Ceremony to honour Jef Planckaert

Stage three of the Tour de France, will pass through Otegem, the town where Belgian Jef Planckaert resided when he passed away earlier this year on May 22 at 73 years of age. On the same day five times Tour de France winner Bernard Hinault will conduct a ceremony to honour the former professional cyclist, according to Yves Goemaere of the local organizing committee.

During the ceremony, the Tour de France organizers will pay tribute to "one of the greats of the sport, who helped write the history of the Tour de France."

Jef Planckaert was one of the top Belgian cyclists during the 1960’s. In his most successful season, 1962, he won Paris-Nice, Liège-Bastogne-Liège, the Belgian championships and was second overall in the Tour de France, behind another legend of the sport, five-time Tour winner Jacques Anquetil.

Hinault will also honour Jef Planckaert’s widow Williane Verhellen during the ceremony, which takes place around 11.30am on July 10.