1988–1989: The early years Johan Museeuw started his professional career in 1988 with ADR. In 1989 he was part of the ADR team with which
Greg LeMond won his second
Tour de France. During the Tour, Museeuw headed the peloton for days on end for his team leader who wore the yellow jersey as leader of the
general classification.
1990–1992: Sprinter In 1990 he signed for the
Lotto team and won two prestigious stages in the
1990 Tour de France. He won the uphill-sprint stage to
Mont Saint-Michel and the final stage of the Tour in Paris, both in a mass sprint. In an era of successful breakaways, he was an unfortunate sprinter, being unable to win further individual stages. In 1991 he won several stage wins in smaller stage races and in August he won the
Championship of Zürich, his first win in a
World Cup race. In 1992 he placed third in
Milan–San Remo, winning the peloton sprint behind
Sean Kelly and
Moreno Argentin. He won
E3 Harelbeke, his first cobbled semi-classic race win, and the Belgian national road race title in
Peer. He was second in the final
points classification of the
1992 Tour de France behind Frenchman
Laurent Jalabert for the second time. He did not win a stage, despite having won every peloton sprint behind a group of escapees that year. Later he won the
Championship of Zürich and won the final standings of the
1995 World Cup, confirming his status as the best one-day classic rider of the year. in 1997 In 1996 he won the
Brabantse Pijl, but was third in the
Tour of Flanders after suffering mechanical failure. The next week, he finally claimed his first victory in
Paris–Roubaix. His Mapei–GB team dominated the race and Museeuw arrived together with his Italian teammates
Gianluca Bortolami and
Andrea Tafi on the
Roubaix Velodrome. Team manager Patrick Lefevere received a phone call from the office of
Mapei's managing director, Giorgio Squinzi, ordering Museeuw to win the race. In the summer he won his second Belgian national road race title, but again failed to win a stage in the Tour de France. After a disappointing performance in Paris–Tours, where he wanted to secure his overall lead in the World Cup, he stated he intended to quit cycling altogether. He changed his mind and started the next week in the
world championship road race, where he was not considered a favourite because of the mountainous course in
Lugano. To the surprise of many, and on his 31st birthday, Museeuw became world champion after a long breakaway with
Mauro Gianetti, beating the Swiss in a two-man sprint. Subsequently, he went on to win his second
World Cup final standing. In 1997 Museeuw started the year with three stage wins in the
Ruta del Sol and Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne, but failed to take another World Cup win. A crash in Milan–San Remo and the Tour of Flanders and a puncture in Paris–Roubaix prevented him from achieving success. He finished sixth in
Liège–Bastogne–Liège, his best result in the
Ardennes classic. He abandoned in the 18th stage of the Tour de France, in the rainbow jersey, after several unsuccessful attempts to win a stage in a breakaway. He went on to defend his world title in
San Sebastián, but missed the winning breakaway and finished eighth. in 2000 on the
Roubaix Velodrome. He won the
Hell of the North classic three times.
1998–2000: Injury-ridden years In 1998, one week after winning
E3 Harelbeke and the
Brabantse Pijl in the same weekend, he won the
Tour of Flanders, thereby equaling the race's record of three wins. One week later, Museeuw made a horrific fall in
Paris–Roubaix on the
Trouée d'Arenberg cobbled sector, leaving his kneecap shattered. On top came a dangerous
gangrene infection which nearly forced doctors to amputate his left leg. He fought back and resumed cycling after a long healing process, finishing third in the
Tour of Flanders of 1999 and ninth in
Paris–Roubaix, exactly one year after his horror crash. In 2000 he won
Paris–Roubaix a second time after a 44 km solo. Upon crossing the finish line in victory, he lifted his left leg, pointing to his knee as a reminder of the injury that had almost ended his career two years before. Later that year, he was seriously injured while riding a motor cycle with his wife and son. He suffered severe head trauma and spent several days in a
coma. All three would recover, but it was his dogged determination that saw him again reach the pinnacle of the sport. His powerful riding style won him legions of fans all over the world and made him all the more popular in his native
Flanders. Later the same year he won the
HEW Cyclassics in
Hamburg, totaling 11 World Cup wins.
2003–2004: Final years In 2003 he followed Lefevere to the newly set up team. He won the
Omloop Het Volk early in the season, but an illness obstructed his preparation for the classics. Towards the end of his career, he acted as a mentor to
Tom Boonen, who was widely considered to be Museeuw's successor as leading figure in the cobbled classics. In his last years as a professional he attempted to set a new record in the cobbled classics, aiming to win the Tour of Flanders or Paris–Roubaix a fourth time, but failed. With six combined victories in the Tour of Flanders and Paris–Roubaix, he held the record of combined victories in these races until Boonen improved it in 2012. Museeuw ended his career in the spring of 2004 after 17 years as a professional and 59 professional victories. In his last classic race, the
2004 Paris–Roubaix, he punctured 5 km before the finish while riding in the leading breakaway, thereby losing his last chance of equalling
Roger De Vlaeminck's record. He finished in tears, in fifth place, together with his long-time rival
Peter Van Petegem. Museeuw's last race was three days later, the
Scheldeprijs in Belgium, on 14 April 2004, won by his young teammate Tom Boonen. A farewell race was organized on 2 May in his home town
Gistel. After his retirement, Museeuw took up a non-riding position with . He has donated many of his trophies to museums, including the
Centrum Ronde van Vlaanderen, but retains three trophies from his Tour of Flander's, Paris–Roubaix and World Championship wins. ==Doping==