Jos Lammertink, part of the Netherlands' golden generation in 1980s, passed away after a debilitating disease

Jos Lammertink, one of the best Dutch cyclists in the 1980s, passed away last weekend. Member of the golden generation around Joop Zoetemelk, Lammertink passed away in the hospital in Almelo on Sunday afternoon after a long battle with debilitating muscle disease.

Despite being known mainly for his high-quality domestique work, Lammertink also won handful of races himself, such as the Dutch road title in 1986. Lammertink had also been national champion as an amateur (1978). As a professional, he also triumphed in two Vuelta stages (1980 and 1981) and won Kuurne - Brussels - Kuurne in 1984, wore the leader's jersey in the Paris-Nice for a while that same year and took part in the Tour de France in 1986.

In that particular Tour de France, Lammertink dropped out after a heavy crash. It was one of the low points he had to deal with. In 1981, he was diagnosed with Pfeiffer's disease far too late and in 1985 his thyroid gland was only functioning at 5 percent. That explained his disappointing performances that year. Even though Lammertink celebrated his national title in '86, he never felt the same again. In 1990, Lammertink hung up his bike.

Lammertink's biography De Reus van Wierden has been published just in time. Three weeks ago, the reference work, written by Twente journalist Gijs Eijsink, was presented in private, among his cycling friends.

It is not without reason that the subtitle of his biography is The Heartbreaking (Cycling) Life of Jos Lammertink. In that recently presented book, Lammertink reveals that he was sexually abused by his then coach during his junior years. As a talented rider, he won race after race, but he was never smiling in a photo, author Eijsink told Dagblad Tubantia last month: "Because his coach was always nearby, Jos could hardly enjoy his victories."