Gert-Jan Theunisse
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| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Gert-Jan Theunisse |
| Date of birth | January 14, 1963 |
| Country |  Netherlands |
| Team information | |
| Current team | Retired |
| Discipline | Road |
| Role | Rider |
| Professional team(s) | |
| 1984–1986 1987–1989 1990 1991–1992 1993–1994 1995 |
Panasonic PDM-Concorde Panasonic-Sportlife TVM Sanyo TVM-Bison Kit Collstrop-Lystex |
| Major wins | |
Clásica de San Sebastián (1989) King of the Mountains, Tour de France (1989)Tour de France, 1 stage |
|
| Infobox last updated on: | |
| November 7, 2007 | |
Gert-Jan Theunisse (born January 14, 1963 in Oss) is a Dutch former road bicycle racer. Theunisse turned professional in 1984 with the Panasonic cycling team. That year he came third in the Ronde van Nederland and continued with several places of honour in races such as the GP Fourmies and the GP d'Isbergues in 1986. However it was not until 1988 that Theunisse started to achieve great successes. In the 1988 Tour de France he provided a challenge to his former teammate Pedro Delgado. However during the race he tested positive for testosterone and received a ten-minute penalty which moved him from fourth place overall to eleventh overall.[1] Theunisse returned the following year where he won the Polka dot jersey in 1989 Tour de France and the same year's prestigious stage up to Alpe d'Huez.
In 1990 he also tested positive in Flèche Wallonne and Bicicleta Vasca.[citation needed] Theunisse retired from racing in March 1995. He abandoned the second stage of Tirreno-Adriatico and stopped his career after allegedly receiving medical advice due to heart trouble.[2] After finishing his active career, Theunisse began giving some advice and helping with training for Mario Gutte and then Mountain Biker Bart Brentjens from late 1995. Theunisse's coaching of Brentjens stepped up a gear the following gear where Theunisse drew up a personal training scheme for Brentjens with an aim toward the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games. Brentjens went on to win the Dutch National Championship, the World Championship, the World Cup, the Tour de France VTT and then the gold medal at the Olympic Games. Brentjens signed with the Specialized Mountain Bike team at the end of 1996 and stipulated in the contract that Theunisse would became the team manager.
During this time, Theunisse occasionally rode regional Mountain Bike races. On September 8, 1997 Theunisse was hit by a car while training with members of the team. He was diagnosed as having a Paraplegia which was the result of a spinal cord injury sustained when the car hit him.[3] Theunisse was unable to walk after the accident but recovered over the following six months and returned to his coaching activities of the Specialized team. In January 1999, Theunisse entered and won a Mountain Bike race in the United Kingdom but was unable to walk for three days after the win.[3] In June 1999 Theunisse had a heart attack. In 2000 he admitted that he used illegal substances although he denied that he took testosterone.[4]Theunisse continued working with the Specialized team until the sponsor retired from the sport at the end of 2001. Theunisse then moved to the Spanish island Mallorca where he began riding his mountain bike 150 kilometres a day as he became an active Mountain Bike rider. Theunisse won the European Championships for the over 30 category in 2002.[5] With this Theunisse marked his comeback to active competition and competed from 2003 to 2005. During this time Theunisse suffered from consistent pain due to his spinal damage such as nerve damage, difficulty in walking straight as well as involuntary muscle or spastic attacks. [6] Theunisse had twelve wins as a active Mountain bike cyclist. Theunisse was sponsored by PowerPlate-Giant and concentrated on the Mountain bike marathon disciplines of the World and European championships.[7] Theunisse rode his final race as active Mountain Bike competitor in October 2005 at a race at Scheveningen, in the Netherlands[8] and immediately discussed his plans to build a Sports centre for disabled competitors. Theunisse himself is said to be 13% handicapped and aims to compete in the Paraolympics.[8][9]
[edit] Palmarès
- 1988 –PDM-Concorde
- 1st, Clásica de San Sebastián
- 1989 –PDM-Concorde
- 4th, Overall, Tour de France
- King of the Mountains
- 1st, Stage 17 (Briançon - Alpe d'Huez)
- 1st, Stage 4, Tour de Trump
- 1st, Overall, Vuelta a Asturias
- 1st, Stage 6
- 1991 –TVM-Sanyo
- 1st, Vuelta a los Valles Mineros
- 1st, Overall, Tour de Luxembourg
- 1st, Stage 1
- 1992 –TVM-Bison
- 1st, Stage 3, Tour de Luxembourg
[edit] References
- ^ Drugs and the Tour de France.
- ^ Stepped down for good. Tribute to Theunisse. Retrieved on 2008-01-11.
- ^ a b No cure, if it's in the blood. Tribute to Theunisse. Retrieved on 2008-01-11.
- ^ Theunisse - confesses
- ^ Ik wil voor mensen een voorbeeld zijn. Je moet je nooit laten afschrijven. Tribute to Theunisse. Retrieved on 2008-01-11.
- ^ Liever sterven in het harnas. Retrieved on 2008-01-11.
- ^ Theunisse continues on the dirt. Cyclingnews.com. Retrieved on 2008-01-11.
- ^ a b Mountainbiken / Lijf Theunisse schreeuwt om rust. Trouw. Retrieved on 2008-01-11.
- ^ Theunisse creates training centre for disabled. Cyclingnews.com. Retrieved on 2008-01-11.
[edit] External links
- Official website
- Palmarès by velopalmares.free.fr (French)
- Palmarès by museociclismo.it (Italian)
- Profile by dewielersite.net (Dutch)
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| NAME | Theunisse, Gert-Jan |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | Road bicycle racer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 1963-01-14 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Oss, Netherlands |
| DATE OF DEATH | |
| PLACE OF DEATH | |
