Rudi Altig

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Rudi Altig

Personal information
Full name	Rudi Altig
Date of birth	March 18, 1937 (1937-03-18) (age 71)
Country	Germany
Team information
Current team	Retired
Discipline	Track and road
Role	Rider
Rider type	Sprinter
Major wins
World champion individual pursuit (1960-1961) Vuelta a España (1962) Tour de France green jersey (1962) Ronde van Vlaanderen (1964) World Cycling Championship (1966) Milan-Sanremo (1968)
Infobox last updated on:
April 16, 2007

Medal record
Competitor for  West Germany
Road bicycle racing
World Championships
Silver	1965 San Sebastián	Elite Men's Road Race
Gold	1966 Nürburgring	Elite Men's Road Race

Rudi Altig (born 18 March 1937 in Mannheim, Germany) is a former leading professional track and road racing cyclist during the 1960s and a current TV commentator.

In 1960 and 1961, Altig became world champion in the individual pursuit on the track. On the road in 1962, he rode the Vuelta a España, winning three stages and taking overall victory. Later that summer, he wore the maillot jaune for five days in the Tour de France, winning three stages and the overall points competition, and finishing 31st overall.

Two years later, he improved to 12th in the Tour (taking another stage win in the process), having earlier in the season won his first Classic, the 1964 Ronde van Vlaanderen. In 1965 he finished second to Englishman Tom Simpson in the World professional road racing championship in San Sebastián, Spain.

But the world title was not denied for long: he won the 1966 championship not too far away from his home, at the Nürburgring. He also took three stage wins in that year's Tour de France (taking another 12th place overall) and two more in the Giro d'Italia (for an eventual 13th place).

The second and final Classic win came in the 1968 Milan-Sanremo. He also took two stages of that year's Vuelta, finishing 18th overall. In 1969 he finished 9th in the Giro, and won the prologue individual time trial of the Tour de France.

[edit] Six-day track star

An accomplished track rider, Altig recorded 22 six-day victories:

[edit] Road race victories

[edit] External links

• Complete Palmarès

Awards
Preceded by Hans-Joachim Klein	German Sportsman of the Year 1966	Succeeded by Kurt Bendlin
Sporting positions
Preceded by Tom Simpson	World Road Racing Champion 1966	Succeeded by Eddy Merckx
Preceded by Angelino Soler	Winner of the Vuelta a España 1962	Succeeded by Jacques Anquetil
Preceded by André Darrigade	Winner of the green jersey in the Tour de France 1962	Succeeded by Rik Van Looy

v • d • e Tour de France Maillot vert (Green jersey) winners 1953 Fritz Schär · 1954 Ferdinand Kübler · 1955-1956 Stan Ockers · 1957 Jean Forestier · 1958 Jean Graczyk · 1959 André Darrigade · 1960 Jean Graczyk · 1961 André Darrigade · 1962 Rudi Altig · 1963 Rik van Looy · 1964-1965 Jan Janssen · 1966 Willy Planckaert · 1967 Jan Janssen · 1968 Franco Bitossi · 1969 Eddy Merckx · 1970 Walter Godefroot · 1971-1972 Eddy Merckx · 1973 Herman van Springel · 1974 Patrick Sercu · 1975 Rik Van Linden · 1976 Freddy Maertens · 1977 Jacques Esclassan · 1978 Freddy Maertens · 1979 Bernard Hinault · 1980 Rudy Pevenage · 1981 Freddy Maertens · 1982-1983 Seán Kelly · 1984 Frank Hoste · 1985 Seán Kelly · 1986 Eric Vanderaerden · 1987 Jean-Paul van Poppel · 1988 Eddy Planckaert · 1989 Seán Kelly · 1990 Olaf Ludwig · 1991 Djamolidine Abdoujaparov · 1992 Laurent Jalabert · 1993-1994 Djamolidine Abdoujaparov · 1995 Laurent Jalabert · 1996-2001 Erik Zabel · 2002 Robbie McEwen · 2003 Baden Cooke · 2004 Robbie McEwen · 2005 Thor Hushovd · 2006 Robbie McEwen · 2007 Tom Boonen