Jan Raas
| Personal information | |||||||||||||
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| Full name | Jan Raas | ||||||||||||
| Born | November 8, 1952  Netherlands |
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| Team information | |||||||||||||
| Current team | Retired | ||||||||||||
| Discipline | Road | ||||||||||||
| Role | Rider | ||||||||||||
| Professional team(s) | |||||||||||||
| 1975–1976 1977 1978-1983 1984-1985 |
TI-Raleigh Frisol TI-Raleigh Kwantum Hallen |
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| Major wins | |||||||||||||
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Medal record
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| Infobox last updated on June 30, 2008 |
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Jan Raas (born November 8, 1952, Heinkenszand) is a Dutch former professional cyclist whose 115 wins include the 1979 World Road Race Championship in Valkenburg, he also won the Ronde van Vlaanderen in 1979 and 1983, Paris–Roubaix in 1982 and Milan – San Remo in 1977. He won ten stages in the Tour de France. In six starts, Raas won the Amstel Gold Race five times.[1]
Raas was a tactician and clever sprinter. He struggled on the long steep climbs but excelled on the short climbs characteristic of the northern classics.
Contents |
[edit] Career
Born in Heinkenszand, near Goes in Zeeland, Raas was the son of a farmer and one of 10 children. He showed no interest in cycling until leaving school at 16 when he acquired his first racing bike and started competing as a junior category, taking his first victory in Damme in Belgium on the 21 July 1969. Further success as an amateur, including stage wins in the Olympia Tour and the national championship, prompted Peter Post, the manager of TI-Raleigh, to offer Raas a contract for 1975
The 22-year old had a good first seasonwith two small victories and fourth in the Tour of Belgium. The following year (1976) saw him become national champion, but at the end of that year Raas parted company with TI-Raleigh, looking for more freedom to race.[2]
In 1977 he rode for Frisol. Victories in Milan – San Remo and the Amstel Gold Race made Post rethink and Raas was back with TI-Raleigh for 1978. Raas became the influence behind the success of the team in the late seventies and early eighties. He was joint leader with Gerrie Knetemann, heading members such as Joop Zoetemelk, Ludo Peeters, Cees Priem and Henk Lubberding.
Raas’ highlights for the rest of his career included his 1979 world championship on home soil in Valkenburg, where he outsprinted German "Didi" Thurau in front of 200,000 spectators. He had four more victories in the Amstel Gold Race to give a record of five. Raas regarded the Amstel Gold as his favourite race: “The Gold Race was made for me, I had no ability as a climber, but the short and hard Limburg hills were made for me”, he said. He won Paris–Roubaix at his seventh attempt in 1982 thanks to work by his team, especially Peeters.
Raas crashed in the 1984 Milan – San Remo, injuring his back and internal organs and was never the same, although he took a stage in the 1984 Tour de France. He found the training and recovery hard and retired on 28 May 1985 after a criterium at Hansweert the preceding day.
Raas’ know-how made for a natural move into team management and he became sporting director of Kwantum team. Raas found sponsors when old ones pulled out and the team received backing from SuperConfex, Buckler, WordPerfect, Novell and finally Rabobank.
Raas and his wife Anja suffered an armed raid on their house in March 1994[3] and Raas decide he could no longer spend long periods away from home. He changed from sporting director to manager when Rabobank became the main sponsor in 1995. He spent eight years in this capacity until the end of 2003, the sponsor indicating that insoluble differences prompted Raas' departure.[4]
[edit] Major Victories
Dutch National Road Race Championship 1976, 1983, 1984- Amstel Gold Race 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1982
- Milan – San Remo 1977
- Tour de France Stage Winner 1977 (1), 1978 (3), 1979 (1), 1980 (3), 1982 (1), 1984 (1)
- Paris–Brussels 1978
- World Road Race Championship 1979
- Ronde van Vlaanderen 1979, 1983
- Ronde van Nederland 1979
- E3 Prijs Vlaanderen 1979, 1980, 1981
- Gent–Wevelgem 1981
- Omloop "Het Volk" 1981
- Paris–Roubaix 1982
- Paris–Tours 1978, 1981
- Étoile de Bessèges 1981
[edit] Further Reading and Source
- "Jan Raas" by Noel Truyers, ISBN 90-74128-45-9
[edit] See also
[edit] Citations
- ^ http://velonews.competitor.com/2010/04/news/amstel-gold-race-preview-horner-and-hesjedal-are-north-americas-best-chance_111909
- ^ Boyce, Barry (2006). "Top 20 All Time Major Classics: Milan-San Remo 1977: Youthful Dutchman Wins a Monument". Cycling revealed. http://www.cyclingrevealed.com/Top_20_Clsscs/top20Cl_18.htm. Retrieved 30 September 2010.
- ^ "Jan Raas" by Noel Truyers, ISBN 90-74128-45-9, Pages 39 and 40
- ^ Cyclingnews article
[edit] External links
- Jan Raas profile at Cycling Archives
- Official Tour de France results for Jan Raas
| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Hennie Kuiper |
Dutch National Road Race Champion 1976 |
Succeeded by Fedor den Hertog |
| Preceded by Johan van der Velde |
Dutch National Road Race Champion 1983-1984 |
Succeeded by Jacques Hanegraaf |
| Awards | ||
| Preceded by Gerrie Knetemann |
Dutch Sportsman of the Year 1979 |
Succeeded by Joop Zoetemelk |
| Preceded by Bernard Hinault |
Winner of Paris–Roubaix 1982 |
Succeeded by Hennie Kuiper |
UCI Road World Champions – 
