Description
Hennie Kuiper
Hendrikus Andreas “Hennie” Kuiper, born 3 February 1949, is one of the great figures of Dutch cycling. His career brought him Olympic gold in the road race at Munich in 1972, the world professional road race title in 1975, and victories in four of cycling’s five Monument classics. He rode the Tour de France 12 times, finished second overall twice, and claimed the celebrated stage to Alpe d’Huez on two occasions. Along with Ercole Baldini, Paolo Bettini, and Remco Evenepoel, he remains one of the very few male riders to have won both the Olympic road race and the world professional road race.
Biography
Kuiper was born in Denekamp, in the province of Overijssel. His first serious relationship with the bicycle began not in competition, but on the daily ride to and from school in Enschede. He entered junior racing at 14 and developed into a formidable amateur, winning 39 races between the ages of 19 and 23. The defining achievement of that period came at the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich, where he rode clear over the final 40 kilometers to take the gold medal. That same year, he also won the Tour of Britain, then known as the Milk Race.
Professional Career
Kuiper turned professional in 1973 with the small German team Haro-Rokado, but his career truly surged forward in 1975 after he joined the Dutch team Frisol. There, he was given the freedom to emerge as a leader, and he also formed a productive partnership with José De Cauwer, who worked in support of him in races through 1980. In that breakthrough 1975 season, Kuiper became world champion at Yvoir in Belgium, mastering a demanding 260-kilometer course that included 21 ascents of a three-kilometer climb.
He joined TI-Raleigh in 1976 and came painfully close to Tour de France victory the following year, finishing second in the 1977 edition by just 48 seconds to Bernard Thévenet. Kuiper also won the mountain stage to Alpe d’Huez that year, then repeated the feat in 1978. He finished fourth overall in 1979 and second again in 1980, this time behind fellow Dutchman Joop Zoetemelk.
That second-place finish in 1980 effectively marked the end of his finest years as a stage-race contender, but it opened the door to a remarkable reinvention. After moving to DAF Trucks in 1981, Kuiper transformed himself into one of the era’s great one-day riders. He won the Tour of Flanders and the Giro di Lombardia in 1981, added Paris-Roubaix in 1983 on his 11th attempt at the Hell of the North, and, at 36 years old, captured Milan-San Remo in 1985. He retired on 6 November 1988 at the age of 39, after a small cyclo-cross race in Oldenzaal, in his home province.
Team Manager
After retiring from competition, Kuiper moved into team management. He led the small German professional squad Team Stuttgart from 1989 to 1990, became head of the Telekom team in 1991, and in 1992 joined the American Motorola team as assistant team manager at the invitation of Jim Ochowicz. He remained with Motorola for four years. From 1997 onward, he worked with the Rabobank team in a public relations role and also occasionally coached the Dutch national team. Kuiper has two sons from his first marriage to Ine Nolten, Patrick Kuiper and Bjorn Kuiper, and lives with his second wife, Marianne, in Lonneker.
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Bar Augusto
Bar Augusto, located in Alme (Bergamo), Italy, was renowned for its support of cycling teams and its world-class bicycle racing collection that focused on trophies and race-worn jerseys. A family-owned business, the bar, and its attached inn flourished in the 1970s and 1980s. Augusto Gotti, the enterprise’s face, welcomed amateur national teams to stay at Bar Augusto while the riders trained and raced in the region. Many Western and Eastern Bloc national teams embraced the Gotti family’s welcoming spirit and were among the most ardent supporters.
Bar Augusto 1966
Augusto Gotti (Center) with Edy Schütz (Left), Luxembourg National Champion and winner of the 1966 Tour of Luxembourg, and an unknown third person pictured in the interior of the famous watering hole.
Augusto was a devoted cycling fan and astute collector of jerseys. Active and retired professional and amateur riders gave the bar hundreds of jerseys, and all hung with pride on the walls of the storied bar. The jersey collection read like a venerable who’s who of the cycling world from the 1950s through the 1980s. Coppi, Gimondi, Motta, Merckx, Anquetil, Van Looy, Altig, and hundreds more professional jerseys hung alongside the best of the best Eastern Bloc riders. Given its incredible diversity, depth, and breadth, it would be challenging, if not impossible, to build the same collection today.
With time, Augusto decided to retire, close the bar, and enjoy a more relaxed pace of life in his autumn years. A year or so before Augusto passed away, and with the help of former Polish and US National Team Coach Eddie Borysewicz, we were honored to acquire the Gotti Collection. Augusto’s and our collection combined beautifully, and between the two, there were only two overlapping items: an Eddy Merckx maillot jaune and a Bernard Hinault Renault team jersey. To this day, our collection is what is thanks in no small measure to a quaint bar and inn tucked into a picturesque valley in Northern Italy.
By Brett Horton, Jan 2021
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Each jersey is one of a kind; please review the photos carefully to assess the condition.
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