Alfons De Wolf

Alfons ("Fons") De Wolf (born 22 June 1956 in Willebroek) is a retired Belgian road race cyclist, a professional from 1979 to 1990. He represented his country at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, Canada.[1]

Alfons De Wolf

Personal information
Born	(1956-06-22) 22 June 1956 Willebroek, Belgium
Team information
Current team	Retired
Discipline	Road
Role	Rider
Rider type	Classics specialist
Amateur team
1978	IJsboerke–Warncke Eis (stagiaire)
Professional teams
1979–1980	Lano–Boule d'Or
1981–1982	Vermeer Thijs
1983	Bianchi–Piaggio
1984	Europ Decor–Boule d'Or
1985	Fagor
1986	Skala–Skil
1987–1989	AD Renting–Fangio–IOC–MBK
1990	IOC–Tulip Computers
Major wins
Giro di Lombardia (1980) Milan–San Remo (1981) Tour de France, 1 stage Vuelta a España, 6 stages Points classification (1979)

He was forecast, with Daniel Willems, to be the successor to Eddy Merckx. De Wolf seemed to fulfill that promise by having an absolutely dominant 1979 Vuelta a España winning 5 stages including an individual time trial as well as the Points Classification, securing a top 10 place in the General Classification and then following it up by winning the 1980 Giro di Lombardia and the 1981 Milan–San Remo, the last and first classic of the season. He almost won the 1982 Liège–Bastogne–Liège, beaten by Italian Silvano Contini in the final sprint.

After winning a stage in the 1984 Tour de France, his career faded, however the stage win he claimed was an impressive individual effort in which he was able to beat the group of favorites including Bernard Hinault and eventual winner Laurent Fignon by a stunning margin of almost eighteen minutes.[2] He helped his teammate Eddy Planckaert win the green jersey in the 1988 Tour de France. He ended his career in 1990.

He now helps his wife in her funeral parlour in Dworp, in the south of Brussels.

Although he won the Omloop Het Volk two times, De Wolf was an atypical Flemish cyclist, preferring Italian races such as Milan–San Remo to Paris–Roubaix, Gent–Wevelgem and the Tour of Flanders. He was at ease in hilly races, though he was not an impressive climber.

Eddy Planckaert and Fons De Wolf after Dwars door België, edition 1988 (collection: KOERS. Museum of Cycle Racing)

He complained that he was seen as a 'new Eddy Merckx', that the public had expected too much.