Robert Lelangue

Belgian cyclist Robert Lelangue had a promising start to his career when he became the national youth champion in 1958. Over the next two years Lelangue won several amateur races in Belgium, earning himself a place on the Olympic team. At the Roma Games he finished 49th in the individual road race, just over a minute behind the race winner. He then turned professional, winning further races in Belgium, as well as a stage at the Tour de Luxembourg.

In 1963 Lelangue won a stage of the Four Days of Dunkirk, followed by victory at the Six Days of Montreal on the track in 1964 with Lucien Gillen of Luxembourg. That same year Lelangue rode the Tour de France where he finished on the podium on stage 21. In 1965 he won the Tour of Northwest Switzerland and became the national Madison champion with compatriot Theo Verschueren. He continued to be consistent for the rest of the decade, finishing off with another Belgian championship when he won the omnium title on the track in 1969. After retiring Lelangue worked as a sports director of several cycling teams, as well as a member of the technical support staff at the Tour de France for the best part of two decades.