Former racing cyclist Sepp Helbling passed away on Wednesday at the age of 89. The news agency Keystone-SDA has received confirmation from his family.
Helbling completed his first track race in 1953 and took part in the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome, where he finished 8th in the 1 km individual time trial.
The man from eastern Switzerland left his mark on the Swiss cycling world not only as an athlete, but above all as a coach and official. As a coach, he celebrated no fewer than 15 world championship titles, ten of which were won by Urs Freuler.
As a coach, he won a complete set of medals in the individual pursuit at the Olympic Games: gold with Robert Dill-Bundi in Moscow in 1980, silver with Xaver Kurmann in Munich in 1972 and bronze again with Kurmann in Mexico in 1968.
He was the organizer of 23 editions of the amateur six-day race in the Hallenstadion Zurich. He also served as a commissioner 32 times at the Tour de Suisse and at three world championships.
