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2w ago

Walter Godefroot, Architect of Team Telekom’s 1990s Rise, Dies at 82

Obituaries balance his decorated record with long-disputed Telekom-era doping claims that he consistently denied.

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Mit 82 Jahren verstorben: Walter Godefroot
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Overview

  • His death at age 82 was reported by Belgium’s Belga agency, with recent years spent in seclusion following a Parkinson’s diagnosis.
  • He took charge of Team Telekom in 1992 and laid the groundwork for Tour de France victories by Bjarne Riis in 1996 and Jan Ullrich in 1997, fueling a German cycling boom.
  • As a rider, he won ten Tour de France stages, triumphed at Paris–Roubaix and the Tour of Flanders, and earned Olympic bronze in Tokyo in 1964.
  • Doping practices within the Telekom setup were exposed publicly in 2007, with former staff and riders alleging his knowledge or involvement, claims he rejected by saying he neither organized nor financed doping.
  • Cycling greats reacted to his passing, with Eddy Merckx saying he was deeply moved and Jan Ullrich crediting Godefroot’s strict leadership as pivotal to his career.