Daily Cycling Facts 29.11.2012

Andre Noyelle, 1952-2003

Belgian cyclist André Noyelle, winner of a gold medal in the Individual Road Race and the Team Road Race at the 1952 Olympics in Helsinki, was born in Ypres on this day in 1931. Noyelle won the National Military Championship and was second in the Amateur World Championships during the same year that he had his Olympic success, then turned professional with Alcyon-Dunlop in 1953; over the course of his thirteen-year professional career he won numerous stages and one-day events, his most notable results being second at Gent-Wevelgem in 1957, third at Paris-Tours in 1959, third at Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne and the E3 Harelbeke in 1961. Noyelle died on the 4th of February, 2003.

Sharing Noyelle's birthday is the Welsh professional track cyclist Rebecca "Becky" Angharad James, born in Abergavenny in 1991. In 2009, Becky won two gold and a silver medal at the European Track Championships, repeating the achievement at the UCI Junior World Championships a month later - when she also set a new flying 200m world record. In 2012, James partnered with Jess Varnish to win the Team Pursuit at the Cali round of the World Cup and won one silver and two bronze medals at the Under-23 European Championships.

Cyril Dessel was born on this day in Rive-de-Gier, France, in 1974. He won a silver medal in his National Championships in 2004, then won the Tour Méditerranéen and Tour de l'Ain in 2006 as well as wearing the yellow jersey for one day and finishing 6th overall at that year's Tour de France. He also won Stage 16 at the Tour in 2008.

Urs Zimmerman, born in Mühledorf, Switzerland on this day in 1959, was third place runner-up in the 1986 Tour de France and 1988 Giro d'Italia. In the 1991 Tour de France, riders mounted a 40 minute "no racing" protest to express support for him after he was penalised for driving from one stage town to another rather than flying.

Saturnino Rustrián, born in San José Pinula, won the Vuelta a Guatemala in 1966 and was the first Guatemalan to win against Columbian riders who had dominated the local talent whenever they entered in the past. He is also one of only three cyclists to have won the Vuelta a Costa Rica, established in 1965, on two occasions. At the time of writing he was still racing competitively in local and overseas veteran events.

Ernest Alfred Johnson, who was born in Putney, London and won bronze medals for the team pursuit events at the Olympics in 1932 and 1936, died on this day in 1997, nine days after his 85th birthday.

Other cyclists born on this day: Yauheni Hutarovich (Belarus, 1983); Carlo Legutti (Italy, 1912); Piet van der Touw (Netherlands, 1940); Brahim Ben Bouilla (Morocco, 1959); Enrique Allyón (Peru, 1952); Andy Paulin (USA, 1958); Melesio Soto (Mexico, 1941); J-me Carney (USA, 1968); Robert Baird (Australia, 1942).