“Ride as much or as little, as long or as short as you feel. But ride”, once said the legendary Eddy Merckx. The Belgian champion was a role model for many riders, including Greek rider Kanellos Kanellopoulos, who rose to fame in the 80s.
The Greek multiple champion rode a lot, since he was 12 years old to be more precise. Shortly before turning 68, he still serves his beloved sport, the one that made him one of the most successful riders in Greece.
Nevertheless, Kanellopoulos is mostly known for his 1988 MIT Daedalus project role.
His illustrious career and morals made Kanellopoulos a role model for young riders. “Cycling makes me happy" is his motto.
When did you start cycling?
“As long as I can remember I love sports. Cycling came into my life when I was 14. I remember watching my friends riding their bikes and I would often get on with them and go for long rides.
“At one point a friend gave me his bike to try it myself and I instantly fell in love with cycling. Then, my father bought me my first bike, a 12-kilo Mercier. I got on it and started riding for so many hours, that I forgot to eat!
“Then I joined P.O. Patras, a local cycling club, and I remember on my first ride I trained along with Vassilis Diamantopoulos the current president of the Hellenic Cycling Federation. A month later came my first competition.
“The first National Men's Championships, organised by SEGAS (the Hellenic Athletics Federation), I took part in was in 1973, when I was sixteen. I finished in 16th place.
“Training made me better and I scored a few wins in local competitions in Patras. When the Hellenic Cycling Federation was founded, I was selected to join the young talent project. Because of this, I could stay in a hostel at the Panathenaic Stadium. That room became my home for the next nine years.
Kanellopoulos stayed with P.O. Patras until 2018! Since 1977, he was a key member of the Greek National team and raced in more than 500 competitions - a unique record. He won 14 individual and 1 team national titles in road races and track cycling. In 1982 he became the first Greek rider to win the Tour of Hellas, a feat repeated only once by Vasilis Anastopoulos in 2003. He ranked second twice in the Tour of Hellas, in 1986 in a race won by Austrian Roland Konigshofer and in 1987 when the German Olaf Jentzsch topped the general classification.
What do you remember from your victory in the Tour of Hellas?
“It was basically the first year the Tour had returned, after a previous attempt in 1968. The race was entirely held in Attica and included a climb of Parnitha, a ride in Sounio, and a time trial prologue in Syggrou Avenue. Great riders like Evangelos Papadakis and Elias Kelesidis took part as well. Kelesidis, a good sprinter, had recently come from Czechoslovakia. We learned a lot from him. His presence made the specific race better.”
The Tour of Hellas returned in 2022, following a long hiatus. How important is it to establish such a race?
“The Tour should stay and evolve. It should be held every year in different Greek cities. It needs good advertising and media coverage so that people learn about it. The slogan should be ‘Come and see but avoid the action zone’.
“My generation became known because of the national TV coverage (ERT). At that time, ERT was the only broadcaster. Now there are so many private stations available, that the public's interest is divided, not to mention that some of them ignore sports. I believe that even a few TV images will help spread awareness about the sport.”
To this day, the bike remains your main means of transportation. How do you rate people's attitude towards riders?
"Cycling in Greece is constantly evolving and people's attitude has changed. I would recommend it as a means of transportation, as long as riders are cautious and wear helmets.”
Kanellos Kanellopoulos was born on April 25, 1957, in Vrachneika, Achaia. He won two silver medals at the 1983 Mediterranean Games in Casablanca and participated in the 1984 Olympic Games. His most notable Tour wins include the ones in Egypt, Turkey, Nice, France, and Algeria. He also became Balkan Champion in 1976 in Sofia. He retired in 1993 after taking part in the Tour of Albania. He briefly came out of retirement at age 52, when, at the urging of Vasilis Anastopoulos, they rode together in a team race in Mesolongi.
Besides cycling Kanellopoulos is a hagiographer and a retired physical education teacher. He resides in Chalandri, with his wife Stella Varelidou, a former cycling champion. They have four children, three boys and a girl.
