Franciscus ("Frans") Albertus Antonius Johannes Maassen (born 27 January 1965 in Haelen,

Limburg Limburg or Limbourg may refer to: Regions * Limburg (Belgium), a province since 1839 in the Flanders region of Belgium * Limburg (Netherlands), a province since 1839 in the south of the Netherlands * Diocese of Limburg, Roman Catholic Diocese in ...

) is a

directeur sportif A ''directeur sportif'' (French for sporting director, although the original French term is often used in English-language media; plural ''directeurs sportifs'') is a person directing a cycling team during a road bicycle racing event. It is se ...

. He was a professional road racing cyclist between 1987 and 1995. He completed seven

Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage bicycle race primarily held in France, while also occasionally passing through nearby countries. Like the other Grand Tours (the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España), it consists ...

stage races, including the

1990 Tour de France The 1990 Tour de France was the 77th edition of the Tour de France, one of cycling's Grand Tours. It took place between 30 June and 22 July 1990. The race consisted of 21 stages and a prologue. American Greg LeMond () repeated his 1989 victor ...

where he was involved in the Stage 1 breakaway that caused the rest of the race to be the most surprising Tour in over a decade. He was the only one of the four breakaway riders not to wear the Maillot Jaune, but he won the stage. He twice won the

Tour of Belgium The Tour of Belgium ( nl, Ronde van België; french: Tour de Belgique) is a five-day bicycle race which is held annually in Belgium, and is part of the UCI ProSeries. It was held annually between 1908 and 1981, except during both world wars. Bet ...

, and won the 1994 Tour de Luxembourg. Since 2005, Maassen has been the assistant

of the

Rabobank Rabobank (; full name: ''Coöperatieve Rabobank U.A.'') is a Dutch multinational banking and financial services company headquartered in Utrecht, Netherlands. The group comprises 89 local Dutch Rabobanks (2019), a central organisation (Raboban ...

, a Netherlands-based UCI ProTour team.

Major results

;1986 : 2nd Overall

Tour of Sweden The Tour of Sweden (or Postgirot Open) was an annual professional road bicycle racing stage race held in Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's ...

;1987 : 1st Stage 2

Danmark Rundt Danmark Rundt is a Danish stage race for professional road bicycle racers organized as a part of the UCI Continental Circuits. It is currently sponsored by the Danish national postal agency, PostNord, and the race is therefore also known as Po ...

: 2nd GP du Canton d'Argovie : 7th Brussels–Ingooigem : 8th Tour Méditerranéen ;1988 : 1st Jersey red

Overall

::1st Stages 3a & 3b ( ITT) : 1st Prologue Étoile de Bessèges : 1st Stage 2 Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana : 1st Stage 4a

Tour de Romandie The Tour de Romandie is a stage race which is part of the UCI World Tour. It runs through the Romandie region, or French-speaking part of Switzerland. The competition began in 1947, to coincide with the 50-year anniversary of Swiss Cycling. It ...

: 1st Stage 6a Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré : 3rd Overall

Three Days of De Panne 3 is a number, numeral, and glyph. 3, three, or III may also refer to: * AD 3, the third year of the AD era * 3 BC, the third year before the AD era * March, the third month Books * '' Three of Them'' (Russian: ', literally, "three"), a 1901 ...

: 6th Overall

;1989 : 1st MaillotHolanda

Road race, National Road Championships : 1st Wincanton Classic : 2nd Overall

::1st Stage 3b ( ITT) : 2nd Milan–San Remo : 3rd Overall Étoile de Bessèges : 4th UCI Road World Cup : 4th De Brabantse Pijl ;1990 : 1st Jersey red

Overall

::1st Prologue & Stage 5a ( ITT) : 1st Jersey yellow

Overall Étoile de Bessèges ::1st Stage 6 ( ITT) : 1st De Brabantse Pijl : 1st Grand Prix Eddy Merckx : 1st

Grand Prix de Fourmies The Grand Prix de Fourmies is a bicycle race held in the Fourmies commune of France. Since 2005 it has been organised as a 1.HC event on the UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle racing Road bicycle racing ...

: 1st Stage 1

: 2nd Overall

::1st Stages 2 & 3 : 3rd

Druivenkoers Overijse Druivenkoers Overijse is a single-day road bicycle race held annually in August in Overijse, Belgium. Since 2005, the race is organized as a 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle racing Road ...

: 4th

Gent–Wevelgem Gent–Wevelgem, officially Gent–Wevelgem – In Flanders Fields, is a road cycling race in Belgium, held annually since 1934. It is one of the classic races part of the Flemish Cycling Week, run in late March on the last Sunday before the To ...

: 6th Overall Nissan Classic : 7th Overall

Tirreno–Adriatico Tirreno–Adriatico, nicknamed the "Race of the Two Seas", is an elite road cycling stage race in Italy, run between the Tyrrhenian and Adriatic coasts. Traditionally held in the early part of the season, it is considered to be an important prep ...

: 9th Rund um den Henninger Turm ;1991 : 1st Jersey yellow

Overall Ronde van Nederland ::1st Stage 2b ( ITT) : 1st

Amstel Gold Race The Amstel Gold Race is an annual one-day classic road cycling race held in the province of Limburg, Netherlands. It traditionally marks the turning point of the spring classics, with the climbers and stage racers replacing the cobbled classic ...

: 1st Stage 5b Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana : 2nd Overall

: 2nd Overall Tour de Luxembourg : 2nd Grand Prix Eddy Merckx : 3rd Overall Étoile de Bessèges : 3rd Grand Prix Pino Cerami : 4th Overall Four Days of Dunkirk ::1st Stage 5 : 5th

Tour of Flanders The Tour of Flanders ( nl, Ronde van Vlaanderen), also known as ''De Ronde'' (''"The Tour"''), is an annual road cycling race held in Belgium every spring. The most important cycling race in Flanders, it is part of the UCI World Tour and orga ...

: 5th Circuit des Frontières : 6th UCI Road World Cup : 6th

Grand Prix des Nations The Grand Prix des Nations was an individual time trial (against the clock) for both professional and amateur racing cyclists. Held annually in Cannes, France, it was instituted in 1932 and often regarded as the unofficial time trial championship ...

: 10th Wincanton Classic ;1992 : 1st Jersey white

Overall

: Tour de Luxembourg ::1st Stages 2 & 3b ( ITT) : 1st Stage 3 Grand Prix du Midi Libre : 2nd Overall Four Days of Dunkirk ::1st Stage 4 ( ITT) : 2nd

Paris–Brussels The Brussels Cycling Classic (known until June 2013 as Paris–Brussels) is a semi classic European bicycle race, one of the oldest races on the international calendar. History Paris–Brussels was first run on 12 August 1893 as an amateur eve ...

: 2nd Grand Prix Eddy Merckx : 2nd Grand Prix Pino Cerami : 3rd Rund um den Henninger Turm : 5th

: 5th GP Ouest–France : 8th Paris–Tours ;1993 : 1st Grote Prijs Jef Scherens : 1st Stage 4 Grand Prix du Midi Libre : 1st Stage 6 Vuelta a Andalucia : 2nd Overall

: 2nd

: 2nd Circuit des Frontières : 3rd Road race, National Road Championships : 5th De Brabantse Pijl : 6th Overall Tour de Luxembourg : 7th Rund um den Henninger Turm : 10th Road race, UCI Road World Championships ;1994 : 1st Jersey yellow

Overall Tour de Luxembourg ::1st Stage 3b ( ITT) : 3rd Overall

::1st Stage 3b ( ITT) : 3rd Veenendaal–Veenendaal Classic ;1995 : 1st Profronde van Heerlen : 2nd

Time trial In many racing sports, an athlete (or occasionally a team of athletes) will compete in a time trial against the clock to secure the fastest time. The format of a time trial can vary, but usually follow a format where each athlete or team sets off at ...

, National Road Championships : 2nd Rund um Köln : 6th Overall Ronde van Nederland

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Maassen, Frans 1965 births Living people Dutch male cyclists Dutch Tour de France stage winners People from Leudal UCI Road World Championships cyclists for the Netherlands Cyclists from Limburg (Netherlands) Directeur sportifs