Pieter Daniel Moeskops (13 November 1893 – 16 November 1964) was a Dutch cyclist, who won the UCI Track Cycling World Championships - Men's Sprint in 1921-1924 and 1926.[1]

Piet Moeskops
Piet Moeskops in 1919
Personal information
Full namePieter Daniel Moeskops
Nickname'Big Pete', 'Big Piet'
Born(1893-11-13)13 November 1893
Loosduinen, the Netherlands
Died16 November 1964(1964-11-16) (aged 71)
The Hague, the Netherlands
Team information
DisciplineTrack
RoleSprinter
Major wins
1921-1924, 1926 UCI World Champion - Sprint
192x-1932 8× Dutch Professional Champion
1933 - Grand Prix of Alis
Medal record
Representing the  Netherlands
UCI Track Cycling World Championships (professionals)
Gold medal – first place 1921 Copenhagen Sprint
Gold medal – first place 1922 Paris Sprint
Gold medal – first place 1923 Zürich Sprint
Gold medal – first place 1924 Paris Sprint
Gold medal – first place 1926 Milan Sprint
Silver medal – second place 1929 Zürich Sprint
Silver medal – second place 1930 Brussels Sprint

Born in Loosduinen, as a boy he rode a delivery bike for his father's business. By 1914 he became the first Netherlands sprint champion, but the outbreak of the First World War meant that no international matches were organised. Only after the war could Moeskops turn professional.

In 1921 he won his first UCI World Title, beating the reigning world champion from Australia, Bob Spears. He retained the world title again for the next three years, and won it again in 1926. In 1925, in Amsterdam, he was beaten in the semi-finals. In 1929 and 1930 he reached the finals but was defeated by the Frenchman Lucien Michard. He was eight times Dutch professional champion, the last time in 1932.[1]

Moeskops was a good tactician, studying opponents carefully so that he could predict where someone would attack him.[2] For a cyclist he was very tall and was known as "Big Pete".

In 1930 Moeskops underwent major surgery which accelerated the end of his cycling career. His last major victory was in the Grand Prix of Alis (France) in 1933. In retirement he became the owner of a café. He was a national hero, and in 1963 he appeared on the television programme Voor de vuist weg with Willem Duys. A year later he died in The Hague, at 71 years of age.

Moeskops is buried at the 'Old Oak' cemetery in the Den Haag Dunes. The municipalities of Krugersdorp and Nijmegen, and the Loosduinen district of The Hague, have streets named after him.

References

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  1. ^ a b Piet Moeskops. cyclingarchives.com
  2. ^ In the midst of the champions (1942), by Joris van den Bergh's