Dutch amateur cyclist Jan Krekels won multiple races across Europe, including the overall classification at the Tour of Austria in 1968. These performances earned Krekels a place on the Olympic team for the Mexico City Games, where he won gold with his compatriots in the team time trial and finished 11th in the road race. With his Olympic success he then turned professional, winning the team time trial prologue stage at the 1970 edition of Paris-Nice. His biggest post-Olympic win came one year later when he won stage 19 at the Tour de France. Krekels had further wins at smaller races across Europe, but turned down a lucrative contract with the French cycling team Bic, as he did not speak the language. In 1977 he finished second in the road race at the Dutch national championship before retiring the following year.
Netherlands