Erik BREUKINK
Born in 1964 in the Netherlands Erik was a time trial specialist and an excellent climber.
Erik came from the track, as a youngster while coming from soccer he won the Junior National Pursuit Championships. At only 20 years old, he realized his first Olympic Games by taking the 4th place in the 100km road race. It is in 1986 that he will move to the professionals in the Skala-Gazelle team.
The career highlight for him was his Gavia stage win in the 1988 Giro d'Italia, a snowstorm had disrupted the race but the young Panasonic-Isostar rider. He finished 2nd overall in the Giro and best young rider in the Tour de France the same year.
In 1990, he joined the PDM team to focus on the Tour de France and win the yellow jersey. The jersey was destined for him but he had bad luck in the Tourmalet due to mechanical problems. Erik Breukink will have had during his career 64 victories and participated in 11 Tour de France.