Hans Junkermann

Who is Hans Junkermann?

Hennes "Hans" Junkermann is a retired German professional racing cyclist who won 35 road races in 18 seasons from 1956 to 1973. He won the German National Road Race in 1959, 1960 and 1961.

Junkermann was born in St. Tönis, near Krefeld, Rhine Province. He excelled in mountainous stage races and hard one-day events. He won nine Six Day races and the European Madison championship in 1965. He rode the Tour de France eight times.

Junkermann showed class as an amateur and was approached twice in 1954 to defect to the GDR and become a paid amateur but Junkermann wanted to stay in West Germany and be a professional. He turned professional in 1955 season for the small Bauer team.

In May 1957 he won Züri-Metzgete, followed by fourth in the Tour de Suisse, the start of Junkermann’s excellent record in the Swiss tour, a hilly stage race. In 1959 he moved to Faema-Molteni under Rik van Looy, winning the national road championship, a feat he repeated in 1960 and 1961. He won his first Tour de Suisse in 1959 after finishing second the previous year.

Defensive riding and no support from his team stopped him from winning the Tour de France. He came fourth in 1960 and fifth in 1961.