Jean-Pierre Monseré

As a child, the energetic Monseré excelled in different sports like football and athletics. He rode his first bicycle race in Lendelede at the age of 12, competing against fifteen-year-old cyclists.

Monseré won his first official race on 7 July 1963 in the Sint-Elooi Prize in Ruddervoorde. He managed to put this race completely in his hands and he finished with a lead of no less than 7 minutes. At 15, Monseré, already targeted by several competitors, won the Belgian Road Championship for under-novices.

In 1965, Dr. Derluyn joined the staff of Jean-Pierre Monseré. Under his guidance, "Jempi" switched from the then popular training methods, consisting of endless endurance training, to interval training. As a result, training had to be done less and they could build more peace, so a rider had much more recuperation.[1]

Monseré became amateur cyclist in 1967. In the Belgian Road Championship, he and Roger De Vlaeminck were considered as favourites. But their rivalry both cost them the title with Monseré ending second.

The following year, he again finished as second in the Belgian Road Championship.

Following his victory in the mountain race GP Peugeot, Monseré was included in the Belgian national team for the 1968 Summer Olympics as a support rider for Roger De Vlaeminck. After De Vlaeminck crashed in a training ride, Monseré could ride for himself[2] and finished in 6th place in the individual road race.[3]

Once more, Monseré ended as second in the 1969 Belgian Road Championship. In his last World Amateur Championship, he hoped to win the world title in Brno, Czechoslovakia. However, the Dane Leif Mortensen was crowned world champion. Monseré won the silver medal and compatriot Staf Van Roosbroeck bronze.

He became professional for Flandria in 1969, and won the Giro di Lombardia that year, after Gerben Karstens tested positive for taking amphetamines.[4] A year later, Monseré became the Belgian track omnium champion.

Monseré continued to affirm his exceptional qualities, including his self-discipline and hunger for victory. He owed a lot to the strong bond with his blind masseur Jacques Delva, who, among other things, let him perform the basic yoga asanas.

He was selected in the Belgian team for the 1970 World Championship in Leicester, England. In the final, Eddy Merckx encouraged Monseré to chase the leading cyclists, saying 'if you want to win, you have to go to Gimondi'. Monseré escaped with a small group and eventually won the world championship. He was the second-youngest world champion after another Belgian, Karel Kaers.

World champion jersey, ribbon and cap of Monseré

In 1971, he was again Belgian track champion, this time in the madison discipline.[5] On the road, he won the Vuelta a Andalucía in February 1971.

Monseré (left) in the 1971 Omloop van het Zuidwesten, 2 days before his death

On 15 March 1971, Monseré was riding the Grote Jaarmarktprijs in Retie after being convinced by Eric and Roger De Vlaeminck to participate. Monseré realised it was good training for Milan–San Remo the following weekend. On the road from Lille to Gierle, he and Roger De Vlaeminck agreed they had trained enough and they were about to exit the race. However, a car driving onto the course collided head-on with Monseré killing him outright. His funeral was attended by more than 20,000 people, including several government ministers, and top cyclists including Eddy Merckx, Roger De Vlaeminck, Patrick Sercu and Joop Zoetemelk.[6] Merckx placed the flowers he had received after his Milan–San Remo victory on the coffin.[7] In a cruel twist of fate, in 1976 Monseré's seven-year-old son Giovanni died after a collision with a car, while riding his racing bike which was given to him on his first communion by a family friend, another world champion Freddy Maertens. Like his father, the little boy was also wearing a rainbow jersey.[8]