Gerardus Joseph ("Joop") Zoetemelk is a retired cyclist from The Netherlands. He is listed as the 8th greatest road cyclist of all time in Daniel Marszalek's internationally acknowledged weighted ranking, edging out luminaries like Fausto Coppi and Roger De Vlaeminck. After winning a gold medal at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City in the Team 100k Time Trial (along with Fedor den Hertog, Jan Krekels and René Pijnen) Zoetemelk turned professional. Wikipedia
The definitive Wikipedia entry for Joop Zoetemelk. Wikipedia is the biggest multilingual free-content encyclopedia on the Internet. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joop_Zoetemelk
Zoetemelk was a strong time trialist and climber. But his ascension to the top of the Tour podium occurred after unusual circumstances. Zoetemelk won three stages in 1980, but Bernard Hinault withdrew while in the lead and with the race just reaching th www.byjamesraia.com/articles/43/1/The-Greatest-Cyclists-I...