Daily Cycling Facts 06.10.12

Arnaud Gérard

Arnaud Gérard, born in Dinan, France on this day in 1984, was National and World Under-19 Road Race Champion in 2002. He was awarded the Combativity prize for Stage 12 at the 2008 Tour de France.

Jo Maas, born in Eijsden, Netherlands on this day in 1954, won Stage 10 and was seventh overall at the 1974 Tour de France.

Luis Rosendo Ramos, who was born in Mexico on this day in 1957, won the Road Race at the PanAmerican Games in 1983 and 1987.

Jules Lowie, born in Nokere, Belgium on this day in 1913, won Paris-Nice in 1938 and came second at Paris-Roubaix in 1943.

Jim Pollak, born in St. Louis, USA on this day in 1963, was keen on sport as a child but after being diagnosed with a degenerative hip disease was told that he would be unable to take part in any sport and was forced to wear a leg brace for two years, during which time he could walk only with crutches. He later went to Indiana University, where he hoped he might be able to make the cross-country running team, but could not. Then he heard about a cycling event called the Little 500 and out together a college team, which came fourth - and thus began a career that earned him four National Championship titles, a gold medal at the Goodwill Games, a silver medal at the PanAmerican Games and an appearance at the Olympics.

Born in Heanor, Great Britain on this day in 1971, Dale Holmes was Elite BMX World Champion in 1996 and 2001 and won the World Cup and European Championships in 1997. In 2003, at an event in Nevada, he was mugged by two masked men armed with a knife and a gun - they took his bike and a rucksack, but left him unharmed. After retiring from BMX, Holmes began to compete in mountain biking and in 2005 became British 4-Cross Champion.

Other cyclists born on this day: Laura Blanco (Spain, 1965); Nic Long (USA, 1989); Jim Pollak (USA, 1963); Max Wechsler (Switzerland, 1938); Paulo Caicedo (Ecuador, 1969); Víctor Limba (Argentina, 1947); Jiří Pecka (Czechoslovakia, 1940); An Byeong-Hun (South Korea, 1940); Héctor Cassina (Argentina, 1943); Stefan Maurer (Switzerland, 1960, died 1994); Siegfried Köhler (Germany, 1935).