Tour of Flanders / Ronde Van Vlaanderen

Karel Van Wijnendaele is to Belgium as Henri Desgrange is to the Tour and France. During 1912 when he assisted in the creation of the newspaper “Sportwereld” he followed Desgrange's example and organised a cycle race to promote his publication. The first “Ronde” in 1913 followed the tradition of the times and covered 330kms over some of the worst roads imaginable. As a proud and patriotic Flandrian, Van Wijnendaele had his race pass through the ancient cities of Gent and Brugge and also traverse the heart of Flanders and passing along the Belgian coast. A formula that has been followed ever since. The first race saw only 10 riders (out of 37 starters) finish. This was less than a spectacular success and the new race seemed doomed to failure. Like everything else at that time the race had to wait until after the 1914 edition while the world plunged into WWI. Following the Great War the ‘Ronde' continued to struggle until it eventually took root with the fans to grow into the hallowed event that it is today. It was only through the perseverance of Van Wijnendaele that the race survived. But Van Wijnendaele's focus was much more than the ‘Ronde' and his considerable efforts encompassed all of Belgium 's racing scene and today he is recognised as the “father” of Belgian racing.

This year (2008) there are 18 ‘categorised' cobbled climbs (known as bergs). Unlike the Tour these ‘bergs' are not measured for their steepness and length but more for their sheer terror as climbs which are relatively short (by Tour Standards) but guaranteed to destroy all but the greatest champions. Keeping upright and maintaining traction can often be a major challenge, especially when the legendary foul Flandrian weather descends with wind, rain, and cold. All of Belgium comes to a stop on ‘Ronde' day for this race is considered more important than the World Championships or the Tour. Most of the road side fans will pack the bergs which have assumed mythical proportions with names (like Oude Kwaremont and Muur van Geraardsbergen) that are familiar to any cycle racing fan.

As the statistics show, Belgian riders have totally dominated this great classic. To win it turns a rider into a national hero for life and almost every race becomes an epic struggle for victory. Three Belgians and one Italian hold the record for most wins (three each); Achiel Buysse during the 1940's, Fiorenzo Magni during the '50's, Eric Leman during the '70's and Johann Museeuw during the '90's. Of these Magni is the only rider to have won three Ronde's in a row.

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