Jan Smyrak

Early in his amateur cycling career Jan Smyrak produced a string of consistent results, including finishing second overall at the 1971 edition of the Tour de Pologne, along with coming third in the road race at the Polish championships. The same year Smyrak and his compatriots Edward Barcik, Stanisław Szozda, and Lucjan Lis won bronze in the team time trial at the UCI Road World Championships in Switzerland. Smyrak was rewarded with a place on the Olympic team for the 1972 München Games, where he competed in the road race.

Following the Olympics, Smyrak remained in West Germany, later acquiring German citizenship. Now cycling for RMV Concordia Strullendorf, he won three stages at the 1973 Tour of Bavaria, before winning the Rund um Köln one-day race in 1975. He continued to race for a couple more years, finishing third in the amateur road race at the German championships in 1977.