Belgium bids farewell to cycling legend Walter Godefroot, top rider and former sports director of Jan Ullrich

Born in Ghent, Godefroot was a professional cyclist from 1965 to 1979 and won races such as the Tour of Flanders, Paris-Roubaix, and Liège-Bastogne-Liège. He also won ten stages in the Tour de France and took the green jersey in the 1970 Tour de France. In total, he achieved 61 victories.

After his active career, he started working as a team leader and manager at Telekom/T-Mobile in the 1990s. With that team, he won the Tour de France in 1996 (Bjarne Riis) and 1997 (Jan Ullrich), as well as numerous other races with top riders such as Erik Zabel, Andreas Klöden, and Alexandre Vinokourov. In recent years, Godefroot suffered from Parkinson's disease.

Fellow generation member Eddy Merckx had kind words for Godefroot on Sporza. “Walter was certainly a great rider; he was a little faster than I, but above all, he was a complete rider. He could do more than some people thought he could. A great champion has left us.”

"What I will never forget: Walter gave my son Axel his first chance to become a professional. I am glad that we saw each other several more times. It is with regret in my heart that I must say goodbye."