Ryszard Szurkowski, air du cycling Polish, died Monday morning at the age of 75, his wife told media in his country.
World amateur champion in 1973, almost two decades before reunification with the professionals, Szurkowski had twice climbed to the podium of Olympic Games for the silver medal in the team time trial (Munich-1972 and Montreal-1976). He had won four times, between 1970 and 1975, the Peace Race, the main stage race on the amateur calendar organized in Eastern Europe.
In 2001, one of his sons was killed in the World Trade Center bombing in New York. In June 2018 Szurkowski, who was competing in a veterans’ race in Germany, suffered a serious accident that left him paralyzed.
Ryszard Szurkowski has passed away – one of the most outstanding Polish sportsmen, the most titled Polish cyclist, world champion in 1973, decorated with the Commander’s Cross with the Star of the Order of Polonia Restituta. Honor his memory! pic.twitter.com/9uB8hY0kZZ
– Chancellery of the President (@prezydentpl) February 1, 2021
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