Tour of Flanders

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22px-Flag of Belgium (civil).png Achiel Buysse, 3dflagsdotcom italy2bs.gif Fiorenzo Magni,22px-Flag of Belgium (civil).png Eric Leman, 22px-Flag of Belgium (civil).png Johan Museeuw
Tour of Flanders
Local name:Ronde van Vlaanderen
Region:Flanders, Belgium
Date:Early April
Type:One-day race
colspan="2" bgcolor=darkred>History
First Edition:1913
Number of Editions:89
Firstwinner:22px-Flag of Belgium (civil).png Paul Deman
Mostwins: 3 times:
Mostrecent:3dflagsdotcom italy2bs.gif Alessandro Ballan


The Ronde van Vlaanderen (English: Tour of Flanders) is a road cycling race held in Flanders, Belgium. It is held every spring, exactly one week before Paris-Roubaix, and it used to be part of the UCI Road World Cup. It is now part of the UCI ProTour and is regarded as one of the 'Monuments' of the European professional cycling calendar.

History

File:Wesemann rvv2004.jpg
German road racer Steffen Wesemann climbing the Muur (wall) of Geraardsbergen in the 2004 edition of the Ronde van Vlaanderen.

The race was initiated in 1913 by Karel van Wijnendaele, a former cyclist. Initially not a big success, the race was interrupted by World War I, but continued in 1919. In the 1920s and 1930s, the race became more popular, and is currently considered the most important race in Flanders, where road cycling is extremely popular. The nickname of the race is Vlaanderens mooiste, or "Flanders's finest". The town of Oudenaarde, through which the Ronde habitually passes, has a museum - the Centrum Ronde van Vlaanderen - dedicated to the race.

Course

The course contains many steep hills, often paved with cobblestones. While it is often compared to the Paris-Roubaix race in that both contain many cobbled sections, the Ronde's inclusion of many steep, and often cobbled, short hills make racing different compared to the flat Paris-Roubaix, where cobbled sections are harder and more technical.

The route does not change much from year-to-year. A major change was the inclusion of the steep Koppenberg climb in 2003, having been refurbished from its previous disrepair. The 2007 edition saw another change with the Koppenberg being dropped once more, the inclusion of the Kluisberg and the Côte de Trieu, which were unavailable through roadworks in past years and the first ascent of the Eikenmolen. Spectators try to watch the Ronde pass as many points as possible [1].

Comments

Belgian cyclist Roger De Vlaeminck riding the Koppenberg in the Ronde van Vlaanderen. De Vlaeminck won the Ronde van Vlaanderen in 1977.
  • "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

Few riders have won both the Ronde van Vlaanderen and Paris-Roubaix in the same year:

  1. 1923 Heiri Suter 17px-Flag of Switzerland.png
  2. 1932 Romain Gijssels 22px-Flag of Belgium (civil).png
  3. 1934 Gaston Rebry 22px-Flag of Belgium (civil).png
  4. 1954 Raymond Impanis 22px-Flag of Belgium (civil).png
  5. 1957 Fred De Bruyne 22px-Flag of Belgium (civil).png
  6. 1962 Rik van Looy 22px-Flag of Belgium (civil).png
  7. 1977 Roger De Vlaeminck 22px-Flag of Belgium (civil).png
  8. 2003 Peter van Petegem 22px-Flag of Belgium (civil).png
  9. 2005 Tom Boonen 22px-Flag of Belgium (civil).png

The day before the race sees the cyclosportive (open) race version of the Ronde in which amateur cyclists participate in large numbers.

Winners

Rider Team
1913 Template:Country data BEL Paul Deman
1914 Template:Country data BEL Marcel Buysse
1915 No race
1916 No race
1917 No race
1918 No race
1919 Template:Country data BEL Henri van Lerberghe
1920 Template:Country data BEL Jules van Hevel
1921 Template:Country data BEL René Vermandel
1922 Template:Country data BEL Léon De Vos
1923 Template:Country data SUI Heiri Suter
1924 Template:Country data BEL Gérard Debaets
1925 Template:Country data BEL Julien Delbecque
1926 Template:Country data BEL Denis Verschueren
1927 Template:Country data BEL Gérard Debaets
1928 Template:Country data BEL Jan Mertens
1929 Template:Country data BEL Jef Dervaes
1930 Template:Country data BEL Frans Bonduel
1931 Template:Country data BEL Romain Gijssels
1932 Template:Country data BEL Romain Gijssels
1933 Template:Country data BEL Alfons Schepers
1934 Template:Country data BEL Gaston Rebry
1935 Template:Country data BEL Louis Duerloo
1936 Template:Country data BEL Louis Hardiquest
1937 Template:Country data BEL Michel D'Hooghe
1938 Template:Country data BEL Edgard de Caluwé
1939 Template:Country data BEL Karel Kaers
1940 Template:Country data BEL Achiel Buysse
1941 Template:Country data BEL Achiel Buysse
1942 Template:Country data BEL Briek Schotte
1943 Template:Country data BEL Achiel Buysse
1944 Template:Country data BEL Rik van Steenbergen
1945 Template:Country data BEL Sylvain Grysolle
1946 Template:Country data BEL Rik van Steenbergen
1947 Template:Country data BEL Emiel Faignaert
1948 Template:Country data BEL Briek Schotte
1949 Template:Country data ITA Fiorenzo Magni
1950 Template:Country data ITA Fiorenzo Magni
1951 Template:Country data ITA Fiorenzo Magni
1952 Template:Country data BEL Roger Decock
1953 Template:Country data NED Wim van Est
1954 Template:Country data BEL Raymond Impanis
1955 Template:Country data FRA Louison Bobet
1956 Template:Country data FRA Jean Forestier
1957 Template:Country data BEL Fred De Bruyne
1958 Template:Country data BEL Germain Derijcke
1959 Template:Country data BEL Rik van Looy
1960 Template:Country data BEL Arthur De Cabooter
Rider Team
1961 Template:Country data GBR Tom Simpson
1962 Template:Country data BEL Rik van Looy
1963 Template:Country data FRA Noel Foré
1964 Template:Country data GER Rudi Altig
1965 Template:Country data NED Jo De Roo Template:Country data NED Televizier
1966 Template:Country data BEL Edward Sels Template:Country data BEL Solo Superia
1967 Template:Country data ITA Dino Zandegu Template:Country data ITA Salvarani
1968 Template:Country data BEL Walter Godefroot Template:Country data BEL Flandria
1969 Template:Country data BEL Eddy Merckx Template:Country data BEL Faema
1970 Template:Country data BEL Eric Leman Template:Country data BEL Flandria-Mars
1971 Template:Country data NED Evert Dolman Template:Country data BEL Flandria
1972 Template:Country data BEL Eric Leman Template:Country data FRA Bic
1973 Template:Country data BEL Eric Leman Template:Country data FRA Peugeot (cycling team)
1974 Template:Country data NED Kees Bal Template:Country data FRA Gan Mercier
1975 Template:Country data BEL Eddy Merckx Template:Country data ITA Molteni
1976 Template:Country data BEL Walter Planckaert Template:Country data BEL Mars Pils
1977 Template:Country data BEL Roger De Vlaeminck Template:Country data BEL Brooklyn
1978 Template:Country data BEL Walter Godefroot Template:Country data BEL Ijsboerke
1979 Template:Country data NED Jan Raas Template:Country data NED TI Raleigh
1980 Template:Country data BEL Michel Pollentier Template:Country data BEL Splendor Admiral
1981 Template:Country data NED Hennie Kuiper Template:Country data BEL DAF Trucks
1982 Template:Country data BEL René Martens Template:Country data BEL DAF Trucks
1983 Template:Country data NED Jan Raas Template:Country data NED TI Raleigh
1984 Template:Country data NED Johan Lammerts Template:Country data NED Panasonic Raleigh
1985 Template:Country data BEL Eric Vanderaerden Template:Country data NED Panasonic-Raleigh
1986 Template:Country data NED Adri van der Poel Template:Country data NED Kwantum
1987 Template:Country data BEL Claude Criquielion Template:Country data BEL Hitachi Marc Rossin
1988 Template:Country data BEL Eddy Planckaert Template:Country data BEL AD Renting
1989 Template:Country data BEL Edwig van Hooydonck Template:Country data NED Superconflex
1990 Template:Country data ITA Moreno Argentin Template:Country data ITA Ariostea
1991 Template:Country data BEL Edwig van Hooydonck Template:Country data NED Buckler Colnago
1992 Template:Country data FRA Jacky Durand Template:Country data FRA Castorama
1993 Template:Country data BEL Johan Museeuw Template:Country data ITA GB-MG
1994 Template:Country data ITA Gianni Bugno Template:Country data ITA Team Polti
1995 Template:Country data BEL Johan Museeuw Template:Country data ITA Mapei (cycling team)
1996 Template:Country data ITA Michele Bartoli Template:Country data ITA MG Maglifico
1997 Template:Country data DEN Rolf Sørensen Template:Country data NED Rabobank
1998 Template:Country data BEL Johan Museeuw Template:Country data ITA Mapei (cycling team)
1999 Template:Country data BEL Peter van Petegem Template:Country data NED TVM Farm Frites
2000 Template:Country data BEL Andrei Tchmil Template:Country data BEL Lotto-Adecco
2001 Template:Country data ITA Gianluca Bortolami Template:Country data ITA Vini Caldirola
2002 Template:Country data ITA Andrea Tafi Template:Country data ITA Mapei (cycling team)
2003 Template:Country data BEL Peter van Petegem Template:Country data BEL Lotto-Domo
2004 Template:Country data GER Steffen Wesemann Template:Country data GER T-Mobile Team
2005 Template:Country data BEL Tom Boonen Template:Country data BEL Quick Step
2006 Template:Country data BEL Tom Boonen Template:Country data BEL Quick Step-Innergetic
2007 Template:Country data ITA Alessandro Ballan Template:Country data ITA Lampre-Fondital

External links


UCI ProTour

2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008

Tour Down Under | Ronde van Vlaanderen | Vuelta al País Vasco | Gent-Wevelgem | Amstel Gold Race | Tour de Romandie | Volta a Catalunya | Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré | Tour de Suisse | Eindhoven TTT | Clásica de San Sebastián | Eneco Tour of Benelux | GP Ouest-France | Deutschland Tour | Vattenfall Cyclassics | Tour de Pologne