Lauwers owned his nickname to the way he moved on his bicycle like a caterpillar ("rups" in Dutch), rocking and wriggling.

In 1957, at the age of 21, he won the Six Days of Antwerp together with Reginald Arnold and Ferdinando Terruzzi.

[2] He died from serious injuries suffered following a fall at the Tirador velodrome in Palma de Majorca, during a race behind motors.

Lauwers, while proceeding at a speed of over 70 km per hour, suddenly lost his balance and fell on the track and was subsequently hit by the motorbike of the rider Gomila who was following him a short distance away.

[3] Since 2002, the Grote Prijs Rupske Lauwers, a cycle race in Hemiksem is organized to honor him.