Departures of note

Frans Verbeeck was a Belgian professional road bicycle racer active from 1963 to 1977. Nicknamed the "Milkman of Wilsele" after briefly leaving racing to work in the family dairy farm, he won more than 150 races, most of them one-day classics, in an era dominated by Eddy Merckx and Roger De Vlaeminck.

His major victories included the Belgian national road race championship in 1973, the Circuit Het Volk in 1970 and 1972, the Amstel Gold Race in 1971, the Flèche wallonne in 1974, and the Tour of Luxembourg in 1975 and 1976. He was also renowned as the only rider able to resist Merckx in the memorable 1975 Tour of Flanders, finishing second after yielding only a few kilometres from the finish.

After retiring, Verbeeck founded the sportswear company Vermarc Sport, which supplied kit to several professional cycling teams. He died on 21 August 2026 at the age of 85.