DISRAELI DOCUMENTS
Hennie Kuiper, Dutch, 1949 -
Hennie Kuiper was one of the most prominent cyclists of the late 1970s and early 1980s. He won the Olympic Road Race in Munich in 1972 and the UCI World Road Race Championship in 1975. He won the Tour de France 'Queen' stage to Alpe D’Huez on two occasions and came second on overall classification in 1977 and 1980. Turning to one day races in his later years, he won 4 of the 5 'Monuments'.
I believe that he used a Campagnolo Super Record derailleur to win his World Championship.
This great photo shows Hennie Kuiper at the finish of the 1977 Acht van Chaam. The Acht van Chaam is a criterium held in the town of Chaam which runs over a course in the shape of a figure of 8 (is that a recipe for disaster or what?). It is held after the end of the Tour de France and is traditionally a somewhat ceremonial event featuring heros of that year's Tour (especially Dutch heros) who mysteriously manage to win the event.
In this photo Hennie is seen posing with Tjerk Westerterp, the Dutch Minister of Transport and Water Management. Only in Holland could you possibly have a 'Minister of Transport and Water Management'. And only in Holland could a politician called 'Tjerk' possibly win enough votes to get elected. And finally, what's with those spectacles?
(Source nationaalarchief.nl Dutch National Archive)