During Stage 18 of the 1982 Tour de France, Adrie Van Houwelingen seized his opportunity at kilometre 161, launching a solo attack against the wind in this 230 kilometre transition stage from Morzine to Saint-Priest. By kilometre 164, he was leading by 24 seconds. At kilometre 165, he pushed his advantage to 45 seconds. By kilometre 172, he was ahead of the trailing peloton by 4 minutes and 35 seconds. By kilometre 204, the solo rider had increased his lead to 14 minutes and 20 seconds over the peloton. Van Houwelingen ultimately secured victory in Saint-Priest with a time difference of 10 minutes and 31 seconds.Adri also won a stage in the Tour of Spain in 1979 and in a stage of Tirreno-Adriatico in 1985. 

After their year together in the Raleigh Team, Theo de Rooij and Adri van Houwelingen joined again at the founding of the Rabobank Team, where they were the Team leaders when Jan Raas was manager. After his departure, Theo took over his role, and Adri stayed in his role until the very end in 2012. He subsequently joined the Continental team, Metec-Solarwatt, where he worked until 2023. 

In October, Adru will join us for the Braveheart Cycling Fund Diner and Ride.

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