Trivia

In his hometown of Seillans where he lived till his death, a square is named after him. A street was also named after him in his hometown Berlare.

He became a sports journalist for BRT television from 1961 to 1977.

He had a great deal of success early in his career during the Tour de France. 1953 was his first Tour, his best result was making one stage podium, on stage 5 from Dieppe to Caen. In 1954 he finished 2nd on the final stage into Paris and won three stages along the way.

He ended his cycling career after a serious traffic accident in 1960.

He won six Tour de France stages early in his career and went on to win many other Monuments and stage races.

On the road, Rik Van Steenbergen and Rik Van Looy were his biggest competitors. But De Bruyne and van Steenbergen were companions on the track. They triumphed in the Six Days of Ghent in both 1956 and 1957.

In 1956 he won Milan-San Remo and Liège-Bastogne-Liège, as well as the stage race Paris-Nice early in the season.

After his professional cycling career he went on to write several books about some of the most important Belgian cyclists of his era and became a popular TV sports commentator, a team manager, and finally a spokesman for the Panasonic cycling team.

His reports (coverages) were much appreciated in Flanders and parts of the Netherlands, and for a long time he was the most important Belgian cycling reporter on screen. However, after sixteen years, his contract was not renewed, after which he kept the honor to himself and resigned.

He was a Belgian champion road cyclist.