Former Belgian world cycling champ Claude Criquielion dies at 58

Published Feb. 18, 2015 8:39 a.m. ET

foxsports

Claude Criquielion, a former world cycling champion from Belgium, died Wednesday following a massive stroke over the weekend, Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel said. He was 58.

Criquielion won the 1984 world title but is perhaps best remembered for a crash when he was poised to win a second title four years later. In the three-way sprint finish, a rival suddenly blocked a way through for the surging Criquielion and the Belgian was forced into the side railings.

Michel called Criquielion ''a great champion.''

Criquielion also won several big one-day classics, including the Ronde of Flanders, and had five top-10 finishes in the Tour de France. He later became a team manager.