1951 American Madison Racing Starring Ockers, Impanis, Schulte and Many More

Palais des Sports Bruxelles, Grande Américaine de 3 Heures – 1951

Madison Racing at the Brussels Sport Palace starring Stan Ockers, Raymond Impanis, Gerrit Schulte, and many, many more

This original Belgian poster promotes the “Grande Américaine de 3 heures,” a three-hour Madison race held at the Palais des Sports in Brussels on Sunday, October 21st, 1951. The headline “Palais des Sports” runs across the top in bold white lettering on a teal ground, with the address on Avenue Louis Bertrand and a list of tram lines printed just beneath, so spectators knew exactly how to reach the track.

In the upper right corner, two stylised track riders bank through a turn, one launching the other forward in a classic Madison hand sling, setting the tone for the main event. Below, huge red letters announce “Grande Américaine de 3 heures”, described as the “Dernière sélection en vue des 6 jours Le Soir,” the final selection race for the Brussels Six-day sponsored by the newspaper Le Soir. The start time is given as 3.30 in the afternoon, with a prologue “Omnium d’équipes amateurs” and additional races for juniors and youth riders listed along the bottom.

The lower half of the design is a who’s who of early fifties European track and road specialists. Three dense columns name the main teams and pairings, including Dutch Six-day star Gerrit Schulte, Belgian classics ace Raymond Impanis, and future world road champion Stan Ockers. Other names on the bill, such as Emile Depauw, Germain Godeau, and the various Belgian road and track specialists listed in the three columns, reflect the deep pool of home talent that fed the winter Six-day circuit in Brussels, Antwerp, Ghent, and other velodromes across the country.

Printed in a striking palette of teal, red, white, and black, this poster captures the energy of postwar Belgian track racing, when crowds packed the Palais des Sports for high-speed Madison programmes that doubled as selection races for the major winter six-day events. It is a vibrant piece of cycling history and a great addition to any cycling collection.

This poster has been archivally and professionally linen-backed.

Virtually all original vintage posters of this era were viewed as temporary advertising and were printed on fragile, thin paper. While expensive, linen backing is a conservation method used to mount, stabilize, preserve, and protect vintage posters so they can be displayed or framed without compromising value.

This poster is an original first printing, not a reproduction.