©Heemkring Molengalm
The war interrupted his dream of a career as a professional cyclist. He luckily avoided becoming a prisoner of war. For two years, he did not take part in any races and worked for a railroad company. Not until 1942 did he return to the world of cycling. One year later, he became a professional cyclist. His success opened doors. His victories included winning the Nationale Sluitingsprijs one-day race at Putte-Kapellen, which still takes place today. The French cycling team Alcyon signed him for 1944. However, his career ended abruptly, before it had really begun.
The Gestapo arrested Frans Hotag in early 1944. He had helped form a resistance group against the German occupiers. After spending weeks in a jail in Antwerp, he was deported to Buchenwald in May. The SS sent him to the subcamp Dora as a forced labourer and later to Ellrich, where he did not manage to survive the conditions at the camp. Frans Hotag died on February 6, 1945, at the Ellrich subcamp at the age of 24. Today, a street in his hometown remembers the young professional cyclist and resistance fighter.
