Frans Slaats
# Frans Slaats

Frans Slaats (born Waalwijk, Netherlands, 11 June 1912, died Waalwijk, 6 April 1993) was a Dutch professional cyclist who broke the world hour record.

Slaats was a prominent velodrome rider in the 1930s, especially in Six-day racing. In September 1937 he set the world hour record at 45.558 km on the Vigorelli track in Milan, Italy. It was bettered the same year by the French rider, Maurice Archambaud.

Slaats was at the Buenos Aires six-day in Argentina when World War II began in 1939. On returning to the Netherlands when peace came in 1945, he found his four brothers had been killed by the Germans.

## Palmarès

### 1934

    2nd Berlin six-day

### 1936

    3rd Ronde van Valkenburg
    1st Amsterdam six-day
    2nd Ghent six-day
    1st Copenhagen six-day

### 1937

    1st Antwerp six-day
    World hour record
    1st Copenhagen six-day

### 1938

    1st Ghent six-day
    2nd Antwerp six-day

### 1939

    1st Brussels six-day
    3rd Copenhagen six-day

### 1944

    1st Buenos Aires six-day

Records :

| Preceded byMaurice Richard | UCI hour record (45.325 km) 29 September 1937-3 November 1937 | Succeeded byMaurice Archambaud |
| - | - | - |
