Frank Vandenbroucke (cyclist)
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| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Frank Vandenbroucke |
| Nickname | VDB |
| Born |
6 November 1974 Mouscron, Belgium |
| Died | 12 October 2009 (aged 34) |
| Team information | |
| Discipline | Road |
| Role | Rider |
| Rider type | All-Rounder |
| Professional team(s) | |
| 1994 | Lotto-Caloi |
| 1995–1998 | Mapei-GB |
| 1999–2000 | Cofidis |
| 2001 | Lampre-Daikin |
| 2002 | Domo-Farm Frites |
| 2003 | Quickstep-Davitamon |
| 2004 | Fassa Bortolo |
| 2004–2006 | Unibet.com |
| 2006–2007 | Acqua & Sapone-Caffè Mokambo |
| 2008 | Mitsubishi-Jartazi |
| 2009 | Cinelli-Down Under |
| Major wins | |
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Frank Vandenbroucke (6 November 1974 – 12 October 2009), was a Belgian professional road racing cyclist. He was the great hope of Belgian cycling in the 1990s but a remarkable talent which appeared in his adolescence in athletics and then in cycle racing dissipated in a succession of drugs problems, rows with teams, suicide attempts and finally being disowned by the cycling world. His former wife described him as a cocaine addict. He is known to have had numerous drug and family problems, and to have attempted suicide. However, VDB claimed in an interview with ProCycling's Daniel Friebe three weeks before his death to have made a near-complete recovery from the emotional issues that plagued him throughout his career. Vandenbroucke told Friebe, "I simply realise that the last year and a half have been fantastic for me." Nevertheless, he died of a pulmonary embolism in October 2009.
Frank Vandenbroucke was born in Mouscron and grew up in Ploegsteert, a village in the French-speaking region of Belgium (with facilities for Dutch speakers). In 1978, when he was four and cycling in the village square, he was knocked over by the driver of a rally car. His mother said her son didn't cry until doctors cut his cycling shorts. The collision led to four operations on his right knee and repeated problems later in life.
Vandenbroucke first tried athletics, joining the Entente Athlétique Hainaut. In 1986 he became a regional schoolboy champion. He took out a cycling licence with the club in 1989 and won a race at Brakel. An unnamed acquaintance told the Belgian journalist Philippe van Holle:
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