![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.vintagefiets.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/Richard-Depoorter-07-scaled.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nWhat interested me more was the name of Richard Depoorter, so I immediately started looking for more information on the internet and what turned out? Richard Depoorter was once an important promising cyclist who won Li\u00e8ge Bastogne Li\u00e8ge no less than 2 times, namely in the years 1943 and 1947. So no fairground driver!<\/p>\n
However, his career came to an abrupt end in the 1948 Tour de Suisse when he mysteriously died. During the ride with the ascent of the S\u00fcstenpass, Depoorter drove into the unlit Scheitel tunnel during the descent in 3rd position, but unfortunately came out lifeless half an hour later.<\/p>\n Richard Depoorter after being taken out of the tunnel<\/p><\/div>\n It had long been a mystery what happened in the tunnel and according to the police report Richard Depoorter had slammed into the rock face and died of a skull fracture. Richard's brother Willy did not believe a word of it, however, and after 10 years of litigation, he was finally proved right. Another important anecdote is that none other than Lomme Driessens was also in the support car at the time. Driessens then worked as a soigneur and said he was sleeping in the back seat when the incident happened. During the trial, Lomme swooned so that he was not interrogated further. Something Willy still can't understand and, according to him, clearly indicates that a cover-up was going on.<\/p>\n Richard Depoorter was born in Ichtegem on April 29, 1915 and died on June 16 in Wassen, Switzerland. He was a professional cyclist from 1937 to 1948 and thus won the Li\u00e8ge Bastogne Li\u00e8ge in 1943 and 1947. He rode for, among others, the cycling teams Alcyon \u2013 Dunlop and Mercier \u2013 Hutchinson. At the time of the accident, he was riding for the Mondia cycling team.<\/p>\n There used to be the cycling race De Grote Prijs Richard Depoorter with start and finish in Ichtegem, Richard's birthplace. The last edition was in 2018.<\/p>\n In 1998, 50 years after Richard's death, a memorial plaque was placed in the Scheitel tunnel to commemorate the fatal accident. The Scheitel tunnel then became the Depoorter tunnel.<\/p>\n In 1997, a year before the commemoration of his death, the book \u201cLife and death of Richard Depoorter \u2013 An amateur among professional cyclists\u201d was published. There is also a memorial plaque at the house in Ichtegem where Depoorter lived.<\/p>\n Of course, the question remains as to who marketed the bicycles with decals Richard Depoorter and for how long these bicycles were for sale. I haven't found any info on this yet, so any info is welcome. The only other frame I found on the web can be seen on the website DCI Steel Vintage Racing Bicycles<\/a>.<\/p>\n Below some pictures of the frame<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a>
\nIt turned out that Richard had been hit by the support vehicle driven by Louis Hanssens. There were traces of a car tire on Richard's cycling jersey and there was no question of a skull fracture. All information that had been withheld from Depoorter's family.<\/p>\nCareer Richard Depoorter<\/strong><\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/p>\nBicycle frame Richard Depoorte<\/strong><\/h2>\n