He also won the inaugural Challenge Desgrange-Colombo, a season-long competition to identify the world's best road rider, in 1948.
He holds the record with twenty consecutive participations in the Tour of Flanders and in addition to his two victories made the podium on six other occasions.
[3] Schotte corresponded to the archetype of the Flandrien, the diligent farm boy who competes against better equipped and guided riders from France and Italy.
Although he himself put that into perspective: "Because of my position on the bike, I gave the impression that I was suffering more than was actually the case".
Riders such as Rik Van Looy, Herman Van Springel, Freddy Maertens, Eddy Merckx, Sean Kelly, Joop Zoetemelk, Michel Pollentier, Walter Godefroot and Roger De Vlaeminck rode for Schotte at various points during their respective careers.