Background
Middelkamp was born as the second son in a family of nine children.
Middelkamp was born as the second son in a family of nine children.
At an early age, he wanted to be a football player, but he soon realised that there was much more money to be earned in cycling, as football was not yet a professional sport in the Netherlands. When he came to the Tour, he had never even seen mountains, coming from the very flat parts of the Netherlands. That year, he finished 23rd overall.
In 1937 he had to quit the Tour because of a fall, in which he broke a finger.
As Middelkamp famously said, "I cannot live on fame and honour". During the Second World War, Middelkamp earned money by smuggling, but he was caught and spent several months in prison.
After the war, he went back to full-time cycling. Middelkamp ended his career in 1951, when he bought a public in Kieldrecht.
Middelkamp died in 2005.