| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Herman van Springel |
| Date of birth | August 14 1943 |
| Country | Belgium |
| Team information | |
| Current team | Retired |
| Discipline | Road |
| Role | Rider |
| Rider type | Sprinter, Time Trial |
| Major wins | |
| Tour de France green jersey (1973) | |
| Infobox last updated on: | |
| April 16, 2007 | |
| Medal record | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Competitor for  Belgium |
|||
| Road bicycle racing | |||
| World Championships | |||
| Silver | 1968 Imola | Elite Men's Road Race | |
Herman van Springel (born 14 August 1943) is a Belgian former road racing cyclist, from Grobbendonk, in the Flemish Campine region. He was an accomplished time-trial contester, almost winning the Tour de France in 1968, but he was beaten in the last stage by Dutchman, Jan Janssen, ironically, in a time-trial. Thousands of Belgian cycling fans were frustrated by this event and foul play was not to be excluded in their view. In the autumn of that year, he won the classic Giro di Lombardia. Though he wasn't a real winner in his career, he nevertheless won 7 editions of the marathon race Bordeaux-Paris. He also won the green jersey in the 1973 Tour de France. He kept on cycling through the seventies and ended his long lasting career at the end of the 1981 season. Famous Flemish TV-maker and presenter, Marc Uytterhoeven, still under the impression of the 1968 Tour memories, founded a special Herman Vanspringel fan club.
| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Eddy Merckx |
Winner of the green jersey in the Tour de France 1973 |
Succeeded by Patrick Sercu |
