Henk Smits
Personal information
Full nameHendricus Smits
Born (1947-05-07) 7 May 1947
Baarlo, Limburg, Netherlands
Team information
Current teamRetired
DisciplineRoad cycling
RoleRider
Amateur teams
1971Ovis
1973Hebro-Flandria
1975Soka Snack's
Major wins

Hendricus "Henk" Smits (born 7 May 1947 in Baarlo, Limburg[1]) is a former road cyclist from the Netherlands.

Sporting career

Smits began his cycling at the club Olympia Baarlo.

In the 1973 International Peace Race, he was part of the team of the Netherlands (with Ewert Diepenveen, Cor Hoogedoom, Piet Legierse, Hermanus Lenferink and Comelius Boersma). In the victory of Ryszard Szurkowski, he finished 41st in the final classification.

Smits competed for the Dutch amateur cycling teams Ovis and Hebro-Flandria.[1] Competing as an amateur, Smits raced in the 1973 Tour de Pologne[2] and Course de la Paix; in the 1974 DDR-Rundfahrt; and in the 1976 Milk Race.[3]

Achievements

Smits was the overall winner at the 1974 Tour de Liège, including one stage victory;[4] and also won the Tour de la Province de Namur the same year. He came 2nd in the 1974 Seraing–Aachen–Seraing men's cycling race. In the 1974 GDR Tour Smits finished fourth in the 6th stage: Dessau - Nordhausen, 143 kilometres (89 mi), on 5 September 1974, and fifth in the 7th stage: Quer durch den Harz, 134 kilometres (83 mi), the following day (both stages were also classified as Harzrundfahrts). Smits achieved 14th place in the overall individual classification.[1]

In 1975, Smits won a stage of the Tour de Liège; and won overall winner of the Sint-Lambrechts-Woluwe in Belgium.[1]

Throughout 1976, Smits competed in the United Kingdom, with podium places but without a major stage victory.[1][5][6] Competing in Belgium in 1977 through to 1980, Smits' major achievement was overall general classification winner in a 1978 road race held in Yvoir, Belgium.[1] He also won the Staveslot Tour in 1979.[7] In 1981, he came third in the Romsée-Stavelot-Romsée (RSR) cycling race in Belgium (Liège province).

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Henk Smits at Cycling Archives
  2. ↑ Henk Smits at ProCyclingStats
  3. ↑ "Henk Smits". FirstCycling. 2023. Retrieved 8 January 2023.
  4. ↑ "Smits wint eerste rit" (in Dutch). Limburgsch Dagblad. 20 July 1974 – via Delpher.
  5. ↑ "Henk Smits beste Nederlander in ronde van Engeland" (in Dutch). Algemeen Dagblad. 12 June 1976 – via Delpher.
  6. ↑ "Tweede plaats Henk Smits" (in Dutch). Het Parool. 5 June 1976 – via Delpher.
  7. ↑ "echo's uit het peloton - Staveslot" (in Dutch). Limburgsch Dagblad. 1 October 1979 – via Delpher.
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