Wout Wagtmans facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Wout Wagtmans

Wout Wagtmans in 1967
Personal information
Nickname	Olijke Woutje (Evil Woutje)
Born	(1929-11-10)10 November 1929 Rucphen, the Netherlands
Died	15 August 1994(1994-08-15) (aged 64) Sint Willebrord, Netherlands
Team information
Discipline	Road
Role	Rider
Rider type	Sprinter
Major wins
Grand Tours Tour de France 4 individual stages (1953, 1954, 1955) Giro d'Italia 3 individual stages (1954, 1957)

Wouter "Wout" Wagtmans (born November 10, 1929 – died August 15, 1994) was a famous Dutch road bicycle racer. He was known for his exciting racing style.

Wout Wagtmans, along with Wim van Est, helped make cycling very popular in the Netherlands during the 1950s. He started as an amateur cyclist in 1947. Just two years later, he became the Dutch champion. In 1950, he began his professional cycling career. In his very first professional race, the Dutch professional championship, only Gerrit Schulte finished ahead of him.

A Champion Cyclist

Wout Wagtmans had a very successful career. He competed in the Tour de France eight times. He even wore the famous yellow jersey in 1954, 1955, and 1956. The yellow jersey is worn by the leader of the race.

He won four stages in the Tour de France. In 1953, he won a stage in Gap, beating the legendary Gino Bartali. He finished fifth overall that year. Two years later, he won a stage in Bordeaux. He also won three stages in the Giro d'Italia, another major cycling race. Besides road races, Wout was also good at track cycling. He often teamed up with Wim van Est for two-person time trials.

Why Wout Was So Popular

Wout Wagtmans was loved by many fans. People liked him because he was always ready to fight hard in races. He also showed great enthusiasm for the sport. He earned many fun nicknames, like Olijke Woutje (which means "Evil Woutje"), Dik Trom, Zoeloe, de Clown, and het Kemphaantje.

Life After Racing

Wout Wagtmans stopped his professional cycling career in 1961. Later, in 1967, he became the leader of the Dutch Tour de France team. This team included another famous cyclist, Jan Janssen. After his time in cycling, Wout took over his father's transport company. Sadly, in the late 1980s, he had a serious accident that affected his health. Wout Wagtmans passed away in 1994 when he was 64 years old.

Wout Wagtmans also had a family connection to cycling. His nephew, Rini Wagtmans, also became a successful cyclist.

Major Achievements

Wout Wagtmans achieved many great things in his cycling career. Here are some of his most important results:

See also

• List of Dutch cyclists who have led the Tour de France general classification

In Spanish: Wout Wagtmans para niños