Karl-Heinz Kunde (6 January 1938 – 15 January 2018) was a German

racing cyclist Cycle sport is competitive physical activity using bicycles. There are several categories of bicycle racing including road bicycle racing, cyclo-cross, mountain bike racing, track cycling, BMX, and cycle speedway. Non-racing cycling s ...

Life

Born in

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 millio ...

, Kunde started his cycling career in 1959 as amateur. In 1962 he became professional. His biggest success was in the

1966 Tour de France The 1966 Tour de France was the 53rd edition of the Tour de France, one of cycling's Grand Tours. It took place between 21 June and 14 July, with 22 stages covering a distance of . Lucien Aimar was a domestique of 5-time Tour winner Jacques Anq ...

, where he wore the

yellow jersey The general classification is the most important classification, the one by which the winner of the Tour de France is determined. Since 1919, the leader of the general classification wears the yellow jersey (french: maillot jaune ). History Th ...

for five days. This was even more special considering he received hardly any support from his team mates. Kunde started 5 times in the Tour de France, but only finished three times, in

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarc ...

, 1965 and 1966. Because he was relatively small (, and ), Kunde was nicknamed ''Bergfloh'' and ''Karl, der Kurze'' (Karl the short). The French reporters named him ''Le petit Kunde'', and his concurrent

Jacques Anquetil Jacques Anquetil (; 8 January 1934 – 18 November 1987) was a French road racing cyclist and the first cyclist to win the Tour de France five times, in 1957 and from 1961 to 1964. He stated before the 1961 Tour that he would gain the ye ...

named him ''Mikrobe''. Kunde was also a Cyclo-cross-cyclist. In 1973 Kunde ended his cycling career, and started a bicycle shop in Cologne.

Palmarès

;1960 :Winner 4th stage

Tour of Austria The Tour of Austria (german: Internationale Österreich Rundfahrt) is a stage cycling race held in Austria. From 1949 to 1995 it was a race for amateur cyclists, turning into a professional event in 1996. In 2005 and 2006 it was organised as a 2 ...

;1961 :German national road race champion ;1963 :3rd stage

Tour de Luxembourg The Tour de Luxembourg is an annual stage race in professional road bicycle racing held in Luxembourg. The Tour de Luxembourg is classified as a 2.Pro race, the highest rating below the World Tour, by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), th ...

;1964 :

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 ...

: 16th place final classification ;1965 :

: 11th place ;1966 :

: 9th place

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kunde, Karl-Heinz 1938 births 2018 deaths German male cyclists Cyclo-cross cyclists Cyclists from Cologne 20th-century German people

Life

Palmarès

See also

External links