Rudi Altig

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Rudi Altig (born 18 March 1937 in Mannheim, Germany) is a former leading professional track and road racing cyclist during the 1960s and a current TV commentator.

In 1960 and 1961, Altig became world champion in the individual pursuit on the track. On the road in 1962, he rode the Vuelta a España, winning three stages and taking overall victory. Later that summer, he wore the maillot jaune for five days in the Tour de France, winning three stages and the overall points competition, and finishing 31st overall.

Two years later, he improved to 12th place on Le Tour (taking another stage win in the process), having earlier in the season won his first Classic, the 1964 Ronde van Vlaanderen. In 1965 he finished second to Englishman Tom Simpson in the World professional road racing championship in San Sebastian, Spain.

But the world title was not denied to him for long: he won the 1966 championship not too far away from his home, at the Nürburgring. For good measure, he also took three stage wins in that year's Tour de France (taking another 12th place overall) and two more in the Giro d'Italia (for an eventual 13th place).

The second and final Classic win of his career came in the 1968 Milan-Sanremo, and he also took two stages of that year's Vuelta (finishing 18th overall). In 1969 he finished 9th in the Giro, and won the prologue individual time trial of the Tour de France.

[edit] Six-day track star

An accomplished track rider, Altig also recorded 22 six-day victories:

• (with Hans Junkermann)
  • 1962: Berlin, Münster
  • 1963: Essen
  • 1964: Essen
• (with Fritz Pfenninger)
  • 1964: Dortmund, Frankfurt am Main
  • 1970: Dortmund
  • 1971: Bremen, Cologne
• (with Dieter Kemper)
  • 1965: Berlin, Frankfurt a. M.
  • 1966: Bremen, Cologne
• (with Sigi Renz)
  • 1965: Cologne
  • 1966: Berlin, Dortmund, Zürich
  • 1968: Bremen, Cologne
  • 1969: Ghent
• (with Patrick Sercu)
  • 1968: Dortmund, Frankfurt a. M.
• (with Klaus Bugdahl)
  • 1968: Münster

[edit] External links

• Complete Palmarès

Preceded by Tom Simpson	World Road Racing Champion 1966	Succeeded by Eddy Merckx
Preceded by Angelino Soler	Winner of the Vuelta a España 1962	Succeeded by Jacques Anquetil