Giroud 2022: Mathieu van der Poel is the tenth Dutchman to wear the pink jersey

Giroud 2022: Mathieu van der Poel is the tenth Dutchman to wear the pink jersey

Friday, May 6, 2022 at 6:30 pm

Mathieu van der Poel played his favorite role captaining the 2022 Giro d’Italia after the first stage, and he’s guaranteed to ride in the magical pink jersey on Saturday. Van der Poel is not the first Dutchman to wear the leader’s pink Giroud shirt. Nine men preceded him. cycling flash List them!

Wim Fan Foundation
For the first to wear the Dutch pink jersey, we have to go back to 1953. Wim van Est will mainly remember the 1951 Tour, when he hit a yellow jersey on Colonel de Obesek’s descent and collapsed into a ravine.

“I fell seventy meters deep, my heart stopped, but the Pontiac ran,” was the famous statement in an advertising campaign by the watch brand Pontiac. Two years after that said tour, Van Est was also allowed to wear the pink jersey for a day at the Giro d’Italia, having first crossed the line on the opening stage of Abano Terme.

So Van Est was the first Dutchman to wear pink, but certainly not the last. In 1954, it was Gerrit Forting who managed to seize power on the stage that Rick van Steenbergen won in Naples. Voorting’s pink dream only lasted for a day, because in L’Aquila’s next run, he had to hand over the coveted gem to later overall winner Carlo Clerici of Switzerland.

Peter Winning – Photo: Cor Vos

Then, Dutch bike enthusiasts had to wait a very long time for a new rose stand from the cold little country. In the sixties and seventies of the last century, no Dutchman succeeded in it La Maglia Rosa to get.

But in the ’80s we saw a transformation thanks to Jean-Paul van Poppel and Eric Brockenck. Runner Van Poppel wore the pink one-day jersey in 1986 and 1989, and Brockenk’s pink stint lasted eight days. The multi-skilled player was emphatically involved in Girozege in the early years of his career, but he never managed to hold the pink jersey until the end.

Tom Dumoulin
What Breukink failed to do in the ’80s, Tom Dumoulin succeeded in 2017. The Limburger wrote part of cycling history that year by being the first Dutchman to win the Giro d’Italia. Dumoulin wore the pink jersey for no less than ten days at that special 2017 Giro.

Also in 2016 (six days) and 2018 (one day) cyclists can be admired in pink. Dumoulin now has seventeen pink jackets in his wardrobe: no citizen comes close to him. Jeroen Bleegliffins, Peter Winning, Stephen Kreuzwik and Wilko Kielderman can also be admired more than once in the pink jersey.

Dutch Rose Wearer Overview

1. Tom Dumoulin 17 days in the pink jersey (6 times in 2016, 10 times in 2017, 1 in 2018)

2. Eric Brockenck 8 days in the pink jersey (3 times in 1987, 5 times in 1989)

3. Stephen Kruesvik 5 days in the pink jersey (5 times in 2016)

4. Peter Winning 4 days in the pink jersey (4 times in 2011)

5. Jean Paul Van Poppel Two days in the pink jersey (once in 1986 and once in 1989)
Jeroen Bleegliffins Two days in the pink shirt (twice in 1999)
Wilko Kieldermann 2 days in the pink shirt (twice in 2020)

7. Wim Fan Foundation One Day in the Pink Shirt (1953)
Gerrit Forting One Day in the Pink Shirt (1954)
Matthew van der Pol – One Day in the Pink Shirt (2022) – and counting…

number of riders: 10
Number of pink jackets: 43

Eric Bruckinck – Photo: Cor Vos