André Dierickx

Belgian cyclist André Dierickx began his career with victory at the 1968 edition of the Tour of Flanders race for amateurs. This earned Dierickx a place on the Olympic team for the Mexico City Games, where he finished 19th in the road race. He then turned professional, amassing multiple victories in races across Belgium before winning the Tour de Luxembourg in 1971.

Dierickx remained consistent throughout the 1970s, winning the one-day Belgian classic La Flèche Wallonne in 1973 and 1975, and the Tour of Belgium in 1978. From 1970 to 1976 he had 10 top-ten finishes in Monument races, including finishing second at both the Tour of Flanders and Paris–Roubaix in 1972. He had another podium at Paris–Roubaix, finishing third in 1975, before finishing second at Liège–Bastogne–Liège a year later.