Ivan POPOV

Ivan Popov was one of Bulgaria's outstanding cyclists in road racing in the 1970s, winning the Balkan road racing championship in both 1971 and 1972. In 1972, he was one of the few Bulgarians to win the Tour of Bulgaria and also won the first stage of the "Sofia-Varna" race. He was included in the team selected for München 1972 but did not take part. Popov participated four times in the International Peace Race, the biggest annual multiple stage race held in the Eastern Bloc, with his best overall performance a 15th place in 1976. In the same year he was ninth with the team at the World Championships in Belgium in the 100 km time trial, earning him a place on the 1976 Olympic Team. He died after a short illness and was buried in his native village of Dolno Kamartsi, which is part of the Gorna Malina municipality near Sofia.