Bernhard ECKSTEIN

East German road cyclist Bernhard Eckstein placed 22nd at the 1960 Roma road race. In this race a pack of 39 riders closed on the two leaders in the last lap, but finished 20 seconds down. This group included Eckstein and his teammates, and the entire German team was placed consecutively from 20-23 places.

From 1959-62 he participated in the Friedensfahrt (Peace Race) with limited success. 1959, 1960, 1961 and 1963 he claimed the second place at the national road championships. In 1960 he had his greatest moment winning the amateur world championships at home at the Sachsenring ahead his teammate Gustav-Adolf Schur in a tactical brilliant finish, when Schur did not follow Eckstein in the deciding moment. During his further career he won six one-day races, four in 1958, one in 1960, and one in 1966.

After his active career Eckstein became a known press photographer and earned most of his merits working for Neues Deutschland. He also accompanied regularly the Friedensfahrt (Peace Race) in the following years and often worked with well-known East German sports reporter Heinz Florian Oertel.