Tour of Flanders
Encyclopedia
The Tour of Flanders is a Flanders Classics
road cycling race
held in Belgium
every spring, a week before the Paris–Roubaix road race. It is part of the UCI World Tour and one of the so-called monuments
of the European professional calendar. It is the most important cycling race in Flanders
. Its nickname is Vlaanderens mooiste (Dutch
for "Flanders' finest").
The Tour of Flanders was conceived of in 1913 by Karel Van Wijnendaele, co-founder of the sportspaper 'Sportwereld'. In that era it was customary for publishers of newspapers and magazines to organise cycling races as a way of promoting circulation.
Prior to WWII the race was usually held on the same day as the Italian Milan–San Remo competition. Prominent Italian and French racers preferred the latter which explains why there was only a single non-Belgian winner before WWII. After WWII the race grew in importance when it became a part of the Challenge Desgrange-Colombo
which was a precursor to today's UCI ProTour. Since the 2005 inception of the ProTour, the Tour of Flanders has been a major component.
Record holders are the Belgians Achiel Buysse, Eric Leman and Johan Museeuw and the Italian Fiorenzo Magni, each with three victories.
Cycling was in a poor state across Belgium at the start of the 20th century. Velodromes were closing and there were no longer national championships on the road or track. The one big Belgian race, Liège–Bastogne–Liège, was in the French-speaking south. As the gloom increased, Odile Defraye
became the first Belgian to win the Tour de France
, in 1912. He was 20 years old and, even if he was riding for a French team, Alcyon
, he symbolised a potential rise for Belgian cycling. His victory inspired August De Maeght, director of the Société Belge d'Imprimerie, to publish a weekly sports magazine called Sportwereld.
Sportwereld 's most prominent cycling writer was Carolus ("Karel") Ludovicus Steyaert, who wrote as Karel van Wijnendaele, the name by which he became best known.
Carolus ("Karel") Ludovicus Steyaert, who wrote as Karel van Wijnendaele, was born in Torhout, Belgium, 16 November 1882, and died Deinze, Belgium, 20 December 1961. His name, which translates in English as Charles, was properly pronounced "Carol". Among acquaintances he was called Koarle, pronounced "koala". His monument is at the top of the Kwaremont
climb near Kluisbergen
, in Ronde van Vlaanderenstraat. It was placed there in 1964.
Van Wijnendaele was the fifth of 15 children of a family in the hamlet of Wijnendaele
(Wijnendale
), near Torhout
. His father, a flax worker, died when Karel was 18 months old. He wrote in 1942: "Being born into a poor family, that was my strength. If you're brought up without frills [sober opgekweekt wordt] and you know what hunger is [door een mager leven gaat], it makes you hard enough to withstand bike races." He left school at 14 and worked for a baker, looked after cows, washed bottles and delivered parcels. He worked for French-speaking families in Brussels and Ostend
and felt humiliated by the way they treated him.
He tried cycle-racing, won a few prizes but made little impression. He turned instead to writing about cycling as regional correspondent, first for De Thourentenaer, his local paper, then from 1909 for Onze Kampioenen in Antwerp and Sportvriend in Izegem
. It was then that he adopted his pen-name
. That attracted the attention of De Maeght and his collaborator, the race organiser Len van de Haute, with whom van Wijnendaele had collaborated at Sportvriend. The two travelled to Torhout and asked van Wijnendaele if he would join a new paper to be called Sportwereld. Van Wijnendaele said he replied "Could be [misschien wel]." The first issue appeared in time for the Championship of Flanders on 12 September 1912. Van Wijnendaele became its editor on 1 January 1913. He said:
On 25 May the same year he organised the first Tour of Flanders, crossing Dutch-speaking Belgium because "all Flemish cities had to contribute to the liberation of the Flemish people". It finished on the track at Mariakerke, now a suburb of Ghent
, and ran through Sint-Niklaas
, Aalst
, Oudenaarde
, Kortrijk
, Veurne
, Ostend
, Torhout, Roeselare
and Bruges
. It covered 330 km, all on bad roads with just the occasional cycle path
. There were 27 riders. The race finished on a wooden track that circled a lake in Mariakerke, where ticket sales covered only half the prizes.
, a 25-year-old who went on to win Bordeaux–Paris in 1914. His career almost ended with the First World War. He joined Belgium's espionage underground war effort and smuggled documents, via bicycle into the neutral Netherlands
. After many trips he was arrested by the Germans, jailed in Leuven
and was held for execution. The Armistice
saved him.The American writer, Gabe Konrad, recounts that Paul Deman "was highly decorated, receiving medals from Belgium, France and England for bravery. During a mission to Holland, he was caputured by enemy forces and sentenced to death
. Luckily, the war ended just in time to save his life and send him home." Konrad, Gabor and Melanie (2000), Bikelore, On The Wheel Publications (USA),ISBN 1-892495-32-5, p100 He started racing again and won Paris–Roubaix in 1920 and Paris–Tours in 1923.
The Ronde van Vlaanderen of 1913 had 27 riders, followed by five cars. In 1914 the field was 47. A disappointed van Wijnendaele said later:
However, there were hints of the growing status of the race as a symbol of Flemish nationalism. Marcel Buysse
insisted on taking part even though his Alcyon team had ordered Belgian riders not to participate. The race was interrupted by World War I By the 1930s, there were 116 riders and seven times as many cars and motorbikes following them, said Het Nieuwsblad. The historian, Fer Schroeders said:
Above all, he said, the northern Belgians came into their own on the repeated hills and recovered quickly after them. He quoted the Walloon writer, Paul Beving, and his tribute to his northern countrymen's race:
. The last four riders in 1949 were given bottles of massage oil.
Conditions became easier in the 1930s and riders were allowed to accept a rain jacket, a spare tyre and a pump, but only in an emergency and at the referees' discretion. A change of bike was allowed if a frame, wheel or handlebar broke but riders were still expected to ride with spare tyres and a pump. Riders in the 1940s were required to hand their bikes to officials the day before the race to have them identified with a lead seal, later with a ring similar to that fitted to racing pigeons. In that way the referees, or commissaire
s could see if a rider had illegally changed bikes.
The Ronde moved towards modern rules in 1951, with riders allowed limited help from team cars and to combine with others from the same team on the road. By 1955 they could accept a replacement bike from a team-mate but not from a car. The rules changed from year to year until they resembled those of today by the end of the 1950s.
, a daily newspaper first published in 1918. Sportwereld was turned into the sports section of Het Nieuwsblad and its sister paper, De Standaard
. War broke out that year and, in May 1940, German troops occupied Belgium. The government escaped to London and the king, Léopold III, was held under house arrest
. Het Nieuwsblad changed its name to Het Algemeen Nieuws-Sportwereld and it continued to organise the Ronde.
The Ronde is the only classic to have been held on German-occupied territory during the Second World War, in agreement with the German command. The Germans, says the writer Gabe Konrad, "not only allowed and enjoyed the race but helped police the route as well." That led to accusations of collaboration. De Standaard and Het Algemeen Nieuws-Sportwereld were sequestered by the state when peace returned and several general journalists, although largely not sports reporters, were punished for collaboration. Van Wijnendaele was forbidden to work as a journalist for the rest of his life, a ban lifted when he produced a letter of support from General Bernard Montgomery, confirming that van Wijnendaele had hidden downed British pilots in his house.
A rival newspaper, Het Volk
started a rival race in 1945, the Omloop van Vlaanderen, in contrast to what it saw as the Ronde's closeness to the Germans. The Ronde's organisers protested that the name was too close to their own - in Dutch there is little difference between ronde and omloop - and the Belgian cycling federation told Het Volk to change their name. That race became the Omloop Het Volk.A consequence of the enforced decision to change the name of the 'upstart' rival race to Omloop Het Volk was that rival papers, including Het Nieuwsblad when it reappeared, were reluctant to mention the name of a rival (Het Volk) when discussing the race. Unable to use the old name, papers called it Ghent-Ghent, a description of its route. What made this odder was that Ghent-Ghent was just what the Ronde van Vlaanderen had been until the end of the war.
(Now and Soon) literary group in Flanders. He and van Wijnendaele became friends. Streuvels wrote when he was 97: "Karel made cycling what it is and the riders what they are." wrote to Sportwereld in 1937 that the Ronde as seen from his house in Ingooigem was "more a procession of cars than of riders." The historian Rik Vanwalleghem speaks of a "wild rodeo" of spectators driving behind the race and seeking short cuts across the course to see the race pass several times. He said the police estimated the crowd for early races at 500,000. They followed the race, overtook it when they could, or stood so thick by the roadside in villages and especially at control points that the riders sometimes had trouble passing.
Van Wijnendaele involved the gendarmerie
in 1933 but to limited effect. The 1937 race was chaotic. On 30 March 1938, van Wijnendaele wrote in Sportwereld:
The influence of spectators never ended. In 1963, Louis De Lentdecker wrote in Het Nieuwsblad:
, when riders signed on at the Albert hotel in Clementinlaan. The race was neutralised as far as Mariakerke. A mass
was held for riders before the start in the 1950s.
The race moved to the market square
at Sint-Niklaas
in 1977, mainly because it had more space for the growing number of spectators. Race briefings were held in the town hall. The square was administered by the chief of police, Roger Schepens. By 1988 the start had grown into a two-day affair with a spectacle presented by BRT
television the previous night.
The contract with St-Niklaas ended in 1998 and the race moved to Bruges, where the mayor, Patrick Moenaert, saw the move as part of a campaign to bring life to the centre of the city. Bruges, or Brugge as it is known in the north, is a small city dependent on tourists attracted by its history and architecture; Moenaert wanted to make it less dependent on celebrating its past.Bruges' campaign to bring the city to life, and not rely solely on historic tourism, went beyond cycling; in 2000 it attracted the European soccer championship and in 2002 was named the cultural capital
of Europe for the year. Moenaert said he was delighted by the Ronde, which brought 15,000 people to Bruges, he said, and was broadcast to 16 countries by Eurovision, with an audience estimated at 50 million.
The finish in 1913 was on a track around a lake in Mariakerke (see above). It moved in 1914 to the Deeske Porter velodrome at Evergem where, van Winendaele recounted, "there were a good 20 more spectators than the previous year."
On Sep 16, 2011, it was announced that Oudenaarde
signed a contract to organize the finish for the next two years.
In 1913 the race at first went inland to St-Niklaas before turning a clockwise circle through Aalst, Kortrijk, out to the coast at Ostend and then back to Ghent with a detour to Roeselare. The course stayed the same in 1914 but without the leg to the coast.
In 1919 the direction turned to counter-clockwise, turning south at Brugge. The route extended to the coast in 1920 and stayed that way until 1938, heading out through Eeklo and Brugge to reach the North Sea
between Ostend and Blankenberge
. Van Wijnendaele included the coast through his sentimental vision of Flanders.Sentiment for the North Sea as a feature of Belgium is a familiar theme. The Belgian singer Jacques Brel
(8 April 1929 – 9 October 1978) sang of "The Flat Country" in both French and Dutch. In French, the words refer to the vagues (waves) that mark the start of his vague (flat, merging with the sea) Belgium. For van Wijnendaele the North Sea had extra significance because the whole of Belgium's coast is in Flanders. The ride there was often into a strong wind that inhibited attacks but spelled the end for those left behind the shelter of the main field. Turning left at the sea meant the wind blew from the side, producing the diagonal line of riders, each sheltering the other, characteristic of the Ronde and other Belgian races.In English the formation is known as an echelon. Despite that being a French word, the French term is bordure. The Dutch is waaier. Riders spread across the road in a staggered line, the rider most exposed to the wind riding there for a while to shelter the rest before crossing the road to join the other end of the line. In that way every rider takes a share of sheltering the others. There is great competition and often physical force to get into any echelon, but especially the front one in which the main contenders are likely to be riding.
It changed with the outbreak of war because access to the coast was restricted. The wartime route was a circle within the heart of Flanders but the return of peace brought the race back to its pre-War route in 1946. It stayed much the same until 1952, when the ride to the coast was abandoned and the route turned off in Brugge. The stretch to and along the coast came back in 1961 only to disappear again in 1964. From 1973 the race was no longer a loop. It started in Ghent and finished in Meerbeke
, still not taking in the sea. Then Ghent was abandoned in 1977 and the start was moved to the neighbouring city of Sint-Niklaas
. The race now curved only around inland Flanders, going no further west than Eeklo or Roeselare. Only the move of the start to Bruges brought the race back along the North Sea
, although avoiding almost all the long windy ride to get there. The move from Sint-Niklaas to Bruges brought criticism unrelated to the route change. Until then it had been a tradition that spectators could mix and meet with riders before the start. Fer Schroeder said:
The strategic part of the race comes after it has turned back inland, running just north of the French border. The course goes into the only short, sharp hills in the otherwise flat Flanders countryside. The route twists and turns to ride as many as possible. Some of the hills are cobbled and one - the Koppenberg
- has been dropped some years because of its danger and difficulty. It is hard for riders to take all the climb while still riding. A fall by one rider can bring down many others and, in turn, halt those behind. The stopped and fallen often have to continue to the top on foot. In 1984 only two riders - Phil Anderson
and Jan Raas
- got up without walking.
The Koppenberg returned in 2003 after its surface was improved. It was then dropped again in 2007, replaced by the Kluisberg and the Côte de Trieu, which had roadworks in previous years, and the first ascent of the Eikenmolen. The Koppenberg came back in 2008 after the city of Oudenaarde renovated it.
and Geraardsbergen
. The mileage of cobbles decreased but the number of cobbled hills rose.
The short, sharp hills are a defining feature of the Ronde. The race has offered prizes to the first on many of them for more than half a century. There were 500 francs offered in 1940 for the first rider up the Kwaremont, Edelare and Kruisberg. A combined prize for performances on all the hills came in 1950, when Maurits Blomme won bedroom furniture as the best climber. The prize at the top of the Kruisberg in 1953 was a washing machine
. The first up the Wall of Geraardsbergen
won 18,000 francs. In 1950 Fiorenzo Magni
won 30,000 francs in primes during a long breakaway, enough to buy a house.The primes, or intermediate bonuses, were of particular importance until the late 1960s, in an era when few professionals were paid by their team. Their expenses were often paid and they were given a bike but their income, in the absence of winning the race, depended on what they could pick up along the way. The result was that the hills acquired a financial, and consequently a strategic, importance which they have kept ever since.
In 2008, the 17 hills - hellingen in Dutch - were:
Kluisberg: Buissestraat, Bergstraat, Kluisbergen-Ruien. Climbs 66m from 27m to 93m. Maximum 11 per cent. First climbed 1955
Molenberg: Molenberg, Zwalm. Climbs 32m from 24m to 56m. Maximum 17 per cent. First climbed 1983.
Oude Kwaremont: Broekstraat, Kwaremontplein, Schilderstraat, Kluisbergen. Climbs 93m from 18m to 111m. Maximum 11 per cent. First climbed 1974.
Koppenberg: Steengat, Koppenberg, Oudenaarde-Melden. Climbs 64m from 13m to 77m; Maximum 25 per cent at inside of bend, otherwise 22 per cent. First climbed 1976.
Taaienberg: Taaienberg, Maarkedal-Etikhove. Climbs 45m from 37m to 82m. Maximum 18 per cent. First climbed 1974.
Berg ter Stene: Stene, Horebeke. Climbs 68m from 32m to 100m. Maximum 9 per cent. First climbed 1957
Leberg: Leberg, Brakel-Zegelsem. Climbs 39m from 60m to 9m. Maximum 15 per cent. First climbed 1977
Berendries: Berendries, Brakel-Sint-Maria-Oudenhove. Climbs 65m from 33m to 98m. Maximum 14 per cent. First climbed 1983
Valkenberg: Valkenbergstraat, Brakel-Nederbrakel. Climbs 53m from 45m to 98m. Maximum 15 per cent. First climbed 1959
Muur-Kapelmuur: Abdijstraat, Ouderbergstraat, Oudeberg, Gerardsbergen. Climbs 77m from 33m to 110m. Maximum 20 per cent. First climbed 1950
Bosberg: Kapellestraat, Geraardsbergen-Moerbeke. Climbs 40m from 65m to 105m. Maximum 11 per cent. First climbed 1975.
Tenbosse: Olifantstraat, Brakel. Climbs 28m from 45m to 73m. Maximum 14 per cent. First climbed 1997
, rode some of the course with a journalist and gave his reactions.
The Molenberg: "Everyone wants to sit right at the front at the start of this hill. It's a real battle and then there's one big explosion. Those who don't manage to start the narrow climb smoothly risk getting blocked and having to put their foot down. In my prime, I did this climb three or four times in a row during training. That was the best way to train my legs for the explosion. [But] the Molenberg is only a test. It's far too early in the race to be decisive."
The Oude Kwaremont: "The run-up to this climb is a race within a race. It's nervous, and elbows and shoulders are the order of the day to secure the best spot at the front. You really need to be a nasty bastard to defend and keep your position, but I had no problem with that. I had guts. The Oude Kwaremont is not a climb where you just stretch your legs. It's very important to be in the first two rows in order to get in the right position. If you have to chase from the foot of the Oude Kwaremont, you've lost already."
The Paterberg: Out training, you can avoid the cobbles, but "this wouldn't be possible in the Tour of Flanders, since the gutter would be blocked with fences keeping the fans away from the road."
The Koppenberg: In 2006, "someone got his front wheel stuck in one of the grooves and it caused a chain reaction
. Everyone had to climb on foot! The Koppenberg needed restoring again. They did a great job. The grooves are gone now, but if it rains, riders still have problems. It's incredibly steep and in wet conditions your rear wheel spins easily. Those kinds of hills spice up the race."
The Taaienberg: "I once saw Laurent Jalabert
accelerating hard - really hard - on the Taaienberg. Right then, everyone thought the race was over, because Jalabert was like Superman
. But on the Berendries, a few hills later, he completely collapsed. If you want to win the Tour of Flanders, you have to be cool, relaxed and attentive. The last thing you should do is throw your powers away too fast, too soon."
The Berg ter Stene replaces the Eikenberg. "It's a pity they've struck the Eikenberg from the course. It's a cobblestone climb and I'm in favour of leaving all those on the route.We don't have so many we should cherish the few we have. I like those kinds of climbs since they make the difference in the closing stages. It's possible for weaker riders to survive on a Tarmac climb, but not on a cobbled one. You get a far more nervous approach to the climb and only the fittest survive on the climb itself. The Berg ter Stene is a Formula One
track compared to a cobbled hill."
The Leberg: "From the Leberg on, after the 2km cobblestone section of the Haaghoek, you can't afford to be outside the first 10 riders. That's the 200km mark. From that moment on, once you're in Brakel
you need to be aware that it can happen at any time. This where the best of the race come forward."
, van Lerberghe stood in front of the crowd and, in all seriousness, told them 'to go home; I'm half a day ahead of the field.'"Ritten van Lerberghe's victory speech was reported in dialect, presumably to reflect his manner of speech, as "Gaat nu ollemoale nar huz weijje. En komt morgen achternoene were, 'k lig nen halven dag vorut." Van Wijnendaele wrote occasionally in dialect and frequently in a distinctive style of Dutch that emphasised his peasant origins and the way the language had developed differently from in the neighbouring Netherlands.
, the youngest man to win the world road championship, also won the Ronde in 1939 - without intending to. For him, it was training for Paris–Roubaix. He drove to the Kwaremont hill near Kluisbergen, parked his car, then rode 40 km to the start in Ghent. His plan was to ride round the course with his usual training partner, stop when he got to his car, then drive home. Knowing he wasn't riding the whole distance, Kaers jumped clear of the field - again as training - and rode up the Kwaremont with a minute's lead. But his car wasn't there. He pressed on instead and won the race. His manager had driven the car away to save Kaers from temptation.
said: "When I turned pro, I couldn't ride it straight away. There were three categories of rider: road-riders A, road-riders B, and track riders. I was registered with the federation as a track rider. At first they wouldn't let me ride the national championship. But Jean van Buggenhout, the manager, got me reclassified on the Wednesday before the race. I won it and became an 'A' rider. Then I could start the year in the Tour of Flanders. I was 19 and I'll probably stay the youngest person ever to win." Van Steenbergen was in the break when several riders fell on the cinder track to the track in Ghent. Van Steenbergen rode round the fallen and won. Next year he decided not to ride. Van Wijnendaele was offended. But Van Steenbergen had realised why he'd turned pro: to make a living. "I could probably win more money elsewhere," he said. "The Tour of Flanders didn't have the attraction that it does now, especially not internationally."
. The others cracked one by one until Magni was alone by Strijpen - the point where he made his winning move the previous year. He rode the last 75 km alone to win the Ronde for the third successive year. Magni won by almost eight minutes and the first five finishers were foreigners.
was clear with the better-known Italian champion, Nino Defilippis
. Simpson, the weaker sprinter, accelerated for the line with a kilometre to go. It was too far and Defilipis came past him as he weakened. Simpson struggled to stay with him and was delighted when the Italian began freewheeling just before the finish. Defilippis said he didn't know where the finish was because the banner had blown down, but the two riders had already covered two previous laps of the finishing circuit. For the same reason, the Italian protest that the line on the road wasn't clearly marked also failed. Defilippis asked Simpson to agree to a tie, saying no Italian had won a classic since 1953. Simpson said:
dominated world racing in both classics and stage races
but couldn't win the Ronde. By 1969 he had not only frustration to contend with but rising resentment of other riders unhappy that he won so many races. He attacked early and half the field never saw him again. The other half was reduced with each successive attack until he got clear alone. The chase was furious but ineffective and Merckx won by more than five and a half minutes over Felice Gimondi
and more than eight minutes on the rest. The Ronde remained an unhappy race for him; it was another six years before he won again.
all day and the rain fell in torrents [regende het pijpenstelen]. Of the 173 starters only 24 were counted in at the finish. In this apocalyptic background Eric Vanderaerden
got back to the front after looking beaten to ride 20km at the head of the race alone. Impressive."
, lost his balance and fell on to a roadside bank, still strapped into his pedals. Having fallen, a race official's car tried to pass between him and a field of riders. The driver of the car continued moving forward and ran over Skibby's back wheel, narrowly missing his leg. The hill was judged too dangerous and did not return until the surface had been improved in 2002. The race official continued driving to the finish, where he was met by mud, stones and cups thrown by spectators. The incident overshadowed victory by the French-speaking Belgian, Claude Criquielion
.
, through which the Ronde passes, has a museum - the Centrum Ronde van Vlaanderen - dedicated to the race. The curator is Freddy Maertens
.
The women’s Tour of Flanders has been held every spring since 2004 on the same day as the men's race. It is part of the UCI Women's Road World Cup. The race runs over a course that follows the last 55 km of the men's race to finish in Meerbeke
. In 2008, the race featured three long flat cobbled sections: Paddestraat (2400m), Mater-Kerkgate (3000m) and Haaghoek (2000m), and 10 hills including the Molenberg, Eikenmolen, Muur-Kapelmuur and Bosberg.
Flanders Classics
Flanders Classics is an umbrella organization for classic cycle races held in Flanders. It was founded in 2010 and it contains six races, of which the Ronde van Vlaanderen is the most important.-Mission:...
road cycling race
Road bicycle racing
Road bicycle racing is a bicycle racing sport held on roads, using racing bicycles. The term "road racing" is usually applied to events where competing riders start simultaneously with the winner being the first to the line at the end of the course .Historically, the most...
held in Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
every spring, a week before the Paris–Roubaix road race. It is part of the UCI World Tour and one of the so-called monuments
Classic cycle races
The classic cycle races are one-day professional cycling road races in the international calendar. Most of the events, all run in western Europe, have been fixtures on the professional calendar for decades and the oldest ones date back to the 19th Century. They are normally held at roughly the same...
of the European professional calendar. It is the most important cycling race in Flanders
Flanders
Flanders is the community of the Flemings but also one of the institutions in Belgium, and a geographical region located in parts of present-day Belgium, France and the Netherlands. "Flanders" can also refer to the northern part of Belgium that contains Brussels, Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp...
. Its nickname is Vlaanderens mooiste (Dutch
Dutch language
Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...
for "Flanders' finest").
History
Prior to WWII the race was usually held on the same day as the Italian Milan–San Remo competition. Prominent Italian and French racers preferred the latter which explains why there was only a single non-Belgian winner before WWII. After WWII the race grew in importance when it became a part of the Challenge Desgrange-Colombo
Challenge Desgrange-Colombo
The Challenge Desgrange-Colombo was a season-long road bicycle racing competition between 1948 and 1958. Named after Henri Desgrange and Emilio Colombo, the competition was organised by the newspapers L'Équipe, La Gazzetta dello Sport, Het Nieuwsblad-Sportwereld and Les Sports...
which was a precursor to today's UCI ProTour. Since the 2005 inception of the ProTour, the Tour of Flanders has been a major component.
Record holders are the Belgians Achiel Buysse, Eric Leman and Johan Museeuw and the Italian Fiorenzo Magni, each with three victories.
The Ronde as regional symbol
Odile Defraye
Odile Defraye was a Belgian road racing cyclist who won three stages and the overall title of the 1912 Tour de France, which was the last tour decided by a points system instead of overall best time...
became the first Belgian to win the Tour de France
Tour de France
The Tour de France is an annual bicycle race held in France and nearby countries. First staged in 1903, the race covers more than and lasts three weeks. As the best known and most prestigious of cycling's three "Grand Tours", the Tour de France attracts riders and teams from around the world. The...
, in 1912. He was 20 years old and, even if he was riding for a French team, Alcyon
Alcyon
The Alcyon was a French bicycle, automobile and motorcycle manufacturer between 1890 and 1957.- Origins :Alcyon originated from about 1890 when Edmond Gentil started the manufacture of bicycles in Neuilly, Seine. In 1902, this was complemented by motorcycle production and in 1906, the first cars...
, he symbolised a potential rise for Belgian cycling. His victory inspired August De Maeght, director of the Société Belge d'Imprimerie, to publish a weekly sports magazine called Sportwereld.
Sportwereld 's most prominent cycling writer was Carolus ("Karel") Ludovicus Steyaert, who wrote as Karel van Wijnendaele, the name by which he became best known.
Carolus ("Karel") Ludovicus Steyaert, who wrote as Karel van Wijnendaele, was born in Torhout, Belgium, 16 November 1882, and died Deinze, Belgium, 20 December 1961. His name, which translates in English as Charles, was properly pronounced "Carol". Among acquaintances he was called Koarle, pronounced "koala". His monument is at the top of the Kwaremont
Kluisbergen
Kluisbergen is a municipality located in the Belgian province of East Flanders. The municipality comprises the towns of Berchem, Kwaremont, Ruien and Zulzeke. On January 1, 2006 Kluisbergen had a total population of 6,161. The total area is 30.38 km² which gives a population density of 203...
climb near Kluisbergen
Kluisbergen
Kluisbergen is a municipality located in the Belgian province of East Flanders. The municipality comprises the towns of Berchem, Kwaremont, Ruien and Zulzeke. On January 1, 2006 Kluisbergen had a total population of 6,161. The total area is 30.38 km² which gives a population density of 203...
, in Ronde van Vlaanderenstraat. It was placed there in 1964.
Van Wijnendaele was the fifth of 15 children of a family in the hamlet of Wijnendaele
Wijnendale
Wijnendale is a village located in the Belgian province of West Flanders.It belongs to the municipality of Torhout. Wijnendale is situated at 4 km from the city center of Torhout, halfway in between this city center and Ichtegem....
(Wijnendale
Wijnendale
Wijnendale is a village located in the Belgian province of West Flanders.It belongs to the municipality of Torhout. Wijnendale is situated at 4 km from the city center of Torhout, halfway in between this city center and Ichtegem....
), near Torhout
Torhout
Torhout is a municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality only comprises the city of Torhout proper. On January 1, 2008 Torhout had a total population of 19,755...
. His father, a flax worker, died when Karel was 18 months old. He wrote in 1942: "Being born into a poor family, that was my strength. If you're brought up without frills [sober opgekweekt wordt] and you know what hunger is [door een mager leven gaat], it makes you hard enough to withstand bike races." He left school at 14 and worked for a baker, looked after cows, washed bottles and delivered parcels. He worked for French-speaking families in Brussels and Ostend
Ostend
Ostend is a Belgian city and municipality located in the Flemish province of West Flanders. It comprises the boroughs of Mariakerke , Stene and Zandvoorde, and the city of Ostend proper – the largest on the Belgian coast....
and felt humiliated by the way they treated him.
He tried cycle-racing, won a few prizes but made little impression. He turned instead to writing about cycling as regional correspondent, first for De Thourentenaer, his local paper, then from 1909 for Onze Kampioenen in Antwerp and Sportvriend in Izegem
Izegem
Izegem is a municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Izegem proper and the towns of Emelgem and Kachtem. Emelgem was added to Izegem in 1965, Kachtem in 1977. Izegem itself lies on the southern banks of the Mandel, Emelgem and Kachtem on...
. It was then that he adopted his pen-name
Pen name
A pen name, nom de plume, or literary double, is a pseudonym adopted by an author. A pen name may be used to make the author's name more distinctive, to disguise his or her gender, to distance an author from some or all of his or her works, to protect the author from retribution for his or her...
. That attracted the attention of De Maeght and his collaborator, the race organiser Len van de Haute, with whom van Wijnendaele had collaborated at Sportvriend. The two travelled to Torhout and asked van Wijnendaele if he would join a new paper to be called Sportwereld. Van Wijnendaele said he replied "Could be [misschien wel]." The first issue appeared in time for the Championship of Flanders on 12 September 1912. Van Wijnendaele became its editor on 1 January 1913. He said:
We thought there was a lot we could do in the area. We also wanted to publish a paper to speak to our own Flemish peopleFlemish peopleThe Flemings or Flemish are the Dutch-speaking inhabitants of Belgium, where they are mostly found in the northern region of Flanders. They are one of two principal cultural-linguistic groups in Belgium, the other being the French-speaking Walloons...
in their own language and give them confidence as Flandrians. We conducted a 10-year war, for instance, with the French-speaking management of the national cycling federation in Brussels. And we won it.
On 25 May the same year he organised the first Tour of Flanders, crossing Dutch-speaking Belgium because "all Flemish cities had to contribute to the liberation of the Flemish people". It finished on the track at Mariakerke, now a suburb of Ghent
Ghent
Ghent is a city and a municipality located in the Flemish region of Belgium. It is the capital and biggest city of the East Flanders province. The city started as a settlement at the confluence of the Rivers Scheldt and Lys and in the Middle Ages became one of the largest and richest cities of...
, and ran through Sint-Niklaas
Sint-Niklaas
Sint-Niklaas is a Belgian city and municipality located in the Flemish province of East Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Sint-Niklaas proper and the towns of Belsele, Nieuwkerken-Waas, and Sinaai....
, Aalst
Aalst, Belgium
Aalst is a city and municipality on the Dender River, 19 miles northwest from Brussels. It is located in the Flemish province of East Flanders in the Denderstreek. The municipality comprises the city of Aalst itself and the villages of Baardegem, Erembodegem, Gijzegem, Herdersem, Hofstade,...
, Oudenaarde
Oudenaarde
Oudenaarde is a Belgian municipality in the Flemish province of East Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Oudenaarde proper and the towns of Bevere, Edelare, Eine, Ename, Heurne, Leupegem, Mater, Melden, Mullem, Nederename, Welden, Volkegem and a part of Ooike.From the 15th to the 18th...
, Kortrijk
Kortrijk
Kortrijk ; , ; ) is a Belgian city and municipality located in the Flemish province West Flanders...
, Veurne
Veurne
Veurne is a city and municipality in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the town of Veurne proper and the settlements of Avekapelle, Booitshoeke, Bulskamp, De Moeren, Eggewaartskapelle, Houtem, Steenkerke, Vinkem, Wulveringem, and Zoutenaaie.-Origins in the 15th...
, Ostend
Ostend
Ostend is a Belgian city and municipality located in the Flemish province of West Flanders. It comprises the boroughs of Mariakerke , Stene and Zandvoorde, and the city of Ostend proper – the largest on the Belgian coast....
, Torhout, Roeselare
Roeselare
Roeselare is a Belgian city and municipality in the Flemish province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Roeselare proper and the towns of Beveren, Oekene and Rumbeke....
and Bruges
Bruges
Bruges is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located in the northwest of the country....
. It covered 330 km, all on bad roads with just the occasional cycle path
Segregated cycle facilities
Segregated cycle facilities are marked lanes, tracks, shoulders and paths designated for use by cyclists from which motorised traffic is generally excluded...
. There were 27 riders. The race finished on a wooden track that circled a lake in Mariakerke, where ticket sales covered only half the prizes.
The first races
The first race (1913) was won by Paul DemanPaul Deman (cyclist)
Paul Deman was a Belgian professional road bicycle racer for 15 years from 1909–1924, and a carpet maker by trade....
, a 25-year-old who went on to win Bordeaux–Paris in 1914. His career almost ended with the First World War. He joined Belgium's espionage underground war effort and smuggled documents, via bicycle into the neutral Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
. After many trips he was arrested by the Germans, jailed in Leuven
Leuven
Leuven is the capital of the province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region, Belgium...
and was held for execution. The Armistice
Armistice
An armistice is a situation in a war where the warring parties agree to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, but may be just a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace...
saved him.The American writer, Gabe Konrad, recounts that Paul Deman "was highly decorated, receiving medals from Belgium, France and England for bravery. During a mission to Holland, he was caputured by enemy forces and sentenced to death
Capital punishment
Capital punishment, the death penalty, or execution is the sentence of death upon a person by the state as a punishment for an offence. Crimes that can result in a death penalty are known as capital crimes or capital offences. The term capital originates from the Latin capitalis, literally...
. Luckily, the war ended just in time to save his life and send him home." Konrad, Gabor and Melanie (2000), Bikelore, On The Wheel Publications (USA),ISBN 1-892495-32-5, p100 He started racing again and won Paris–Roubaix in 1920 and Paris–Tours in 1923.
The Ronde van Vlaanderen of 1913 had 27 riders, followed by five cars. In 1914 the field was 47. A disappointed van Wijnendaele said later:
Sportwereld was so young and so small for the big Ronde that we wanted. We had bitten off more than we could chew (verder springen dan zijn stok lang is). It was hard, seeing a band of second-class riders riding round Flanders, scraping up a handful of centimes to help cover the costs. The same happened in 1914. No van Hauwaert,Cyril van Hauwaert had become a hero through rising above humble origins to achieve relative prosperity as a cyclist, "the man who had made it thanks to the bike," as Rik Vanwalleghem put it no Masselis, no Defraeye [sic], no Mosson, no Mottiat, no van den Berghe, all forbidden to take part by their French bike companies.
However, there were hints of the growing status of the race as a symbol of Flemish nationalism. Marcel Buysse
Marcel Buysse
Marcel Buysse was a Belgian racing cyclist.After finishing fourth in the 1912 Tour de France, Buysse led the general classification for two days until a broken handlebar cost him dearly...
insisted on taking part even though his Alcyon team had ordered Belgian riders not to participate. The race was interrupted by World War I By the 1930s, there were 116 riders and seven times as many cars and motorbikes following them, said Het Nieuwsblad. The historian, Fer Schroeders said:
In the previous years, De Ronde had been above all an affair for Flandrians. For a long time ridden on the same day as Milan – San Remo, the Tour of Flanders had, until 1948, just one sole foreign winner, the Swiss Henri Suter. And so it wasn't until after the Second World War that the race became international, the organiser changing the date to meet the needs of the new Challenge Desgrange-ColomboThe Desgrange-Colombo, named after the organisers of the Tour de France and Giro d'Italia, was cycling's first international season-long points competition. It was succeeded by the Pernod and Super Pernod competitions and eventually by the World Cup. Above all, in an era when travel was difficult, the Desgrange-Colombo couldn't have two qualifying rounds on the same day and so the Ronde van Vlaanderen, as the newer race, changed its date to avoid Milan – San Remo. That said, the Flandrians never stopped thinking that 'their' Ronde was a private affair, giving little chance to the foreign opposition to show itself.
Above all, he said, the northern Belgians came into their own on the repeated hills and recovered quickly after them. He quoted the Walloon writer, Paul Beving, and his tribute to his northern countrymen's race:
La Ronde is as much part of the heritage of the Flemish people as the processions of VeurneVeurneVeurne is a city and municipality in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the town of Veurne proper and the settlements of Avekapelle, Booitshoeke, Bulskamp, De Moeren, Eggewaartskapelle, Houtem, Steenkerke, Vinkem, Wulveringem, and Zoutenaaie.-Origins in the 15th...
and BrugesBrugesBruges is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located in the northwest of the country....
, the festival of cats at YpresThe kattestoet is an Ypres tradition from the Middle AgesMiddle AgesThe Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
in which cats were thrown from the belfryBell towerA bell tower is a tower which contains one or more bells, or which is designed to hold bells, even if it has none. In the European tradition, such a tower most commonly serves as part of a church and contains church bells. When attached to a city hall or other civic building, especially in...
of the Cloth HallCloth Hall, YpresThe Cloth Hall , of Ypres, Belgium, was one of the largest commercial buildings of the Middle Ages, when it served as the main market and warehouse for the Flemish city's prosperous cloth industry. The original structure, erected mainly in the 13th century and completed 1304, lay in ruins after...
, perhaps through the association of cats with witchcraftWitchcraftWitchcraft, in historical, anthropological, religious, and mythological contexts, is the alleged use of supernatural or magical powers. A witch is a practitioner of witchcraft...
. The original kattestoet involved live cats. In this more moderate age, the ceremony is conducted with toy cats. It is usually only a mock witch that is burned afterwards. or the ship blessing at Ostend. This cycle race is the most fabulous of all the Flemish festivals [kermesses]. No other race creates such an atmosphere, such a popular fervour.
Prizes
Prizes for the first race came to 1,100 francs. By 1935 they had grown to 12,500 francs, with 2,500 for the winner down to 125 francs for the 19th place finisher (at a time when a newspaper cost 40 centimes). In 1938 there was a bonus of 100 francs for any rider who led by 30 minutes. Prizes during the war years were whatever the organisers could find, including boxes of razors, a stove, bottles of wine and cycling equipment. There were 100 francs in 1948 "for the last rider to reach EekloEeklo
Eeklo is a Belgian municipality in the Flemish province of East Flanders. The municipality only comprises the city of Eeklo proper. The name Eeklo comes from the contraction of “eke” and “lo”, two Old German words meaning “oak” and “sparse woods”....
. The last four riders in 1949 were given bottles of massage oil.
Conditions for riders
The Ronde, in its first decades, followed the general rule that each individual racer was responsible for their own problems. Help from others was banned and riders carried spare tyres looped round their shoulders to cope with punctures. It could take two or three minutes to change and inflate a tyre, longer it if was cold or there were other problems. Tyres weighed around 500g (compared to currently around 200g). A rim or any other part of the bike that broke spelled the end of the race and still left the rider with the further problem of getting to the finish.Conditions became easier in the 1930s and riders were allowed to accept a rain jacket, a spare tyre and a pump, but only in an emergency and at the referees' discretion. A change of bike was allowed if a frame, wheel or handlebar broke but riders were still expected to ride with spare tyres and a pump. Riders in the 1940s were required to hand their bikes to officials the day before the race to have them identified with a lead seal, later with a ring similar to that fitted to racing pigeons. In that way the referees, or commissaire
Commissaire
Commissaire may refer to:*Commissaire , an official in competitive cycle sport, analogulous to a referee or judge*Commissaire de police, a French police rank...
s could see if a rider had illegally changed bikes.
The Ronde moved towards modern rules in 1951, with riders allowed limited help from team cars and to combine with others from the same team on the road. By 1955 they could accept a replacement bike from a team-mate but not from a car. The rules changed from year to year until they resembled those of today by the end of the 1950s.
Claims of collaboration
Van Wijnendaele's magazine, Sportwereld, merged, in 1939, with Het NieuwsbladHet Nieuwsblad
Het Nieuwsblad is a Belgian newspaper that mainly focusses on "a broad view" regarding politics, culture, economics, lifestyle, society and sports.-Mission statement:...
, a daily newspaper first published in 1918. Sportwereld was turned into the sports section of Het Nieuwsblad and its sister paper, De Standaard
De Standaard
De Standaard is a Flemish daily newspaper published in Belgium by Corelio . Circulation was about 102.280 in 2007. It was traditionally a Christian-Democratic paper, associated with the Christian-Democratic and Flemish Party, and in opposition to the Socialist Flemish daily De Morgen...
. War broke out that year and, in May 1940, German troops occupied Belgium. The government escaped to London and the king, Léopold III, was held under house arrest
House arrest
In justice and law, house arrest is a measure by which a person is confined by the authorities to his or her residence. Travel is usually restricted, if allowed at all...
. Het Nieuwsblad changed its name to Het Algemeen Nieuws-Sportwereld and it continued to organise the Ronde.
The Ronde is the only classic to have been held on German-occupied territory during the Second World War, in agreement with the German command. The Germans, says the writer Gabe Konrad, "not only allowed and enjoyed the race but helped police the route as well." That led to accusations of collaboration. De Standaard and Het Algemeen Nieuws-Sportwereld were sequestered by the state when peace returned and several general journalists, although largely not sports reporters, were punished for collaboration. Van Wijnendaele was forbidden to work as a journalist for the rest of his life, a ban lifted when he produced a letter of support from General Bernard Montgomery, confirming that van Wijnendaele had hidden downed British pilots in his house.
A rival newspaper, Het Volk
Het Volk
Het Volk may refer to:*Het Volk , Flanders, Belgium*Het Volk, also called Omloop Het Volk, a semi-classic one-day bicycle race in Flanders, Belgium, sponsored by the newspaper*Het Volk , Transvaal political party...
started a rival race in 1945, the Omloop van Vlaanderen, in contrast to what it saw as the Ronde's closeness to the Germans. The Ronde's organisers protested that the name was too close to their own - in Dutch there is little difference between ronde and omloop - and the Belgian cycling federation told Het Volk to change their name. That race became the Omloop Het Volk.A consequence of the enforced decision to change the name of the 'upstart' rival race to Omloop Het Volk was that rival papers, including Het Nieuwsblad when it reappeared, were reluctant to mention the name of a rival (Het Volk) when discussing the race. Unable to use the old name, papers called it Ghent-Ghent, a description of its route. What made this odder was that Ghent-Ghent was just what the Ronde van Vlaanderen had been until the end of the war.
Problems of success
Van Wijnendaele could count the spectators at the end of the first Rondes, and the same went for those along the road. By the 1930s things had changed enough that the writer, Stijn Streuvels,Stijn Streuvels, b. Heule, Belgium, 3 October 1871, d. 15 August 1969, was the pen-name of Frank Lateur of the Van Nu en StraksVan Nu en Straks
Van Nu en Straks was a Flemish literary and cultural magazine that was founded in 1893 by August Vermeylen. With a cover designed by Henry van de Velde, this magazine served as a vehicle for a Flemish literary revival and was associated with a heterogeneous group of writers and artists...
(Now and Soon) literary group in Flanders. He and van Wijnendaele became friends. Streuvels wrote when he was 97: "Karel made cycling what it is and the riders what they are." wrote to Sportwereld in 1937 that the Ronde as seen from his house in Ingooigem was "more a procession of cars than of riders." The historian Rik Vanwalleghem speaks of a "wild rodeo" of spectators driving behind the race and seeking short cuts across the course to see the race pass several times. He said the police estimated the crowd for early races at 500,000. They followed the race, overtook it when they could, or stood so thick by the roadside in villages and especially at control points that the riders sometimes had trouble passing.
Van Wijnendaele involved the gendarmerie
Gendarmerie
A gendarmerie or gendarmery is a military force charged with police duties among civilian populations. Members of such a force are typically called "gendarmes". The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary describes a gendarme as "a soldier who is employed on police duties" and a "gendarmery, -erie" as...
in 1933 but to limited effect. The 1937 race was chaotic. On 30 March 1938, van Wijnendaele wrote in Sportwereld:
- To control as far as possible the plague of race-followers and assure the dependable running of our races, we have sent an exceptional request to the roads ministry to have our race followed by several gendarmes on motorbikes... They will have the right to penalise anybody following the race without permission.
The influence of spectators never ended. In 1963, Louis De Lentdecker wrote in Het Nieuwsblad:
- In the last 100km of the race we were in the immediate area of the first riders. We barely saw them: there were so many people along the road and on the road that you had the impression of drowning in a tsunamiTsunamiA tsunami is a series of water waves caused by the displacement of a large volume of a body of water, typically an ocean or a large lake...
[te verdrinken in een orkaan]... In front of me, behind me and beside me I saw cars being driven crazily through orchards, on the sidewalks, along cycle paths, behind spectators, in front of spectators. I felt bumps and bangs on the back of our car. If there were no accidents it was only because our dear Lord and his guardian angels were the best men in the race.
Course
Start and finish
The start was in Ghent until 1976, first from the Korenmarkt, then close to St-Pieters train stationTrain station
A train station, also called a railroad station or railway station and often shortened to just station,"Station" is commonly understood to mean "train station" unless otherwise qualified. This is evident from dictionary entries e.g...
, when riders signed on at the Albert hotel in Clementinlaan. The race was neutralised as far as Mariakerke. A mass
Mass
Mass can be defined as a quantitive measure of the resistance an object has to change in its velocity.In physics, mass commonly refers to any of the following three properties of matter, which have been shown experimentally to be equivalent:...
was held for riders before the start in the 1950s.
The race moved to the market square
Market square
The market square is a feature of many European and colonial towns. It is an open area where market stalls are traditionally set out for trading, commonly on one particular day of the week known as market day....
at Sint-Niklaas
Sint-Niklaas
Sint-Niklaas is a Belgian city and municipality located in the Flemish province of East Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Sint-Niklaas proper and the towns of Belsele, Nieuwkerken-Waas, and Sinaai....
in 1977, mainly because it had more space for the growing number of spectators. Race briefings were held in the town hall. The square was administered by the chief of police, Roger Schepens. By 1988 the start had grown into a two-day affair with a spectacle presented by BRT
BRT
BRT may refer to:* "Be right there" in Internet slang.* Baltic Rubber Trade, Ltd., owner of the BRT trademark.* Bayrak Radyo Televizyon Kurumu is the national public broadcaster of Northern Cyprus....
television the previous night.
The contract with St-Niklaas ended in 1998 and the race moved to Bruges, where the mayor, Patrick Moenaert, saw the move as part of a campaign to bring life to the centre of the city. Bruges, or Brugge as it is known in the north, is a small city dependent on tourists attracted by its history and architecture; Moenaert wanted to make it less dependent on celebrating its past.Bruges' campaign to bring the city to life, and not rely solely on historic tourism, went beyond cycling; in 2000 it attracted the European soccer championship and in 2002 was named the cultural capital
Cultural capital
The term cultural capital refers to non-financial social assets; they may be educational or intellectual, which might promote social mobility beyond economic means....
of Europe for the year. Moenaert said he was delighted by the Ronde, which brought 15,000 people to Bruges, he said, and was broadcast to 16 countries by Eurovision, with an audience estimated at 50 million.
The finish in 1913 was on a track around a lake in Mariakerke (see above). It moved in 1914 to the Deeske Porter velodrome at Evergem where, van Winendaele recounted, "there were a good 20 more spectators than the previous year."
- 1913 GhentGhentGhent is a city and a municipality located in the Flemish region of Belgium. It is the capital and biggest city of the East Flanders province. The city started as a settlement at the confluence of the Rivers Scheldt and Lys and in the Middle Ages became one of the largest and richest cities of...
- MariakerkeMariakerkeMariakerke is a village in the Belgian province of East-Flanders. It is part of the urban area of the province's capital city Ghent. Its population is of 11,883 people .- History :... - 1914 Ghent - EvergemEvergemEvergem is a municipality located in the Belgian province of East Flanders. The municipality comprises the towns of Belzele, Doornzele, Ertvelde, Evergem proper, Kerkbrugge-Langerbrugge, Kluizen, Rieme, Sleidinge and Wippelgem. On January 1, 2006 Evergem had a total population of 32,244...
- 1919-1923 Ghent - GentbruggeGentbruggeGentbrugge is one of 25 districts of the city of Ghent, Belgium in the Flemish Region of Belgium. Gentbrugge together with Oud Gentbrugge had been a separate municipality before January 1, 1977, when it fused with Ghent.- Neighborhoods :...
(Arsenal) - 1924-1927 Ghent - Ghent track
- 1928-1941 Ghent - WetterenWetterenWetteren is a municipality located in the Belgian province of East Flanders. The municipality comprises the towns of Massemen, Westrem and Wetteren proper. On January 1, 2006 Wetteren had a total population of 23,209. The total area is 36.68 km² which gives a population density of 633 inhabitants...
- 1942-1944 Ghent - Ghent track
- 1945-1961 Ghent - Wetteren
- 1962-1972 Ghent - Gentbrugge
- 1973-1976 Ghent - Meerbeke
- 1977-1997 Sint-NiklaasSint-NiklaasSint-Niklaas is a Belgian city and municipality located in the Flemish province of East Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Sint-Niklaas proper and the towns of Belsele, Nieuwkerken-Waas, and Sinaai....
- MeerbekeMeerbekeMeerbeke is a village in the Denderstreek in the province of East Flanders in Belgium. Administratively it is part of the municipality of Ninove. This rural community is located along the Dender River on the western border of what is known as "Pajottenland". With a total surface of 1047ha it is the... - 1998-2011 BrugesBrugesBruges is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located in the northwest of the country....
- Meerbeke
On Sep 16, 2011, it was announced that Oudenaarde
Oudenaarde
Oudenaarde is a Belgian municipality in the Flemish province of East Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Oudenaarde proper and the towns of Bevere, Edelare, Eine, Ename, Heurne, Leupegem, Mater, Melden, Mullem, Nederename, Welden, Volkegem and a part of Ooike.From the 15th to the 18th...
signed a contract to organize the finish for the next two years.
The route
The course has changed considerably. For the first 30 years it was a loop starting and ending in Ghent, although the finish moved every few years.In 1913 the race at first went inland to St-Niklaas before turning a clockwise circle through Aalst, Kortrijk, out to the coast at Ostend and then back to Ghent with a detour to Roeselare. The course stayed the same in 1914 but without the leg to the coast.
In 1919 the direction turned to counter-clockwise, turning south at Brugge. The route extended to the coast in 1920 and stayed that way until 1938, heading out through Eeklo and Brugge to reach the North Sea
North Sea
In the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...
between Ostend and Blankenberge
Blankenberge
Blankenberge is a town and a municipality in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the town of Blankenberge proper and the settlement of Uitkerke.On 1 January 2010 Blankenberge had a total population of 18,907...
. Van Wijnendaele included the coast through his sentimental vision of Flanders.Sentiment for the North Sea as a feature of Belgium is a familiar theme. The Belgian singer Jacques Brel
Jacques Brel
Jacques Brel was a Belgian singer-songwriter who composed and performed literate, thoughtful, and theatrical songs that generated a large, devoted following in France initially, and later throughout the world. He was widely considered a master of the modern chanson...
(8 April 1929 – 9 October 1978) sang of "The Flat Country" in both French and Dutch. In French, the words refer to the vagues (waves) that mark the start of his vague (flat, merging with the sea) Belgium. For van Wijnendaele the North Sea had extra significance because the whole of Belgium's coast is in Flanders. The ride there was often into a strong wind that inhibited attacks but spelled the end for those left behind the shelter of the main field. Turning left at the sea meant the wind blew from the side, producing the diagonal line of riders, each sheltering the other, characteristic of the Ronde and other Belgian races.In English the formation is known as an echelon. Despite that being a French word, the French term is bordure. The Dutch is waaier. Riders spread across the road in a staggered line, the rider most exposed to the wind riding there for a while to shelter the rest before crossing the road to join the other end of the line. In that way every rider takes a share of sheltering the others. There is great competition and often physical force to get into any echelon, but especially the front one in which the main contenders are likely to be riding.
It changed with the outbreak of war because access to the coast was restricted. The wartime route was a circle within the heart of Flanders but the return of peace brought the race back to its pre-War route in 1946. It stayed much the same until 1952, when the ride to the coast was abandoned and the route turned off in Brugge. The stretch to and along the coast came back in 1961 only to disappear again in 1964. From 1973 the race was no longer a loop. It started in Ghent and finished in Meerbeke
Meerbeke
Meerbeke is a village in the Denderstreek in the province of East Flanders in Belgium. Administratively it is part of the municipality of Ninove. This rural community is located along the Dender River on the western border of what is known as "Pajottenland". With a total surface of 1047ha it is the...
, still not taking in the sea. Then Ghent was abandoned in 1977 and the start was moved to the neighbouring city of Sint-Niklaas
Sint-Niklaas
Sint-Niklaas is a Belgian city and municipality located in the Flemish province of East Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Sint-Niklaas proper and the towns of Belsele, Nieuwkerken-Waas, and Sinaai....
. The race now curved only around inland Flanders, going no further west than Eeklo or Roeselare. Only the move of the start to Bruges brought the race back along the North Sea
North Sea
In the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...
, although avoiding almost all the long windy ride to get there. The move from Sint-Niklaas to Bruges brought criticism unrelated to the route change. Until then it had been a tradition that spectators could mix and meet with riders before the start. Fer Schroeder said:
"On the Grote MarktGrote MarktGrote Markt is a common name of a centrally located square in the centre of cities in Flanders and the Netherlands.* Markt...
at St-Niklaas, at the foot of the magnificent town hall, the start of the Ronde was always a privileged moment. The riders came there to sign their papers for the race before happily going to meet their fans, giving autographs, posing for a souvenir photograph with a young admirer. So far as that is concerned, times and customs have changed since 1998 and the five-year agreement with the city of Bruges. Now there are railings to hold back the public from mixing with the riders. The start of the Ronde van Vlaanderen has manifestly lost, in its new configuration, everything that made it charming."
The strategic part of the race comes after it has turned back inland, running just north of the French border. The course goes into the only short, sharp hills in the otherwise flat Flanders countryside. The route twists and turns to ride as many as possible. Some of the hills are cobbled and one - the Koppenberg
Koppenberg
Koppenberg is a high hill in Oudenaarde, the Flemish Ardennes, Belgium...
- has been dropped some years because of its danger and difficulty. It is hard for riders to take all the climb while still riding. A fall by one rider can bring down many others and, in turn, halt those behind. The stopped and fallen often have to continue to the top on foot. In 1984 only two riders - Phil Anderson
Phil Anderson
Philip Grant Anderson OAM is an Australian former professional racing cyclist who was the first non-European to wear the yellow jersey of the Tour de France.-Origins:...
and Jan Raas
Jan Raas
Jan Raas is a Dutch former professional cyclist whose 115 wins include the 1979 World Road Race Championship in Valkenburg, he also won the Ronde van Vlaanderen in 1979 and 1983, Paris–Roubaix in 1982 and Milan – San Remo in 1977. He won ten stages in the Tour de France...
- got up without walking.
The Koppenberg returned in 2003 after its surface was improved. It was then dropped again in 2007, replaced by the Kluisberg and the Côte de Trieu, which had roadworks in previous years, and the first ascent of the Eikenmolen. The Koppenberg came back in 2008 after the city of Oudenaarde renovated it.
Cobbled hills
In post-war Belgium only the intercity roads were smooth. The Ronde had never set out to purposefully use poor roads - cobblestoned roads were all that were available if the race were to be long enough in a geographically small area. Belgium began picking itself up from devastation from the early 1950s and provinces began asphalting roads. But, for a while bad roads existed and the race used them because increasing car traffic made them convenient. But alarms started when the first classic hills were surfaced. Van Wijnendaele could no longer draw a circle round Flanders and call that the course. He had to buy maps of tracks and local footpaths. His staff talked in bars to men who knew the roads. "It was either that or risk the race ending in a mass sprint, and that's the last thing they wanted," said the historian Tom van Laere. Most back roads happened to be in the low hills between RonseRonse
Ronse is a Belgian city and a municipality in the Flemish province of East Flanders. The municipality only comprises the city of Ronse proper.- Early settlements to 14th century :...
and Geraardsbergen
Geraardsbergen
Geraardsbergen is a city and municipality located in the Denderstreek and in the Flemish Ardennes, the hilly southern part of the Belgian province of East Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Geraardsbergen proper and the following towns:...
. The mileage of cobbles decreased but the number of cobbled hills rose.
The short, sharp hills are a defining feature of the Ronde. The race has offered prizes to the first on many of them for more than half a century. There were 500 francs offered in 1940 for the first rider up the Kwaremont, Edelare and Kruisberg. A combined prize for performances on all the hills came in 1950, when Maurits Blomme won bedroom furniture as the best climber. The prize at the top of the Kruisberg in 1953 was a washing machine
Washing machine
A washing machine is a machine designed to wash laundry, such as clothing, towels and sheets...
. The first up the Wall of Geraardsbergen
Muur van Geraardsbergen
The Muur van Geraardsbergen is a steep narrow road with cobblestones located in Geraardsbergen, Belgium. It is also known as Kapelmuur, Muur-Kapelmuur or simply Muur. The hill starts near the river Dender at 18 m and reaches the top of the Oudenberg at 110 m...
won 18,000 francs. In 1950 Fiorenzo Magni
Fiorenzo Magni
Fiorenzo Magni is an Italian former professional road racing cyclist.He was born in Vaiano, province of Prato . He was the "third man" of the golden age of Italian cycling, at the time of the great rivalry between Fausto Coppi and Gino Bartali...
won 30,000 francs in primes during a long breakaway, enough to buy a house.The primes, or intermediate bonuses, were of particular importance until the late 1960s, in an era when few professionals were paid by their team. Their expenses were often paid and they were given a bike but their income, in the absence of winning the race, depended on what they could pick up along the way. The result was that the hills acquired a financial, and consequently a strategic, importance which they have kept ever since.
In 2008, the 17 hills - hellingen in Dutch - were:
| Number | Name | Kilometer | Pavement | Length (in m) | Average climb (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kluisberg | 99 | asphalt | 1250 | 5,3 |
| 2 | Nokereberg | 118 | cobbles | 375 | 5,9 |
| 3 | Molenberg Molenberg Molenberg is a former mining colony in the south-western part of Heerlen, southeastern Netherlands.When work started in 1913 it was called Molenbergpark .... |
157 | cobbles/asphalt | 463 | 7 |
| 4 | Wolvenberg | 167 | asphalt | 645 | 7,9 |
| 5 | Oude Kwaremont Kluisbergen Kluisbergen is a municipality located in the Belgian province of East Flanders. The municipality comprises the towns of Berchem, Kwaremont, Ruien and Zulzeke. On January 1, 2006 Kluisbergen had a total population of 6,161. The total area is 30.38 km² which gives a population density of 203... |
185 | cobbles/asphalt | 2200 | 4 |
| 6 | PaterbergThe Paterberg is a road built expressly for the race. A farmer jealous of a friend who lived beside the Koppenberg and saw the race pass at close quarters built a cobbled road in front of his house. He said in 1984 that he wanted the Ronde to cross his front yard. The road was finished in time for 1986. | 189 | cobbles | 360 | 12,9 |
| 7 | Koppenberg Koppenberg Koppenberg is a high hill in Oudenaarde, the Flemish Ardennes, Belgium... |
195 | cobbles | 600 | 11,6 |
| 8 | Steenbeekdries | 200 | cobbles | 700 | 5,3 |
| 9 | Taaienberg | 203 | cobbles | 530 | 6,6 |
| Number | Name | Kilometer | Pavement | Length (in m) | Average climb (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | Berg Ter Stene | 213 | asphalt | 1300 | 5 |
| 11 | Leberg | 216 | asphalt | 950 | 4,2 |
| 12 | Berendries | 222 | asphalt | 940 | 7 |
| 13 | Valkenberg | 227 | asphalt | 540 | 8,1 |
| 14 | Tenbosse | 233 | asphalt | 455 | 6,4 |
| 15 | Eikenmolen | 239 | asphalt | 610 | 5,9 |
| 16 | Muur-Kapelmuur Muur van Geraardsbergen The Muur van Geraardsbergen is a steep narrow road with cobblestones located in Geraardsbergen, Belgium. It is also known as Kapelmuur, Muur-Kapelmuur or simply Muur. The hill starts near the river Dender at 18 m and reaches the top of the Oudenberg at 110 m... |
249 | cobbles | 475 | 9,3 |
| 17 | Bosberg | 252 | cobbles/asphalt | 980 | 5,8 |
Kluisberg: Buissestraat, Bergstraat, Kluisbergen-Ruien. Climbs 66m from 27m to 93m. Maximum 11 per cent. First climbed 1955
Molenberg: Molenberg, Zwalm. Climbs 32m from 24m to 56m. Maximum 17 per cent. First climbed 1983.
Oude Kwaremont: Broekstraat, Kwaremontplein, Schilderstraat, Kluisbergen. Climbs 93m from 18m to 111m. Maximum 11 per cent. First climbed 1974.
Koppenberg: Steengat, Koppenberg, Oudenaarde-Melden. Climbs 64m from 13m to 77m; Maximum 25 per cent at inside of bend, otherwise 22 per cent. First climbed 1976.
Taaienberg: Taaienberg, Maarkedal-Etikhove. Climbs 45m from 37m to 82m. Maximum 18 per cent. First climbed 1974.
Berg ter Stene: Stene, Horebeke. Climbs 68m from 32m to 100m. Maximum 9 per cent. First climbed 1957
Leberg: Leberg, Brakel-Zegelsem. Climbs 39m from 60m to 9m. Maximum 15 per cent. First climbed 1977
Berendries: Berendries, Brakel-Sint-Maria-Oudenhove. Climbs 65m from 33m to 98m. Maximum 14 per cent. First climbed 1983
Valkenberg: Valkenbergstraat, Brakel-Nederbrakel. Climbs 53m from 45m to 98m. Maximum 15 per cent. First climbed 1959
Muur-Kapelmuur: Abdijstraat, Ouderbergstraat, Oudeberg, Gerardsbergen. Climbs 77m from 33m to 110m. Maximum 20 per cent. First climbed 1950
Bosberg: Kapellestraat, Geraardsbergen-Moerbeke. Climbs 40m from 65m to 105m. Maximum 11 per cent. First climbed 1975.
Tenbosse: Olifantstraat, Brakel. Climbs 28m from 45m to 73m. Maximum 14 per cent. First climbed 1997
Van Petegem Comments
In 2008 the retired Belgian professional, Peter Van PetegemPeter van Petegem
Peter van Petegem is a former professional road racing cyclist. Van Petegem last rode for Quick Step-Innergetic, in 2007. He lived in Horebeke. He was a specialist in spring classics, one of ten riders to win the Ronde van Vlaanderen and Paris–Roubaix in the same season...
, rode some of the course with a journalist and gave his reactions.
The Molenberg: "Everyone wants to sit right at the front at the start of this hill. It's a real battle and then there's one big explosion. Those who don't manage to start the narrow climb smoothly risk getting blocked and having to put their foot down. In my prime, I did this climb three or four times in a row during training. That was the best way to train my legs for the explosion. [But] the Molenberg is only a test. It's far too early in the race to be decisive."
The Oude Kwaremont: "The run-up to this climb is a race within a race. It's nervous, and elbows and shoulders are the order of the day to secure the best spot at the front. You really need to be a nasty bastard to defend and keep your position, but I had no problem with that. I had guts. The Oude Kwaremont is not a climb where you just stretch your legs. It's very important to be in the first two rows in order to get in the right position. If you have to chase from the foot of the Oude Kwaremont, you've lost already."
The Paterberg: Out training, you can avoid the cobbles, but "this wouldn't be possible in the Tour of Flanders, since the gutter would be blocked with fences keeping the fans away from the road."
The Koppenberg: In 2006, "someone got his front wheel stuck in one of the grooves and it caused a chain reaction
Chain reaction
A chain reaction is a sequence of reactions where a reactive product or by-product causes additional reactions to take place. In a chain reaction, positive feedback leads to a self-amplifying chain of events....
. Everyone had to climb on foot! The Koppenberg needed restoring again. They did a great job. The grooves are gone now, but if it rains, riders still have problems. It's incredibly steep and in wet conditions your rear wheel spins easily. Those kinds of hills spice up the race."
The Taaienberg: "I once saw Laurent Jalabert
Laurent Jalabert
Laurent Jalabert is a French former professional road racing cyclist, from 1989 to 2002. Affectionately known as "Jaja" , he won many one-day and stage races and was ranked number 1 in the 1990s...
accelerating hard - really hard - on the Taaienberg. Right then, everyone thought the race was over, because Jalabert was like Superman
Superman
Superman is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in publications by DC Comics, widely considered to be an American cultural icon. Created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian-born American artist Joe Shuster in 1932 while both were living in Cleveland, Ohio, and sold to Detective...
. But on the Berendries, a few hills later, he completely collapsed. If you want to win the Tour of Flanders, you have to be cool, relaxed and attentive. The last thing you should do is throw your powers away too fast, too soon."
The Berg ter Stene replaces the Eikenberg. "It's a pity they've struck the Eikenberg from the course. It's a cobblestone climb and I'm in favour of leaving all those on the route.We don't have so many we should cherish the few we have. I like those kinds of climbs since they make the difference in the closing stages. It's possible for weaker riders to survive on a Tarmac climb, but not on a cobbled one. You get a far more nervous approach to the climb and only the fittest survive on the climb itself. The Berg ter Stene is a Formula One
Formula One
Formula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1 and referred to officially as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" designation in the name refers to a set of rules with which...
track compared to a cobbled hill."
The Leberg: "From the Leberg on, after the 2km cobblestone section of the Haaghoek, you can't afford to be outside the first 10 riders. That's the 200km mark. From that moment on, once you're in Brakel
Brakel
Brakel is a municipality in the Belgian province of East Flanders in the Denderstreek and the Flemish Ardennes. The name is derived from a Carolingian villa Braglo first mentioned in 866 and located in the center of Opbrakel. Since 1970, the municipality has comprised the villages of Nederbrakel,...
you need to be aware that it can happen at any time. This where the best of the race come forward."
1919
Gabe Konrad writes: "The 1919 winner, van Lerberghe, showed up on the line in full racing attire but, for some reason, without a bike. He borrowed one from the brother-in-law of another competitor and, prior to the starting gun, threatened the pack that he was going to drop them all at their own front doors on the way to victory. Van Lerberghe hadn't had, and would never have, an impressive career, and all the cyclists laughed as he pulled away immediately - never to be caught. Just prior to entering the velodrome for the finish, van Lerberghe stopped off at a pub to take in a few beers. His manager, worrying that he would miss a chance at victory, had to track him down and get him back on the bike. After he had crossed the line and done his lap of honourLap of Honour
Lap of Honour is an EP released on January 18, 2005 as a Japan-only release by British rock band Kaiser Chiefs, though it is available for import. The EP mostly consists of b-sides featured on the single releases from their debut album Employment, plus live sessions and an exclusive remix of "Na...
, van Lerberghe stood in front of the crowd and, in all seriousness, told them 'to go home; I'm half a day ahead of the field.'"Ritten van Lerberghe's victory speech was reported in dialect, presumably to reflect his manner of speech, as "Gaat nu ollemoale nar huz weijje. En komt morgen achternoene were, 'k lig nen halven dag vorut." Van Wijnendaele wrote occasionally in dialect and frequently in a distinctive style of Dutch that emphasised his peasant origins and the way the language had developed differently from in the neighbouring Netherlands.
1939
Karel KaersKarel Kaers
Karel Kaers, born in Vosselaar, Belgium, 3 June 1914 – died Antwerp, 20 December 1972 was a professional cyclist with 30 wins. In 1934 he became the youngest world road champion, winning in Leipzig at 20. It was the first time he had ridden the race...
, the youngest man to win the world road championship, also won the Ronde in 1939 - without intending to. For him, it was training for Paris–Roubaix. He drove to the Kwaremont hill near Kluisbergen, parked his car, then rode 40 km to the start in Ghent. His plan was to ride round the course with his usual training partner, stop when he got to his car, then drive home. Knowing he wasn't riding the whole distance, Kaers jumped clear of the field - again as training - and rode up the Kwaremont with a minute's lead. But his car wasn't there. He pressed on instead and won the race. His manager had driven the car away to save Kaers from temptation.
1944
Rik van SteenbergenRik Van Steenbergen
Rik Van Steenbergen was a Belgian racing cyclist, considered to be one of the best among the great number of successful Belgian cyclists.-Early life:...
said: "When I turned pro, I couldn't ride it straight away. There were three categories of rider: road-riders A, road-riders B, and track riders. I was registered with the federation as a track rider. At first they wouldn't let me ride the national championship. But Jean van Buggenhout, the manager, got me reclassified on the Wednesday before the race. I won it and became an 'A' rider. Then I could start the year in the Tour of Flanders. I was 19 and I'll probably stay the youngest person ever to win." Van Steenbergen was in the break when several riders fell on the cinder track to the track in Ghent. Van Steenbergen rode round the fallen and won. Next year he decided not to ride. Van Wijnendaele was offended. But Van Steenbergen had realised why he'd turned pro: to make a living. "I could probably win more money elsewhere," he said. "The Tour of Flanders didn't have the attraction that it does now, especially not internationally."
1946
Van Steenbergen returned in 1946 and won again. He said: "That was one of my best wins ever. I could do whatever I liked, ride better than anyone. In the end I was with Briek Schotte and Enkel Thiétard. They were happy just to follow me. We made an agreement. I said that they could stay with me until we got to Kwatrecht. I wouldn't drop them provided they'd do their best to work with me. They were happy with that. They didn't have a choice. Under the bridge at Kwatrecht I just got rid of them."1951
Fiorenzo Magni, a rare Italian in Belgian classics, won so many intermediate prizes during his long solo flight that they would have bought him a house (see above). He was one of nine to escape the field at IngelmunsterIngelmunster
Ingelmunster is a municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises only the town of Ingelmunster proper. As of January 1, 2006, Ingelmunster had a total population of 10,617. Its total area is 16.16 km²...
. The others cracked one by one until Magni was alone by Strijpen - the point where he made his winning move the previous year. He rode the last 75 km alone to win the Ronde for the third successive year. Magni won by almost eight minutes and the first five finishers were foreigners.
1961
Such a gale blew in 1961 that the banner over the finish line blew down. The British rider Tom SimpsonTom Simpson
Tom Simpson was the most successful English road racing cyclist of the post-war years. He infamously died of exhaustion on the slopes of Mont Ventoux during the 13th stage of the Tour de France in 1967...
was clear with the better-known Italian champion, Nino Defilippis
Nino Defilippis
Nino Defilippis was an Italian road bicycle racer who won the Giro di Lombardia in 1958, as well as nine stages at the Giro d'Italia, seven stages at the Tour de France and two stages at the Vuelta a España...
. Simpson, the weaker sprinter, accelerated for the line with a kilometre to go. It was too far and Defilipis came past him as he weakened. Simpson struggled to stay with him and was delighted when the Italian began freewheeling just before the finish. Defilippis said he didn't know where the finish was because the banner had blown down, but the two riders had already covered two previous laps of the finishing circuit. For the same reason, the Italian protest that the line on the road wasn't clearly marked also failed. Defilippis asked Simpson to agree to a tie, saying no Italian had won a classic since 1953. Simpson said:
1969
Eddy MerckxEddy Merckx
Edouard Louis Joseph, Baron Merckx , better known as Eddy Merckx, is a Belgian former professional cyclist. The French magazine Vélo called him "the most accomplished rider that cycling has ever known." The American publication, VeloNews, called him the greatest and most successful cyclist of all...
dominated world racing in both classics and stage races
Stage (bicycle race)
In sports, a stage, or leg, or heat, is a unit of a race which has been divided in several parts for the reason such as length of the distance to be covered, as in a multi-day event. Usually, such a race consists of "ordinary" stages, but sometimes stages are held as an individual time trial or a...
but couldn't win the Ronde. By 1969 he had not only frustration to contend with but rising resentment of other riders unhappy that he won so many races. He attacked early and half the field never saw him again. The other half was reduced with each successive attack until he got clear alone. The chase was furious but ineffective and Merckx won by more than five and a half minutes over Felice Gimondi
Felice Gimondi
Felice Gimondi is an Italian former professional racing cyclist.With his 1968 victory at the Vuelta a España, only three years after becoming a professional cyclist, Gimondi, nicknamed "The Phoenix", was the second cyclist to win all three Grand Tours of road cycling: Tour de France , Giro...
and more than eight minutes on the rest. The Ronde remained an unhappy race for him; it was another six years before he won again.
1985
Bad weather has often hit the Ronde. In 1985, a storm broke in the second half of the race. The weather was so bad that only 24 made it to the finish. The race historian, Rik Vanwalleghem, said: "It was a legendary Ronde, one which wrote Sport with a capital S. It was as cold as SiberiaSiberia
Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
all day and the rain fell in torrents [regende het pijpenstelen]. Of the 173 starters only 24 were counted in at the finish. In this apocalyptic background Eric Vanderaerden
Eric Vanderaerden
Eric Vanderaerden is a retired road cyclist from the town of Lummen, Belgium.He was a considerable talent, winning the prologue time trial of the Vuelta and the Tour de France in his professional debut year 1983. As for classics, he won the Ronde van Vlaanderen in 1985 and Paris–Roubaix in 1987...
got back to the front after looking beaten to ride 20km at the head of the race alone. Impressive."
1987
The danger of the Ronde's narrow and badly surfaced hills came close to tragedy when the Danish rider, Jesper SkibbyJesper Skibby
Jesper Skibby was born 21 March 1964 in Silkeborg, Denmark. He was a professional rider in road bicycle racing, and one of the most popular in Denmark, not only because of his talent, but also because of his wit and his constant banter...
, lost his balance and fell on to a roadside bank, still strapped into his pedals. Having fallen, a race official's car tried to pass between him and a field of riders. The driver of the car continued moving forward and ran over Skibby's back wheel, narrowly missing his leg. The hill was judged too dangerous and did not return until the surface had been improved in 2002. The race official continued driving to the finish, where he was met by mud, stones and cups thrown by spectators. The incident overshadowed victory by the French-speaking Belgian, Claude Criquielion
Claude Criquielion
Claude Criquielion is a former Belgian professional road bicycle racer who raced between 1979 and 1990. In 1984, Criquielion became the world road race champion in Barcelona, Spain on a gruelling course. He had five top-ten finishes in the Tour de France.Criquielion was well placed to win a medal...
.
Museum
The town of OudenaardeOudenaarde
Oudenaarde is a Belgian municipality in the Flemish province of East Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Oudenaarde proper and the towns of Bevere, Edelare, Eine, Ename, Heurne, Leupegem, Mater, Melden, Mullem, Nederename, Welden, Volkegem and a part of Ooike.From the 15th to the 18th...
, through which the Ronde passes, has a museum - the Centrum Ronde van Vlaanderen - dedicated to the race. The curator is Freddy Maertens
Freddy Maertens
Freddy Maertens is a Belgian former professional racing cyclist and twice World Road Race Champion.- Career :...
.
Comments
- "Only those who are in top condition can say that the Ronde is not hard. For everyone else, it's the Way of the Cross." -Andrea Tafi
- "I told the organisers it wasn't a race but a war game. It's hard to explain what the Koppenberg means to a racing cyclist. Instead of being a race, it's a lottery. Only the first five or six riders have any chance: the rest fall off or scramble up as best they can. What on earth have we done to send us to hell now?" - Bernard HinaultBernard HinaultBernard Hinault is a former French cyclist known for five victories in the Tour de France. He is one of only five cyclists to have won all three Grand Tours, and the only cyclist to have won each more than once. He won the Tour de France in 1978, 1979, 1981, 1982 and 1985...
- "As a Belgian, winning Flanders for the first time is far more important than wearing the maillot jaune in the TourTour de FranceThe Tour de France is an annual bicycle race held in France and nearby countries. First staged in 1903, the race covers more than and lasts three weeks. As the best known and most prestigious of cycling's three "Grand Tours", the Tour de France attracts riders and teams from around the world. The...
" - Johan MuseeuwJohan MuseeuwJohan Museeuw is a retired Belgian professional road bicycle racer. He was a professional from 1988 to 2004 and was particularly successful in the classic cycle races in the nineties....
.
- "Looking back, you get a bit nostalgic, but from a competitive point of view, Flanders was one of the most horrible races to ride but one of the greatest races to win." - Sean KellySeán Kelly (cyclist)John James 'Sean' Kelly is an Irish former professional road bicycle racer. He was one of the most successful road cyclists of the 1980s, and one of the finest classics riders of all time. From turning professional in 1977 until his retirement in 1994, he won nine monument classics, and 193...
- "Many great names of Flemish cycling live on the route of the race. This closeness doesn't exist in any other country. That's what gives our identity." - Nico MattanNico MattanNico Mattan is a Belgian former road racing cyclist. His greatest achievement in cycling was winning the Gent–Wevelgem classic in 2005....
- "These days, you see all the riders, their life is well known. Before, you saw only the last two hours on television. Now, the direct coverage starts before the race has started and the legend that surrounded riders, created in people's imagination, no longer exists. When everything is too realistic, you lose the legend." Marc SergeantMarc SergeantMarc Sergeant is a Belgian former professional road bicycle racer. After Sergeant stopped his cycling career, he became team manager at Silence-Lotto.- Palmarès :19811982...
Tour of Flanders for Women
Meerbeke
Meerbeke is a village in the Denderstreek in the province of East Flanders in Belgium. Administratively it is part of the municipality of Ninove. This rural community is located along the Dender River on the western border of what is known as "Pajottenland". With a total surface of 1047ha it is the...
. In 2008, the race featured three long flat cobbled sections: Paddestraat (2400m), Mater-Kerkgate (3000m) and Haaghoek (2000m), and 10 hills including the Molenberg, Eikenmolen, Muur-Kapelmuur and Bosberg.
Winners
Victories per country
| # | Country | Victories |
|---|---|---|
| 1. |  Belgium |
67 |
| 2. |  Italy |
10 |
| 3. |  Netherlands |
9 |
| 4. |  Early Modern France |
3 |
| 5. |  Germany |
2 |
| 5. |  Switzerland |
2 |
| 7. |  United Kingdom |
1 |
| 7. |  Denmark |
1 |
Winners of Ronde van Vlaanderen and Paris–Roubaix in the same year
| Rider | Country | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Henri Suter | 1923 | |
| Romain Gijssels Romain Gijssels Romain Gijssels was a Belgian professional road bicycle racer between 1930 and 1936.In 1932, Gijssels won both the Ronde van Vlaanderen and Paris–Roubaix in the same season, which has only been accomplished by nine riders.- Major achievements :1931Romain Gijssels Romain Gijssels (Denderwindeke,... |
1932 | |
| Gaston Rebry Gaston Rebry Gaston Rebry was a Belgian former champion road racing cyclist between 1928 and 1935.... |
1934 | |
| Raymond Impanis Raymond Impanis Raymond Impanis was a Belgian professional cyclist from 1947 to 1963. He won Paris–Roubaix, the Ronde van Vlaanderen, Gent–Wevelgem and three stages in Tour de France. He has been made an honorary citizen of the town of Kampenhout.Impanis died on 31 December 2010, aged 85, following a long... |
1954 | |
| Fred De Bruyne Fred De Bruyne Alfred De Bruyne was a Belgian champion cyclist.He won Milan – San Remo and Liège–Bastogne–Liège in 1956, the Ronde van Vlaanderen, Paris–Roubaix and Paris–Tours in 1957, and again Liège–Bastogne–Liège in 1958 and 1959.... |
1957 | |
| Rik Van Looy Rik Van Looy Henri van Looy is a Belgian former professional cyclist of the post-war period, nicknamed the King of the Classics or Emperor of Herentals... |
1962 | |
| Roger De Vlaeminck Roger De Vlaeminck Roger De Vlaeminck is a Belgian former professional racing cyclist. He was described by Rik Van Looy as '"The most talented and the only real classics rider of his generation"... |
1977 | |
| Peter van Petegem Peter van Petegem Peter van Petegem is a former professional road racing cyclist. Van Petegem last rode for Quick Step-Innergetic, in 2007. He lived in Horebeke. He was a specialist in spring classics, one of ten riders to win the Ronde van Vlaanderen and Paris–Roubaix in the same season... |
2003 | |
| Tom Boonen Tom Boonen Tom Boonen is a Belgian professional road bicycle racer who won the 2005 World Road Race Championship. He is a member of the team, and is considered a single-day road race specialist with a strong finishing sprint... |
2005 | |
| Fabian Cancellara Fabian Cancellara Fabian Cancellara is a Swiss professional road bicycle racer for UCI ProTeam . A time trial specialist, he is a four-time World Time Trial Champion and is the current Olympic gold medalist... |
2010 |
Records
- The fastest Tour of Flanders was in 2001, won by Italian Gianluca BortolamiGianluca BortolamiGianluca Bortolami is an Italian former professional road racing cyclist. Bortolami's greatest feats was capturing the monumental classic Ronde van Vlaanderen in 2001 and winning the 1994 UCI Road World Cup season championship....
: 43.6 km/h. - Four men share the record for victories, with three each: Italian Fiorenzo MagniFiorenzo MagniFiorenzo Magni is an Italian former professional road racing cyclist.He was born in Vaiano, province of Prato . He was the "third man" of the golden age of Italian cycling, at the time of the great rivalry between Fausto Coppi and Gino Bartali...
and three Belgians: Achiel Buysse, won three times in the 1940s, Eric LemanEric LemanEric Leman is a former professional road racing cyclist from Belgium. He won the prestigious Ronde van Vlaanderen three times.- Major achievements :1968...
, won at the beginning of the 1970s and, more recently, Johan MuseeuwJohan MuseeuwJohan Museeuw is a retired Belgian professional road bicycle racer. He was a professional from 1988 to 2004 and was particularly successful in the classic cycle races in the nineties....
won the race in 1993, 1995 and 1998. - The nation with most victories is Belgium (65).
- Only six riders have won two years in a row.
- The oldest winner was Andrei TchmilAndrei TchmilAndrei Tchmil is a retired professional road bicycle racer. His family moved to Ukraine during the days of the Soviet Union. He started cycling and showed enough talent to be moved to a cycling school in Moldova...
in 2000 at 37 years 2 months and 11 days.