Frans Slaats was a Dutch professional cyclist who broke the world hour record.

Slaats was a prominent velodrome

Velodrome

A velodrome is an arena for track cycling. Modern velodromes feature steeply banked oval tracks, consisting of two 180-degree circular bends connected by two straights...

 rider in the 1930s, especially in Six-day racing

Six-day racing

A six or six-day is a track cycling race that lasts six days. Six-day races started in Britain, spread to many regions of the world, were brought to their modern style in the United States and are now mainly a European event. Initially, individuals competed alone, the winner being the individual...

. In September 1937 he set the world hour record

Hour record

The hour record for bicycles is the record for the longest distance cycled in one hour on a bicycle. There are several records. The most famous is for upright bicycles meeting the requirements of the Union Cycliste Internationale . It is one of the most prestigious in cycling...

 at 45.558 km on the Vigorelli track in Milan

Milan

Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...

, Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

. It was bettered the same year by the French rider, Maurice Archambaud

Maurice Archambaud

Maurice Archambaud was a French professional cyclist from 1932 to 1944. His short stature earned him the nickname of le nabot, or "the dwarf", but colossal thighs made him an exceptional rider....

.

Slaats was at the Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...

 six-day in Argentina

Argentina

Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...

 when the second world war began in 1939. On returning to the Netherlands when peace came in 1945, he found his four brothers had been killed by the Germans.

Palmarès

1934

2nd Berlin six-day

1936

3rd Ronde van Valkenburg

1st Amsterdam six-day

2nd Ghent six-day

1st Copenhagen six-day

1937

1st Antwerp six-day

World hour record

1st Copenhagen six-day

1938

1st Ghent six-day

2nd Antwerp six-day

1939

1st Brussels six-day

3rd Copenhagen six-day

1944

1st Buenos Aires six-day