Frank Vandenbroucke
 |
| Personal information |
| Full name |
Frank Vandenbroucke |
| Nickname |
VDB |
| Date of birth |
November 6, 1974 (1974-11-06) (age 34) |
| Country |
 Belgium |
| Team information |
| Discipline |
Road |
| Role |
Rider |
| Rider type |
Classics specialist |
| Professional team(s) |
1994
1995–1998
1999–2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2004–2006
2006–2007
2008 |
Lotto-Caloi
Mapei-GB
Cofidis
Lampre-Daikin
Domo-Farm Frites
Quickstep-Davitamon
Fassa Bortolo
Unibet.com
Acqua & Sapone-Caffè Mokambo
Mitsubishi-Jartazi |
| Major wins |
Paris-Bruxelles (1995)
Gent-Wevelgem (1998)
Paris-Nice (1998)
Liège-Bastogne-Liège (1999)
Omloop "Het Volk" (1999)
Vuelta a España, 2 stages |
| Infobox last updated on: |
| April 17, 2008 |
Frank Vandenbroucke (born November 6, 1974 in Ploegsteert), nicknamed VDB[1] is a professional Belgian road racing cyclist. His uncle Jean-Luc Vandenbroucke was also a professional cyclist.
In the 1990s, Vandenbroucke was considered the best hope of Flemish cycling due to his talent and ability to win races from Liège-Bastogne-Liège to the Ronde van Vlaanderen. However, his often negative attitude earned him the nickname "L'enfant terrible" from the press.
Career
Vandenbroucke turned professional in 1993 with the Belgian team Lotto, whose directeur sportif was his uncle, Jean-Luc. He switched to Mapei under Patrick Lefevere in the middle of 1995 and stayed until the end of 1998. He was team mate of Johan Museeuw. In 1998 Vandenbroucke won Gent-Wevelgem, two stages and the general classification of Paris-Nice, and two stages of the Tour de Wallonie.
In 1999 he switched to the French team Cofidis where he shared leadership with David Millar. His "non-communication" with Millar was publicized and criticized. However, 1999 was better, with wins in Liège-Bastogne-Liège, Omloop "Het Volk", and stages in Paris-Nice and the Vuelta a España. His win in Liège-Bastogne-Liège was so dominant that some called him a "genius of cycling", because he announced on television where he would attack. VDB also made headlines for the first of many drug busts, arrested by Paris police but then released.[1] 1999 would be his last year of major victories.
The 2001 season brought him to the Italian team Lampre. He switched to the Belgian team Domo-Farm Frites in 2002 where he was reunited with Lefevere and Museeuw. He was again busted in 2002, in a speeding car with Bernard Sainz and a bag full of alleged doping products. Police searched VDB's house and found doping products including erythropoetin, but Vandenbroucke claimed they were for his dog.[2] Vandenbroucke was suspended by the bicycle federation of Flanders[3], and found guilty of related charges in 2005. VDB had a reputation for "accidents, illnesses, doping allegations, lawsuits, suspicion, surliness and suspensions".[3] Also in 2002, he was twice stopped by police and found to be driving after drinking.[4] However, when Lefèvere started Quick Step-Davitamon in 2003, VDB posted his most promising performance in years when he finished second to Peter van Petegem in the Ronde van Vlaanderen. Although happy with his performance, stating he had done his best to beat van Petegem in the last climbs knowing that Petegem would beat him in the sprint, Lefèvere criticized what he considered to be Vandenbroucke's lack of effort. Vandenbroucke quit the team.
In 2004 he joined the Italian team Fassa Bortolo under Giancarlo Ferretti, vowing to not get paid unless he won. He had a largely empty season and was fired. After a few months off the bike, he joined the MrBookmaker.com cycling team for the 2005 season. In July 2006, Vandenbroucke fired a gun into the air while arguing with his wife, who later left him.[4] He was sacked by Unibet for failing to stay in contact with the team during a holiday in Italy, and was later picked by the Acqua & Sapone team. In August 2006, he was caught in an Italian amateur race with a license made out to "Francesco del Ponte" (a badly Italianized version of his name, "del Pantalone" being correct) and bearing a photo of the world champion, Tom Boonen.
In February 2007, Vandenbroucke's autobiography was published. Marketing materials reported that he admitted taking performance-enhancing drugs. "Everybody did it, and so did I," he was quoted. "It is the truth and it does not diminish the value of my victories."[5] The publisher later denied VDB had said this, claiming a misunderstanding.
On June 6, 2007 Vandenbroucke attempted suicide. He was admitted to the hospital of Magenta, near Milan, Italy and reported in "grave" condition.[6]
At the start of 2008, Vandenbroucke signed with Mitsubishi. He was suspended when accused by Belgian police of buying cocaine in Wielsbeke. In March, the International Cycling Union declared him "persona non grata." His ex-wife has described Vandenbroucke as a cocaine addict.[7] Later in April, Vandenbroucke left the Mitsubishi-Jartazi team by mutual consent.
Selected palmares and teams
Remarks
^ VDB is a very common nickname in Flanders. Another famous Belgian nicknamed VDB, was Paul Vanden Boeynants.
See also
References
- ^ "Cycling's Poster Boy Is Now a Police Mug," Samuel Abt, International Herald Tribune, May 10, 1999
- ^ "Vandenbroucke – where to from here?" CyclingNews, March 2, 2002
- ^ a b "Cycling : A god to fans, a pain for teams," Samuel Abt, International Herald Tribune, March 5, 2003
- ^ a b "Cycling: Vandenbroucke recovering after suicide bid," AFP, June 7, 2007
- ^ Cycling Post, January 21, 2007
- ^ ""Frank was helemaal alleen in zijn hoofd"" (in Dutch). Sporza (2007-06-07). Retrieved on 2007-06-07.
- ^ "Bad Boy Vandenbrouke in further hot water," AFP, 2 April 2008
External links
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