Thursday, March 28, 2024
HomeOtherEditorialDimitri De Fauw

Dimitri De Fauw

-

It’s easy to write an obituary when one of your heroes dies – probably more so if you don’t know them well. There’s just the legend, palmarès, anecdotes and the sadness. But I knew Dimitri De Fauw – not well, but I worked at maybe half-a-dozen Six Day races where he was riding.

Bruno Risi is the undisputed ‘capo‘ of the Sixes, but pass him in the tunnel whilst your lugging bags up to the track cabin and there’ll be a nod or a “ciao” or his trademark wink.

In all the times I was working at Sixes where Dimitri was riding, he never once acknowledged my existence.

He seemed an angry man; at Grenoble, just a few days ago, he was excluded from a meeting that the top riders convened about business, “f**king idiots” he shouted at the closed door as he walked past.

He rode for QuickStep mid-decade, then the Chocolade Jacques team; but this year I noticed he was clad in AA Sports Drink attire.

De Fauw rode for Chocolat Jacques.
De Fauw rode for Chocolade Jacques.

Whilst many of the big Six riders are happy to have solid private sponsors, a rider like him needs the security of a wage arriving every month and it was difficult not to notice that his teams – and therefore wage cheques, were getting smaller.

When I first worked in the Sixes a few years ago, De Fauw/Mechelen were an established pairing – not race winners but very quick in the one and two lap time trials.

They had a marketable speciality; but when current world Madison champions, Michael Morkov and Alex Rasmussen came along, the Belgians’ time was over.

Michael is smooth and fast, and if they’re trying, when he slings in ‘Razi,’ everyone else is racing for second place.

Then there was the crash at Gent where poor Isaac Galvez lost his life; Dimitri was involved – scars like that don’t heal quickly.

At Grenoble, he looked a little heavy to me; not in the best shape.

There was a contract for him at Gent, but with Mertens, De Ketele and Keisse established, and the all too obvious star quality of Meersman – maybe there wouldn’t be many more.

Belgian bike racing is merciless; the Tour looks after it’s own – ex-riders are everywhere.

But in Belgium, it’s different; if you’ve put a few euros away, there’s maybe a bike shop or cafe to open.

But that takes good contracts and good financial acumen – both in short supply in the sport of bike racing.

Some riders move into coaching or management, but that needs a certain type of personality, which not all riders are blessed with.

Andreas Kappes was one of the absolute top men in the sport of Six Day racing until recently; after his retiral from the sport he was cleaning offices when one of the mechanics got him a job as number two mechanic with a German women’s team.

De Fauw rode with the swiss star Alexander Aeschbach at Gent in 2007.

A man can only take so much – for Dimitri, the teams and the money were getting smaller, the results were sliding and there was that tragic day when Isaac Galvez lost his life; and maybe there were other things that folks like me don’t know about.

All I hope, is that the man’s soul has found tranquillity.

Dimitri De Fauw, rest in peace.

Ed Hood
Ed Hood
Ed's been involved in cycling for over 50 years. In that time he's been a successful time triallist, a team manager and a sponsor of several teams and clubs. He's also a respected and successful coach and during the winter months was often working in the cabins at the Six Days for some of the world's top riders. Ed remains a massive fan of the sport and couples his extensive contacts with an inexhaustible enthusiasm for the minutiae and the history of our sport. In February 2023 however, our dear friend and beloved colleague Ed suffered a devastating stroke and faces an uncertain future; Ed has lost his ability to speak, to read, and has lost movement on the right side of his body. He's working with speech and physical therapists on rehabilitation, but all strokes are different and each patient responds differently, so unfortunately recovery is one day at a time. Ed ran his own business installing windows, and will probably not be able to work again. Please consider joining us to make a contribution to Ed's GoFundMe page to help stabilise and secure his future.

Fedor Den Hertog – Amateur Colossus, Rest In Peace

Less than a month after the death of Peter Post, Dutch cycling has lost another of its 'Greats' with the news that Fedor Den Hertog succumbed on Saturday 12th February, after a long battle with illness. For anyone involved in cycle sport in the late 60's and early 70's, amateur Den Hertog's name was as well known as any of the top professionals.

Rab Wardell

When we saw the post about Rab Wardell’s passing it rendered us shocked and speechless. So, so sad. Rab was a versatile bike rider of quality, a friendly, genuine and much loved human being. Rest in peace, Sir.

Raymond Poulidor

Sadly, on 13th November at the age of 83 – he was born on April 15th 1936 – Raymond Poulidor, Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur left us. Rest in peace, Monsieur Raymond Poulidor – second in le Tour but winner in the hearts of the French public.

Dougie Young

It's with much sadness that VeloVeritas has to report the passing of another young man who's life hadn't really begun. Just days after Ben Abrahams was taken from us, Dougie Young has gone too. Rest in peace, Dougie. Sincere condolences to his friends, family and loved ones from Martin and Ed here at VeloVeritas.

Charlie Hebdo Massacre

If you're a VeloVeritas regular you'll be aware that we take full advantage of our, "right to rant." Freedom of Speech is something we take for granted in a Western Democracy. But recent events in Paris remind us that it's a principle which people surrender their lives to uphold.

Irvine Morrison

Earlier this year we mentioned the death of former Scottish Champion, Irvine Morrison; sadly, we didn’t have the knowledge to pen a proper tribute. Our old amigo, John ‘Ginger’ Gray forwarded this piece to us and confirmed that we have author Dennis White’s permission to run this tribute to Irvine which he wrote in 2018 – we think it’s well worth an airing on our pages.

Tim James

Over the weekend we were shocked and saddened to hear that young English rider Tim James had passed, aged just 23 years.

Grant Thomas Tribute, Part Two; “The most stylish bike rider, a gent”

Perhaps VeloVeritas sage and mentor, Viktor summed it up best; ‘he was the coolest – nobody looked better on a bike than Grant Thomas, he was everything I wanted to be in a cyclist.’ We thought that we should share more of the tributes which have been paid to the man.