Niko Eeckhout

Niko Eeckhout

Personal information
Full name	Niko Eeckhout
Nickname	Rambo
Born	16 December 1970 (1970-12-16) (age 40)  Belgium
Height	1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Weight	73 kg (160 lb)
Team information
Current team	An Post–M Donnelly–Grant Thornton–Sean Kelly Team
Discipline	Road
Rider type	Classics specialist, sprinter
Professional team(s)
1992–1993 1994 1995–1996 1997–1998 1999–2000 2001–2004 2005–2008; 2009–	Collstrop Varta Collstrop Lotto Palmans Lotto Topsport Vlaanderen An Post–M Donnelly–Grant Thornton–Sean Kelly Team
Major wins
UCI Europe Tour (2005-2006)  Belgium Road Race Champion (2006) Dwars door Vlaanderen (2001,2005) Championship of Flanders (1996,1998,2000,2006) GP Isbergues
Infobox last updated on 29 December 2007

Niko Eeckhout (born 16 December 1970 in Izegem) is a professional road racing cyclist from Belgium. He was the 2005-2006 UCI Europe Tour series champion, and currently rides for the An Post-Sean Kelly Team.

Career

Eeckhout started his career in 1993 riding for the small Collstrop-team. He immediately started winning minor Belgian races like the Championship of Flanders and the Omloop Mandel-Leie-Schelde. In 1997 and 1998 he rode for Lotto, and then rode two years for Palmans. Eeckhout had a breakthrough season when he transferred to Lotto-Adecco in 2001, winning 11 races, including Dwars door Vlaanderen and the GP van Steenbergen.

Eeckhout struggled through the next two seasons and at the end of 2004 his contract with Lotto-Adecco ended and he needed to find a new team. He signed with the Beglian squad Chocolade Jacques and found his second youth. He started the 2005 season by winning Dwars door Vlaanderen, and went on to win major races including the GP d'Isbergues and a stage of the Three Days of De Panne. In 2006 he continued his winning form, taking the Three Days of West-Flanders. In June 2006 he won the biggest race in his career, the Belgian National Road Championship in Antwerp by beating Tom Boonen and Philippe Gilbert. Eeckhout had another great season in 2006, winning 12 races, including the 2005-2006 UCI Europe Tour. In the peloton he earned the nickname "Rambo" for being particularly tough during hard races in severe conditions.

Major achievements

1992 – Collstrop

1993 – Collstrop

Omloop der Vlaamse Ardennen Ichtegem

Omloop van de Vlaamse Scheldeboorden

1994 – Varta

1995 – Collstrop

1996 – Collstrop

Championship of Flanders

1997 – Lotto

1998 – Lotto

Championship of Flanders

1999 – Palmans

2000 – Palmans

GP Rudy Dhaenens

2001 – Lotto

Ronde van Midden-Zeeland

Étoile de Bessèges

Stage win, Danmark Rundt

Memorial Rik Van Steenbergen

GP Jef Scherens

2002 – Lotto

2003 – Lotto

Memorial Rik Van Steenbergen

Dwars door Vlaanderen

2004 – Lotto

Stage win, Ster Elektrotoer

Ronde van Midden-Zeeland

2005 – Chocolade Jacques-T Interim

Stage win, Three Days of De Panne

Dwars door Vlaanderen

Grand Prix d'Isbergues

Omloop van de Vlaamse Scheldeboorden

2006 – Chocolade Jacques-Topsport Vlaanderen

UCI Europe Tour

Omloop van het Waasland - Kemzeke

1st Overall and stage win, Driedaagse van West-Vlaanderen

 Belgium National Cycling Championship Road Race

Memorial Rik Van Steenbergen

Championship Of Flanders

2007 – Chocolade Jacques-Topsport Vlaanderen

Omloop van het Waasland-Kemzeke

2009 – An Post–M Donnelly–Grant Thornton–Sean Kelly Team

1st, Stage 4, Vuelta Ciclista Internacional a Extremadura (2.2)

1st, Stage 5, Vuelta Ciclista Internacional a Extremadura (2.2)

1st Stage 1, FBD Insurance Ras (2.2)

1st, GP Stad Zottegem, (1.1)

1st, Memorial Briek Schotte-Desselgem

1st, Memorial Rik Van Steenbergen

Points class winner, FBD Insurance Ras (2.2)

2nd, Dwars door Vlaanderen (1.1)

2010 – An Post–M Donnelly–Grant Thornton–Sean Kelly Team

1st, Stage 5, Étoile de Bessèges (2.1)

1st, Stage 3, Ronde de l'Oise (2.2)

2011 – An Post–Sean Kelly

1st, Stage 2, Driedaagse van West-Vlaanderen

External links

• Official website (Dutch)

Persondata
Name	Eeckhout, Niko
Alternative names
Short description	cyclist
Date of birth	1970-12-16
Place of birth	Izegem, Belgium
Date of death
Place of death