Tom Steels is a former Belgian professional road bicycle racer, specialising in sprint finishes and one-day races. He was one of the top sprinters in the peloton. Steels competed at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, in the Men's 1000 metres Time Trial, finishing 19th Steels began his professional cycling career in 1994 with the Vlaanderen 2002 team, winning eight times in his first two seasons. His breakthrough was after he signed with Mapei in 1996. That year he won Omloop Het Volk, and Gent?Wevelgem. In 1997, he rode in his first Tour de France, and looked capable of a stage win after coming second on Stage 2. However, during the sprint for the finish for the sixth stage he found himself blocked and boxed in by other sprinters and in frustration threw his water bottle at another rider, for which he was thrown out of that year's Tour. His best season was 1998 when he won the national championship for the second time and returned to the Tour de France to win four stages. The point jersey would also have been his, as the people in front of him all admitted to doping. 

September 2nd, 1971 in Sint-Gillis-Waas (Age 52)