 1980 Tour de France. He also finished runner-up in the Tour de France on six occasions. In 1985, at the age of nearly thirty-nine, he became world road champion.
On 27 February 1983, Joop Zoetemelk competed in the fifteenth edition of the Tour du Haut-Var riding for the Coop–Mercier–Mavic team. The race took place over a hilly 185-kilometre course and finished in Seillans. The Dutchman finished twelve seconds ahead of Ireland’s Stephen Roche, whilst Denmark’s Kim Andersen completed the podium. This victory once again highlighted his experience and his ability to make the difference on undulating routes.
The item on display is the original trophy awarded to Joop Zoetemelk for this victory. It is distinguished by a particularly elegant design in gilded metal, combining a tall shape with a dynamic sculptural form. The upper section is crowned by a figurine depicting a cyclist raising his arms in a gesture of victory. It sits atop a small vase-shaped element, set upon a wide, rounded basin whose polished surface reflects the light. The body of the trophy extends down into a long, conical stem decorated with deep vertical fluting. The whole rests on a cubic plinth made of orange-pink marbled stone.
The original plaque bears the inscriptions ‘Draguignan–Seillans – 15th Tour du Haut-Var – 27 February 1983’. It clearly identifies the race, the finish in Seillans and the date of the victory.
The photographs accompanying the object are archive documents dedicated to Joop Zoetemelk. They illustrate his career and his image as a champion, though they are not presented as photographs from the 1983 Tour du Haut-Var.
Displayed in the Virtual Cycling Museum – Noël GREGOIRE Collections, this trophy perpetuates the memory of a victory won by an exceptional champion, whose consistency and longevity remain almost unrivalled in the history of cycling.
ITEM N° 651
MORTENSEN Leif (DK)
(05.05.1946)
His trophy for second place in the 1971 European Mountain Criterium
Born on 5 May 1946 in Copenhagen, Leif Mortensen is one of the greatest Danish cyclists of his generation. A well-rounded rider, an excellent all-rounder and a strong climber, he enjoyed a brilliant amateur career before turning professional in 1970.
At the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City, he won the silver medal in the road race. The following year, in Brno, he became amateur world champion. In his very first professional season, he secured another silver medal at the 1970 World Road Championships.
On 28 March 1971, Leif Mortensen took part in the European Mountain Criterium, held on the slopes of Arrate, near Eibar, in Spain. He finished second behind the great Spanish champion Luis Ocaña. During that same season, Mortensen finished sixth in the Tour de France and, alongside Luis Ocaña, won the prestigious Baracchi Trophy, a team time trial contested in pairs. His list of honours also includes the overall classification of the 1973 Tour of Belgium.
The item on display is the trophy awarded to Leif Mortensen for his second place in the 1971 European Mountain Criterium. Its original design combines a tall gilded metal column with five intertwined rings arranged at the top. An elegant laurel branch adorns the whole vertically. A traditional symbol of glory and merit, it commemorates the Danish cyclist’s achievement. The five rings also evoke his remarkable Olympic record. The trophy rests on a substantial, multi-tiered black circular plinth. Its original plaque bears the inscriptions ‘Ayuntamiento de Eibar’, ‘Criterium Europeo de Montaña’, ‘Profesionales’ and the date 28 March 1971. This allows the race to which this award is linked to be precisely identified.
The signed photograph depicts Leif Mortensen in the thick of the action, wearing the colours of the Bic team. It accompanies the trophy as a valuable personal and visual record.
On display in the Virtual Cycling Museum – Noël GREGOIRE Collections, this artefact preserves the memory of Leif Mortensen’s performance on the gruelling slopes of Arrate and bears witness to the exceptional career of a champion who shone as brightly on the roads as he did in major international events.
ITEM N° 625
THALER Klaus-Peter (D)
(14.05.1949)
His 1988 German cyclo-cross championship trophy
Born on 14 May 1949 in Eckmannshausen, Germany, Klaus-Peter Thaler is a former cyclist who excelled in both road racing and cyclo-cross. His longevity and versatility made him one of the leading figures in German cycling during the 1970s and 1980s.
A cyclo-cross specialist, he became amateur world champion in 1973 and 1976, then professional world champion in 1985 and 1987. He also won numerous German championship titles in this discipline.
On the road, Klaus-Peter Thaler also enjoyed a brilliant career. He won three stages of the Tour de France, one stage of the Vuelta a España and wore the yellow jersey for two days during the 1978 Tour de France. He also finished third in the 1977 Vuelta a España.
On 10 January 1988, Klaus-Peter Thaler won the German cyclo-cross championship, held in Munich’s Olympic Park. This new national title crowned nearly twenty-five years of competition and was one of the final major successes of his career.
The item on display is the trophy awarded to Klaus-Peter Thaler for this national title. It takes the form of a metal sculpture depicting a cyclist in the thick of the race, leaning over his handlebars and riding a bicycle with finely detailed wheels. The figurine rests on a small rectangular stand adorned with a plant motif. It is mounted on a first dark marble plinth, bearing a large engraved metal plaque, and then on a wider base of light-coloured, heavily veined stone. The original lower plaque bears the German inscription ‘Deutsche Querfeldeinmeisterschaft am 10. Januar 1988 im Münchner Olympiapark’, meaning ‘German Cyclo-cross Championship, 10 January 1988, in Munich’s Olympic Park’. It provides precise details of the event, the date and the venue where the trophy was awarded.
The photographs accompanying the object are dedicated to Noël Grégoire. The photograph on the left shows Thaler competing in cyclo-cross whilst wearing the world champion’s jersey. The one on the right reflects his passion for motor racing and shows him alongside Christian Thaler in front of a racing car.
Displayed in the Virtual Cycling Museum – Noël GREGOIRE Collections, this trophy commemorates Klaus-Peter Thaler’s final national title and bears witness to the exceptional longevity of a major champion in international cyclo-cross.
