Kris Boeckmans
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.JPG) Boeckmans at the 2015 Grand Prix de Denain | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Kris Boeckmans |
| Nickname | Boecki |
| Born | 13 February 1987 Malle, Belgium |
| Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) |
| Weight | 72.5 kg (160 lb) |
| Team information | |
| Current team | Retired |
| Discipline | Road |
| Role | Rider |
| Rider type | Sprinter |
| Amateur teams | |
| 2006 | Nieuwe Hoop Tielen |
| 2007 | CLC Team Ingelmunster |
| 2008–2009 | Davo |
| 2009 | Silence–Lotto (stagiaire) |
| Professional teams | |
| 2010–2011 | Topsport Vlaanderen–Mercator |
| 2012–2013 | Vacansoleil–DCM |
| 2014–2017 | Lotto–Belisol[1] |
| 2018–2020 | Vital Concept[2][3] |
Kris Boeckmans (born 13 February 1987) is a Belgian former professional road bicycle racer,[4] who rode professionally between 2010 and 2020, for the Topsport Vlaanderen–Mercator, Vacansoleil–DCM, Lotto–Soudal and B&B Hotels–Vital Concept teams.
Born in Malle, Boeckmans began competing as a professional in the second half of the 2009 season, competing for the Silence–Lotto team as a stagiaire. He joined Topsport Vlaanderen–Mercator for the start of the 2010 season, remaining with the team until the end of 2011, when he joined the Vacansoleil–DCM squad for the 2012 season.[5] Boeckmans made his Grand Tour début at the 2012 Tour de France, where he was earmarked as one of the squad's main sprint contenders, along with Kenny van Hummel; Boeckmans took his first top ten placing on stage 4, when he finished eighth on the stage.[6]
After two years with Vacansoleil–DCM, Boeckemans left the team at the end of the 2013 season,[7] to join Lotto–Belisol.[1] He started the 2015 Vuelta a España.[8] However, on the eighth stage, he was involved in a large crash: he was drinking from a bidon and hit a hole in the road, falling hard to the ground. According to Cyclingnews.com, he suffered "facial trauma and fractures, a concussion, broken ribs and a punctured lung" and was placed into an induced coma.[9][10] He was kept in the coma for over a week and was eventually discharged around four weeks after the crash, following major facial surgery in Belgium.[11]
