Jef Planckaert, who finished second in the Tour de France in 1962, has died at the age of 73 following a lingering illness, Sporza reported.
Planckaert, who is not related others in cycling with the same name, rode professionally from 1954 to 1965. His best year was 1962, when he finished second in the Tour behind Jacques Anquetil, won the Belgian national championship, and won both Paris-Nice and Liège-Bastogne-Liège.
He finished in the top twenty of the Tour six times, His other major wins included Omloop Het Volk, Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne (twice), and the 4 Jours de Dunkerque , which he won in 1957, 1960 and 1963.
Major wins: 1955: Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne 1957: Omloop Het Volk, 4 Jours de Dunkerque 1960: Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne, 4 Jours de Dunkerque 1962: National road title, Paris-Nice, Liège-Bastogne-Liège 1963: 4 Jours de Dunkerque
Other important finishes: 1956: 3rd in Milano-Sanremo, 3rd in Tour de Suisse 1957: 2nd in Ronde van Vlaanderen 1958: 2nd in National championships, 2nd in Flèche Wallonne, 6th in Tour de France 1960: 3rd in Gent-Wevelgem and Liège-Bastogne-Liège, 5th in Tour de France 1961: 3rd in Paris-Nice 1962: 2nd in Tour de France
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