Stan Ockers - Mercxk's Childhood Hero

txt by: Christian Giordano

Forever too young, poor Stan – That's what his family used to call him. 

Constant (Stan) Ockers was born on February 3rd, 1920 in Borgerhout, a suburb of Antwerp, Belgium. A cycling heaven, if there is such a thing, except for him – Since his childhood dream was to enlist in the Belgian Navy. In order to achieve this, he left school early, however he was too young to join up. As a result of this, he had to start his apprenticeship as a ship-painter on the docks.

However, his new and unexpected career did not last too long because his older brother Jos bought him a bike and Stan discovered that he was a natural road rider. At that time, he was playing football, which is not a such good combination with cycling because both use muscles in different ways. For that reason, almost reluctantly, he headed on to the two-wheeled sport.

He quickly rose up the amateur ranks and, in 1941, while Belgium was already occupied by the Nazis, he turned professional. In his first pro season, he won the independent criterium of Sint-Niklaas, Stekene and Schoten. He showed his great potential by dominating the Grote Scheldeprijs, the oldest race held in Flanders.

Although, there always were some external factors to damage his career. The international racing schedule in the whole of Europe had been cancelled by World War II. It wasn't until just after the conflict that the former rising star really came to the center stage of continental pro cycling.

Stan had already turned 27 when he finished second in the Tour of Switzerland, an achievement he repeated twice in the Tour de France: in 1950 (9'30" after local boy Ferdi Kübler) and in 1952 (28'17" after Fausto Coppi, winner of his second double Giro-Tour after the 1949 one).

In 1953, Ockers won his very first Flèche Wallonne. The little big Stan (he stood less than 5’8”) was very popular, but he also had a lot of detractors. For some of them he was just a lazy good rider, for other ones a merely shrewd tactician who knew exactly when, where and how to attack during a race. Not surprisingly they dubbed him "the Mathematician" because of his tactical awareness. About him the famous suiveur (cycling reporter) Jos Van Landeghem said, "Stan was not the best talent of his generation, but he could read the race like no other. And sometimes this was not fully understood."

Regarding him the peloton was divided too, yet the fans adored him. Because he always was, and lived, like most of them, regardless he was the one who made it as a professional. In Belgium he appealed to all social classes, and he was known for the long time he spent helping young riders to improve themselves.

In 1955, he lived up to his best season. Ockers repeated the success of two years before in the Flèche Wallonne and he single-minded the Weekend of the Ardennes as well winning Liège-Bastogne-Liège, his first Monument classic race. At the time, the Doyenne (doyen) was raced the very day after the Flèche, so his achievement was even more historical and sensational. During the Flèche race, he had attacked before the Côte des Forges and uphill, increasing his lead up to go on to win in solitary by more than three minutes. On his way to Liège, the next day, he rode in his teammate and compatriot Raymond Impanis' slipstream. The dynamic duo were still on the run, and in the end, Ockers easily won the sprint.

Previously, the two-day double was won only by Ferdi Kübler (twice, in 1951 and 1952), then only five riders won them in the same year – the Belgians Eddy Merckx (1972) and Philippe Gilbert (2011), the Italians Moreno Argentin (1991) and Davide Rebellin (2004), the Spanish Alejandro Valverde (twice, in 2006 and 2015).

That very same year, Ockers could even achieve a remarkable, unique hattrick by winning the Paris-Roubaix too, but he refused to ride versus, again, his Elve-Peugeot teammate Raymond Impanis. So that race was won by Jean Forestier (from Follis-Dunlop team) before no less than the Italian “Campionissimo” Fausto Coppi and the French superstar Louison Bobet, trailing them by 15 seconds. He had two historic double achievements – two consecutive Gent-Wevelgem (1952 and 1953), Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix in the same year (1954) –, Impanis finished fifth, 42 seconds after the winner.

Three months later, Ockers won the green jersey as leader of points classification to the Tour de France. The first of his two in a row. He was 35, an age when most riders are already retired or so close to doing so, still he seemed stronger than ever. And in the wake of his extraordinary Grande Boucle performances, he pointed out to another main goal – the rainbow jersey.

Five years after Varese 1951, for the second time after WWII, the UCI Road World Championships returned to Italy – in Frascati, twenty kilometers south-east of Rome. Ockers had already almost tasted the world title in Lugano 1953 finishing third behind the Italian Fausto Coppi and another Belgian, Germain Derijcke. Five days before the World Championships, he won a sort of warm up kermesse in Bertrix, Belgium, his last build up race before traveling to Italy.

The favorites of the World Championship pro race in Frascati were the Frenchmen classy superstars Jacques Anquetil and Louison Bobet, the Italians big names Fausto Coppi and Fiorenzo Magni, both co-captains with Gastone Nencini as the third wheel, the Swiss Ferdi Kübler and the West German Heinz Müller, former world champion who had won his rainbow jersey in Luxembourg 1952.

On August 28th, the very day after the all-Italian podium (Sante Ranucci, Lino Grassi and Dino Bruni) in the amateur race, the main theme of the day was the heated circuit – 65 starters, just 21 of them crossed the finish line after 293.132 kilometers and almost nine hours on the saddle. In the last, decisive breakaway the gruppetto lead was about a dozen riders, including Jacques Anquetil and Italians Gastone Nencini, Pasquale Fornara and Agostino Coletto. Trailing by five minutes, Ockers began a seemingly hopeless chase, instead he was truly sensational. Another azzurro, Bruno Monti, tried to keep Ockers’ wheel up but during 13th lap, Ockers throw all them off his wheel on the climb to Grottaferrata and he arrived alone, with his arms raised and 1'03" before Luxembourgian Jean-Pierre Schmitz and 1'15", once again, ahead his compatriot Derijcke. The little kid who wanted to go globe-trotting in the Navy eventually topped the world of cycling.

The beautiful rainbow jersey, unfortunately, it can also be cursed. Called to defend his world title in Copenhagen '56, on the circuit of Ballerup suited to the sprinters, Ockers finished fourth behind his compatriots Rik Van Steenbergen and Rik Van Looy and the Dutchman Gerrit Schulte, and in front of other two of his teammates – Alfred de Bruyne and the usual, very unlucky Derijcke. Four Belgians in the first six. It was August, 26th.

A month later, September 29th, Stan Ockers falls on the Sportpaleis track in Antwerp. He died two days later, October 1st. At his funeral, thousands of fans flooded the streets. The following year, in his memory, a statue was unveiled in Les Forges, Sprimont, in southern Belgium.

That day an eleven year old boy named Eddy Merckx cried in a manner that only at that age you can do. His childhood hero and idol was gone, at the early age of 36. He had gone on the breakaway forever.
Still too young, poor, late Stan.

Christian Giordano