Background
Hertog was born to a Dutch father and Russian mother.
Hertog was born to a Dutch father and Russian mother.
He came third in the Olympic team time trial in 1972, but the team was disqualified for a doping offense. An accident with a car in the Belgian Ardennes on 17 August 1967 came close to ending his career. Den Hertog was considered the best amateur of his time, and many professional teams wanted him, but he declined out of fear to lose his freedom.
In 1974, Den Hertog finally turned professional but he had passed his peak.
He first rode the Tour de France in 1974. He dropped out with knee pain in the 13th stage.
He also rode for Lejeune-Boite Postale and the Belgian team, IJsboerke-Warncke Eis, but never with the success he had as an amateur. He opened a bicycle business in Dilsen in Belgium but closed it for "personal circumstances".
In 2007, he was diagnosed with prostate cancer, from which he died in February 2011.
He won the Olympic 100 km team time trial in 1968 with Joop Zoetemelk, René Pijnen and January Krekels. He also won the national road championship in 1977. As an amateur, he won the British Milk Race in 1969 and 1971. His most outstanding performance was the Rheinland-Pfalz tour in Germany in 1969, when he won nine of 11 stages and overall, 36 minutes ahead of the field He was national road champion in 1968 and pursuit champion in 1968 and 1971. In 1969 and 1970, Hertog won the Grand Prix des Nations, and in 1969 won the Tour of Belgium. He rode three times for the Dutch team, Frisol, coming 27th, 18th and then not finishing, although in 1977 he won the stage to Rouen. He broke away from the field 21 km from the finish and won by 20 seconds. He won a stage in the Vuelta à España in 1977 but retired soon afterwards.
