Henk Faanhof began competing as an amateur before the outbreak of World War II, and was selected for the track team in the 1940 Olympics. These Games in Helsinki were cancelled, and Faanhof was sent to Germany as a laborer. After the war, Faanhof returned to cycling, and still measured up with the best riders in the Netherlands. In 1947, he won the Dutch championship road race, only to be disqualified afterwards for illegally switching bicycles with a team mate (a rule he was unaware of). The following year, Faanhof’s chances at winning the Olympic title seemed high, but a late flat tyre dropped him out of the lead group. He compensated for that by winning the world title the following year. He turned professional the following year, riding in the peleton through 1955. A decent sprinter, he won several stages in the Ronde van Nederland and the Vuelta a Argentina, but his greatest professional win was a stage in the 1954 Tour de France (Angers-Bordeaux). Faanhof also raced on the track, winning Dutch titles in the 50 km both as an amateur (1948) and a professional (1951). Following his retirement, Henk Faanhof returned to his own welding company, which he had founded after the war. He remained involved with cycling, among others as the chairman of Amsterdam cycling club “Olympia”. In cycling circles, he was well known for regularly performing Sinatra’s “My Way” on stage at cycling meetings and galas.
Netherlands