Joachim “Jockel” Faulhaber is organising a public anniversary event in honour of Rudi Altig at his road bike collection in the Technik Museum Sinsheim. The event honours the Mannheim native’s world championship title, having won the rainbow jersey at the Nürburgring on 28 August 1966. Ten years after Altig’s death, numerous contemporaries and former professional cyclists are coming together. No registration is required; further information is available at www.technik-museum.de/rudi-altig.
Guests of honour from six decades of cycling
Germany’s only Tour de France winner, Jan Ullrich, is among the announced guests. Former professional cyclist Didi Thurau, Peace Race legend Täve Schur and Olympic champion Olaf Ludwig will also be taking part. Monique Altig, the wife of the late world champion, will share personal memories with the family and Rudi’s brother Willi Altig.
Exhibition on Rudi Altig
From 1.30 pm, Willi Altig will be guiding interested museum visitors through the exhibition. The main panel discussion with the cycling greats in attendance begins at 2.30 pm. Afterwards, an autograph session will provide an opportunity for personal conversations. Klaus Angermann, who has been reporting on the world’s most important cycling races for ZDF and Eurosport for decades, will be hosting the afternoon’s events. Hans Kuhn, the 1971 German amateur road champion and a former member of the national team under head coach Rudi Altig, will be co-hosting alongside Angermann.
Rudi Altig’s successes on the track and on the road
Rudi Altig, born on 18 March 1937 in Mannheim, was one of Germany’s most versatile cycle racers. He began his career at the age of just under 15 with RRC Endspurt Mannheim and focused early on track cycling, where, together with his brother Willi – the pair were nicknamed ‘Die Ochsen’ (The Oxen) because of their powerful riding style – he won four German track championships. The highlight of his amateur career was the world title in the individual pursuit in 1959, which he followed up as a professional with two further track world titles in 1960 and 1961. From 1962, Altig shifted his focus to road cycling, where he rode for the French team Saint-Raphaël–Gitane–Dunlop alongside Jacques Anquetil. In the same year, he won the Vuelta a España. This was followed by victories in the Tour of Flanders in 1964 and Milan–San Remo in 1968. In the Tour de France, he wore the yellow jersey for a total of 18 days. His greatest triumph on the road was the 1966 World Championship title at the Nürburgring, which earned him the title of ‘Sportsman of the Year’. In total, he won 98 road races. Altig himself admitted to having used performance-enhancing drugs such as Pervitin and Durabolin during his career.
After retiring from competitive cycling in 1971, Altig went on to work as a national coach, sporting director, television pundit and race director in the sport. He died on 11 June 2016 in Remagen.
Background: Sinsheim Museum
The permanent exhibition area in Hall 1 of the Technik Museum Sinsheim displays more than 60 historic racing bikes from all eras. Jan Ullrich’s original racing bike from his 1997 Tour de France victory is among the exhibits. Racing bikes belonging to Miguel Indurain, Sean Kelly, Hanka Kupfernagel and Udo Bölts complete Joachim Faulhaber’s collection.
Kristian Bauer
Editor
