Wim Vansevenant (born 23 December 1971) is a Belgian former professional

road bicycle racer Road bicycle racing is the cycle sport discipline of road cycling, held primarily on paved roads. Road racing is the most popular professional form of bicycle racing, in terms of numbers of competitors, events and spectators. The two most com ...

. He is the father of fellow racing cyclist

Mauri Vansevenant Mauri Vansevenant (born 1 June 1999) is a Belgian cyclist, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . He is the son of former professional cyclist Wim Vansevenant, and is named after Melcior Mauri, the winner of the 1991 Vuelta a España. Major resu ...

Career

Vansevenant was born in

Diksmuide (; ; ) is a Belgian city and municipality in the Flemish province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of proper and the former communes of Beerst, Esen, Kaaskerke, Keiem, Lampernisse, Leke, Nieuwkapelle, Oostkerke ...

. In his early years he was active mainly in

Bovekerke Bovekerke is a village in the Belgian province of West Flanders, and since 1971 it's a “deelgemeente” of the municipality of Koekelare. Besides the chief town of Koekelare proper, Bovekerke also borders the villages Vladslo (part of Diksmuide) ...

, where he lived with his parents, and its surroundings. Later he moved to

Torhout Torhout (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities of Belgium, municipality located in the Belgium, Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Torhout proper, the villages of Wijnendale and Sint-Henri ...

where he has a small farm. Vansevenant turned professional in 1995. Vansevenant has been ''

lanterne rouge The ''lanterne rouge'' () is the competitor in last place in the Tour de France. The phrase comes from the French for "Red Lantern" and refers to the red lantern hung on the rear vehicle of a passenger railway train or the brake van of a freight ...

'' of the

Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage cycle sport, bicycle race held primarily in France. It is the oldest and most prestigious of the three Grand Tour (cycling), Grand Tours, which include the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a ...

three times, in

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

and

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

. He is the only man ever to have finished last three times. "Lanterne rouge is not a position you go for," Vansevenant told journalist Sam Abt in 2006. "It comes for you." Vansevenant retired after the 2008 season with plans to take over his parents' farm. In June 2011, Vansevenant was accused of importing doping products into Belgium. He has claimed that the products were for his own personal use.

Major results

;1993 :3rd World Military Championship :3rd National Amateur Time Trial Championship ;1995 :9th Overall

Regio-Tour The Regio-Tour is a multi-stage road bicycle race held between France, Switzerland and Germany. It was first held in 1985 and since 2005 it has been organised as a 2.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour. Famous riders like Laurent Brochard, Jan Ullrich, ...

;1996 :1st Stage 2

Tour du Vaucluse The Tour du Vaucluse ''(Tour of the Vaucluse)'' is a former cycling race, held in the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of France. From 1923 until 1960 it was organized as a one-day race finishing in Cavaillon Cav ...

:2nd

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 compet ...

;1997 :9th

Dwars door Vlaanderen ''Dwars door Vlaanderen'' ('Across Flanders') is a semi-classic road bicycle race in Belgium, held annually since 1945. The race starts in Roeselare and finishes in Waregem, both in West Flanders. Since 2017 the event is included in the UCI Wor ...

;1998 :4th Brussel-Ingooigem :10th Overall

Tour of Austria The Tour of Austria () is a stage race, 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 2.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour ...

:10th

Ronde van Overijssel Ronde van Overijssel () is an elite men's road bicycle racing event held annually in Overijssel, Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overse ...

;2000 :3rd

Grand Prix de Villers-Cotterêts The Grand Prix de Villers-Cotterêts was a single-day road bicycle race held annually in the commune of Villers-Cotterêts, France from 1998 until 2008. In 2005 and 2006, the race was organized as a 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour, and was als ...

:7th

GP Stad Zottegem Egmont Cycling Race is a single-day road bicycle race held annually in August in Zottegem, 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 competit ...

;2001 :5th

Grand Prix de Wallonie The Grand Prix de Wallonie is an annual road bicycle race held annually in Wallonia, Belgium. From 2005 to 2019 it was organised as a category 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour. In 2021, it joined the UCI ProSeries, after being cancelled in 2020. ...

:6th

:10th

GP Rik Van Steenbergen Memorial Rik Van Steenbergen (previously GP Rik Van Steenbergen) is a single-day road bicycle race held annually in September in Arendonk, Belgium. The race, paying respect to the famous Belgian rider of the 1940s and 1950s, quickly gained import ...

;2002 :3rd

Cholet-Pays de Loire Grand Prix Cholet-Pays de la Loire is a single-day road bicycle race held annually in March in Cholet, France. 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 ra ...

:5th Brabantese Pijl ;2003 :3rd

References

External links

* * 1971 births Living people Belgian male cyclists Cyclists at the 2004 Summer Olympics Olympic cyclists for Belgium People from Diksmuide Cyclists from West Flanders {{Belgium-cycling-bio-1970s-stub