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Wikipedia / Jef Scherens

Joseph "Jef" Scherens (17 February 1909 9 August 1986), better known as Poeske Scherens, was a Belgian professional track cyclist, specializing in sprint where he won seven World Championships.

Biography

Early life

Jef Scherens was born in Werchter, the fifth child of the Felix Scherens-Regina Janssens family. Little Jef soon became 'Jefke', but also 'Poeterke'. In the Hageland, that was a name for a little goat or lamb that did not grow well. His fellow street rabble-rousers first distorted it into 'Poeter', which later became 'Poeske' (Flemish for "small cat"). When Jef Scherens later turned out to be a very fast sprinter with a cat-like final jump, that nickname was given existence.

From the age of five until the end of WWI, young Jef stayed with his family near Bordeaux, where he learned to speak French. At the end of primary school, the Committee for Vocational Orientation recommended that Jefke would go to work. So it happened: Jef worked in a leather factory and cycled up and down to Zaventem every day in group. That gave him the idea of trying out as a cyclist. His brother Giel, who was one year older, competed in the rookies. With one of his two racing bikes, Jef made his debut in a race in Betekom in 1926. That same year he won six victories and numerous places of honour. In 1927, he joined the Leuven Stoempersclub and won forty races in the newcomers' category. Because of the many successes, he decided to quit his job and put everything on cycling. The following year, he won 27 times among the juniors. In particular, his sprinting skills came to the fore.

Professional career

His qualities as a sprinter did not go unnoticed and the team's president Edward Van Hove, offered him a contract to compete in a sprint competition at the Brussels Sports Palace. On 14 October 1928, Scherens won against the then Belgian champion Jules Vervust. All connoisseurs were then convinced they had discovered a new champion.

In 1929, he won five road races. That year, he did his military service and was granted the privilege of training at certain times. A fall in 1930 kept him in bed for seven weeks.

In 1931, he made a comeback and became Belgian champion in the professional category. Between 1931 and 1947, he won the Belgian individual sprit championship 15 times.

In 1932, Scherens competed in the world championship in Rome and faced the Frenchman Lucien Michard in the final. Their duel lasted more than 20 minutes, however, so the jury decided to draw lots to see which of the two would go first. Michard was chosen and Scherens, with his famous spurt, won the title of world champion. He was celebrated in Leuven, where he had lived since 1930. He subsequently won the world track championships five times: in 1933 in Paris, in 1934 in Leipzig, in 1935 in Brussels, in 1936 in Zurich and in 1937 in Copenhagen. In July 1938, he had a serious fall during the Paris Grand Prix at the Cipale2. Not yet fully recovered from his fall, he lost his title to the Dutchman Arie van Vliet.

Van Vliet and Scherens met again a year later in the final in Milan and both fell. The final was postponed. The next day, the Second World War broke out and the championship was cancelled.

After a six-year break, the world championships were held again in Zurich in 1946. Scherens lost to the Frenchman Georges Senfftleben. The following year, he managed to win a seventh and final title in Paris. Scherens also won numerous Grand Prix in various countries, breaking records at all the major velodromes in Europe. In 1933, he was awarded the Belgian National Sports Merit Award.

Since 1963, the Grote Prijs Jef Scheren has been held in his honour in Leuven, the place where he died in 1986.

Major results

  1. 1929

  2. 1st Sprint, Independent Belgian National Championships

  3. 1930

  4. 3rd Sprint Belgian National Championships

  5. 1931

  6. 1st Sprint Belgian National Championships

  7. 1st Grand Prix d'Angers

  8. 1st Grand Prix de la République

  9. 1st Grand Prix de Cholet

  10. 3rd Sprint, UCI Track World Championships, Copenhagen

  11. 1932

  12. 1st Sprint, UCI Track World Championships, Rome

  13. 1st Sprint Belgian National Championships

  14. 1st Grand Prix de Paris

  15. 1st Amsterdam Grand Prix

  16. 1st Berlin Grand Prix

  17. 1st Brussels Grand Prix

  18. 1st Copenhagen Grand Prix

  19. 1st Grand Prix de Tours

  20. 2nd Grand Prix de l'UVF

  21. 1933

  22. 1st Sprint, UCI Track World Championships, Paris

  23. 1st Sprint Belgian National Championships

  24. 1st Grand Prix de l'UVF

  25. 1st Grand Prix de Paris

  26. 1st Grand Prix d'Europe

  27. 1st Grand Prix d'Alger

  28. 1st Grand Prix d'Angers

  29. 1st Grand Prix d'Europe

  30. 1st Grand Prix de Paris

  31. 1934

  32. 1st Sprint, UCI Track World Championships, Leipzig

  33. 1st Sprint Belgian National Championships

  34. 1st Grand Prix de l'UVF

  35. 1st Grand Prix de Lorient

  36. 1st Copenhagen Grand Prix

  37. 1st Grand Prix de Lyon

  38. 1st Grand Prix de Roanne

  39. 1935

  40. 1st Sprint, UCI Track World Championships, Brussels

  41. 1st Sprint Belgian National Championships

  42. 1st Grand Prix de Reims (fr)

  43. 1st Grand Prix d'Europe

  44. 1st Grand Prix de Brest

  45. 1st Grand Prix de Lorient

  46. 1st Milan Grand Prix

  47. 3rd Grand Prix de l'UVF

  48. 1936

  49. 1st Sprint, UCI Track World Championships, Zürich

  50. 1st Sprint Belgian National Championships

  51. 1st Grand Prix de Genève

  52. 1st Copenhagen Grand Prix

  53. 1st Cologne Grand Prix

  54. 1st Grand Prix de Lorient

  55. 1st Zürich Grand Prix

  56. 2nd Grand Prix de Paris

  57. 2nd Grand Prix de l'UVF

  58. 3rd Grand Prix de Reims (fr)

  59. 1937

  60. 1st Sprint, UCI Track World Championships, Copenhagen

  61. 1st Sprint Belgian National Championships

  62. 1st Grand Prix de Paris

  63. 1st Grand Prix de Turin (fr)

  64. 1st Antwerp Grand Prix

  65. 1st Berlin Grand Prix

  66. 1st Copenhagen Grand Prix

  67. 1st London Grand Prix

  68. 1st Milan Grand Prix

  69. 1st Grand Prix de Paris

  70. 3rd Grand Prix de l'UVF

  71. 1938

  72. 1st Sprint Belgian National Championships

  73. 1st London Grand Prix

  74. 1st Milan Grand Prix

  75. 2nd Sprint, UCI Track World Championships, Amsterdam

  76. 2nd Grand Prix de l'UVF

  77. 2nd Copenhagen Grand Prix

  78. 1939

  79. 1st Sprint Belgian National Championships

  80. 1st Copenhagen Grand Prix

  81. 1940

  82. 2nd Sprint Belgian National Championships

  83. 2nd Six Days of Brussels (with Achiel Bruneel)

  84. 1941

  85. 1st Sprint Belgian National Championships

  86. 1st Ghent Grand Prix

  87. 1st Grand Prix de Bordeaux

  88. 2nd Schaarbeek

  89. 1942

  90. 1st Sprint Belgian National Championships

  91. 1st Grand Prix de l'UVF

  92. 3rd Grand Prix de Paris

  93. 1943

1st Ghent Grand Prix

  1. 2nd Sprint Belgian National Championships

  2. 2nd Grand Prix de Paris

  3. 1944

  4. 1st Sprint Belgian National Championships

  5. 1945

  6. 1st Sprint Belgian National Championships

  7. 1st Zürich Grand Prix

  8. 1946

  9. 1st Sprint Belgian National Championships

  10. 1st Copenhagen Grand Prix

  11. 1st Grand Prix de Bruxelles

  12. 3rd Grand Prix de Paris

  13. 1947

  14. 1st Sprint Belgian National Championships, Paris

  15. 1949

  16. 1st Grand Prix de Paris

  17. 2nd Sprint Belgian National Championships

  18. 3rd 1km Sprint European Track Championships

  19. 1950

  20. 3rd Sprint Belgian National Championships

Honours

References