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By Barry Boyce,
CyclingRevealed Historian |
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Deloor beats the Black Eagle
The 28th edition of Liege-Bastogne-Liege was held on May 11, 1938.
The prestige of Liege-Bastogne-Liege continued to grow! A substantial number of great Belgian champions came to Liege in 1938. Marcel "Black Eagle" Kint (Mercier), Romain Maes (Mercier), Sylvan Maes (Alcyon), Felicien Vervaecke (Labor), and Gustave Deloor (De Dion), were prominent on the start list.
A fast-paced race split the peloton. Alfons Deloor (Helyett) racing with his younger brother Gustave (1935 Vuelta a Espana champion and runner-up in L-B-L 1937), missed the 11-rider breakaway. The group led by Marcel Kint opened a solid gap on the Deloor brothers.
After a furious chase the elder Deloor caught the leaders in the closing kilometers. On the final straight in Liege, Alfons launched a race winning sprint, coming past superior sprinter Marcel Kint, for the 1938 Liege-Bastogne-Liege victory.
SPECIAL NOTE: Sadly, the outbreak of World War 2 ended Alfons Deloor’s cycling career. After the war he became a crane operator, working mainly on building recovery and maintaining “dykes”.
L-B-L May 11, 1938 |
211 Km, Liege-Bastogne-Liege
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1.
Alfons DELOOR (Bel) 5h41'41" |
2.
Marcel Kint (Bel) |
3.
Felicien Vervaecke (Bel) |
Starters: 105 / Finishers: 50  Ave Speed: 37.051 km/h |
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L-B-L 1939
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