1st Ronde van Vlaanderen 1913 / Tour of Flanders (Belgium)

A Belgian Monument is Born

The first ever Ronde van Vlaanderen (Tour of Flanders) was the last of cycling's “5 Monuments” to get its start. Léon van den Haute, co-founder of the sports newspaper Sportwereld, was the architect and promoter of the first Ronde van Vlaanderen in 1913. The legendary Karel Van Wijnendaele (Vine-en-doll), a Flemish Sports Journalist for the Sportwereld, was appointed the first race director.

Karel Van Wijnendaele and Leon van den Haute in the first edition of Sportwereld of Sept 13, 1912.

As a promotion for their newly founded newspaper, Van den Haute and Van Wijnendaele developed a “Flemish” race on a model of the well-established Paris-Roubaix. February 17, 1913, they announced in Sportwereld the creation of the Ronde van Vlaanderen (Tour of Flanders).

Tour of Flanders 1913 Race Route.

The race started at the Korenmarkt Square in the center of Gent and headed out on a big loop around Flanders. The ended 324 km later at the velodrome in Mariakerke (on the outskirts of Gent).

Flanders Finish Line at Mariakerke Velodrome.

SPECIAL NOTE: the total distance of 324 kilometers (201.3 miles) is the Ronde's longest edition ever. There were no categorized climbs in the first Ronde.

To keep the historic and cultural identity of Belgium, Van Wijnendaele took special note to include most of the major cities of Flanders on the race route.

SPECIAL NOTE: The first race started in the city of Gent, headed eastward to Sint Niklaas, before making a clockwise loop through Aalst, Oudenaarde, Kortrijk to Veurne. Once on the North Sea coast the course followed the shore north to Ostend, before heading east to Roeselare, then turning back toward Gent. The finish (4 laps of the track) was at the “wooden track” velodrome in Mariakerke.

The prize list of 1,600 Francs was large by the monetary standards of the times, where a teacher was paid 1,200 Francs for a year's work.

Flanders 1913

The first edition of the Ronde van Vlaanderen raced 324 km around Flanders. After more than 12 hours seven riders came back to Gent for the sprint.

In the transition to the velodrome Jan van Ingelghem (Peugeot-Wolber) and Achille Depauw (La Francaise-Diamant) collided and crashed. Five riders managed to avoid the mishap and jumped down the track to contest the sprint. Automoto-Continental’s Paul Deman (in 12h03'10") led out the sprint and won the epic battle for the victory.

Paul Deman becomes the first winner of the Ronde van Vlaanderen.

RVV 1914

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