Results : 31 starters

1. Wim Van Est
2. Andre Pieters
3. Raphael Jonckheer
4. Norbert Callens
5. Hector Smet
6. Andre Verfaillie
7. Lameire
8. Ger. Vande Steene
9. Omere Dhaenens
10. Marc De Neve

Wim van Est (Fijnaart, March 25, 1923 – Roosendaal, May 1, 2003) was a Dutch cyclist and the first Dutchman to wear the yellow jersey as leader of the general classification in the Tour de France. His nicknames were “The Locomotive,” “Iron William,” “The Knoest,” and “The Executioner of the Heike.”

His first major victory was the long (over 550 km) classic Bordeaux-Paris in 1950. The following year he took the yellow jersey in the Tour de France with a stage win, no less, in the mountains of the Pyrenees.

Van Est’s joy, however, didn’t last long. The day after his victory, on July 18, 1951, he fell into a ravine on a descent of the Col d’Aubisque. A video that first surfaced in 1992 shows a crying Van Est being hoisted up a mountain by a chain of bicycle tires. Despite falling seventy meters, he remained virtually unharmed, but his Tour was over. He won two more stages of the Tour de France during the remainder of his career. Van Est’s fame grew even further when Pontiac, which had sponsored the watches for the Dutch team, launched an advertising campaign with the slogan: “I fell seventy meters deep, my heart stopped, but my Pontiac kept running…” Shortly before his death, a plaque commemorating his fall was unveiled in his presence on the Aubisque. Wim van Est was not only the first Dutchman to wear the yellow jersey, but in 1953 he was also the first Dutchman to win a stage in the Giro and to wear the pink jersey, which belonged to the leader in the Giro d’Italia.

Wim van Est was also successful as a track cyclist, particularly in the pursuit. He became Dutch champion in 1949, 1952, 1953, and 1955. He also reached the podium three times at the World Pursuit Championships: 3rd in 1949, 2nd in 1950, and 3rd in 1955.