Olaf Ludwig

Olaf Ludwig

Ludwig in 2025
Personal information
Born	(1960-04-13) 13 April 1960 (age 66) Gera, Bezirk Gera, East Germany
Team information
Discipline	Road
Role	Rider
Rider type	Sprinter
Amateur team
1979–1989	SG Wismut Gera
Professional teams
1990–1992	Panasonic
1993–1997	Team Telekom
Major wins
Grand Tours Tour de France Points classification (1990) 3 individual stages (1990, 1992, 1993) Stage races Peace Race (1982, 1986) One-day races and Classics Olympic Road Race (1988) World Road Race Championships (1981) (Team time trial) Amstel Gold Race (1992) E3 Harelbeke (1991) Rund um den Henninger Turm (1994)
Medal record Event 1st 2nd 3rd Summer Olympics 1 1 0 Road World Championships 1 0 1 Track World Championships 0 1 0 Total 2 2 1 Representing  East Germany Men's road bicycle racing Olympic Games 1988 Seoul Individual road race 1980 Moscow Team time trial World Championships 1981 Prague Team time trial Men's track cycling World Championships 1986 Colorado Springs Amateur points race Representing  Germany Men's road bicycle racing World Championships 1993 Oslo Road race

Olaf Ludwig (born 13 April 1960 in Gera, Bezirk Gera) is a former German racing cyclist. His career began at the SG Dynamo Gera / Sportvereinigung (SV) Dynamo.^[1] As an East German, he raced as an amateur until reunification of Germany allowed him to become professional with Panasonic team. As a sprinter, the highlight of his career was winning the points classification in the 1990 Tour de France. Other highlights include the Olympic road race in Seoul in 1988, the World Championship in the team time trial in Prague in 1981, a record 38 stage victories in the Peace Race, winning the Amstel Gold Race in 1992, and podium placings in the Paris–Roubaix. He also won the 1992 UCI Road World Cup. In 1992 he won the Champs-Élysées stage in the Tour de France and won the third Tour stage of his career the following year.^[2]

His sprinting rivals included Mario Cipollini, Wilfried Nelissen and Djamolidine Abdoujaparov.

In 1993 he joined Team Telekom, later T-Mobile Team. On retirement in 1996 he took up public relations for the team. He subsequently became principal team manager, but his involvement with the team finished at the end of 2006.

Major results

1978

1st Team time trial, UCI Junior Road World Championships

1980

2nd Team time trial 1980 Olympic Road Race

1981

1st Team time trial 1981 UCI Road World Championships

1st Overall Niedersachsen-Rundfahrt

1982

1st Overall Peace Race

1983

1st Overall Tour de l'Avenir

1st Overall DDR Rundfahrt

1985

1st Overall DDR Rundfahrt

1986

1st Overall Peace Race

2nd Amateur's points race 1986 UCI Track Cycling World Championships

1988

1st 1988 Olympic Road race

1990

Tour de France

1st Points classification

1st Stage 8

Tour de Trump

1st Points classification

1st, Stage 1, 2 & 9

1991

1st E3 Prijs Vlaanderen

1992

1st Overall Four Days of Dunkirk

1st UCI Road World Cup

1st Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne^[3]

1st Amstel Gold Race

1st Dwars door Vlaanderen

1st Grand Prix de Fourmies

1st Stage 21 Tour de France

2nd Paris–Roubaix

1993

3rd Men's road race 1993 UCI Road World Championships

1994

1st Rund um den Henninger Turm

1995

1st Veenendaal–Veenendaal

1996

1st Stage 2 Vuelta a Andalucía

3rd Overall Four Days of Dunkirk

1st Stage 1

3rd Overall Three Days of De Panne

1st Stage 1

3rd Omloop Het Volk

Books

Olaf Ludwig: Höllenritt auf der Himmelsleiter. Etappen meines Lebens. Herausgegeben von Helmut Wengel. RhinoVerlag, Arnstadt & Weimar 1997, ISBN 3-932081-18-8 (german)

References

1. Cycling4Fans – Portraits: Ex-Profis: Ludwig, Olaf
2. "Olaf Ludwig". Pro Cycling Stats. 14 September 2021.
3. "Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne past winners". cyclingnews.com. 26 February 2011. Retrieved 28 February 2021.

Awards
Preceded by Jens Weißflog	East German Sportsman of the Year 1986	Succeeded by Torsten Voss
Preceded by Torsten Voss	East German Sportsman of the Year 1988	Succeeded by Andreas Wecker