History

The biggest Belgian classic takes place again on Sunday: the Tour of Flanders! In this one-day cycling race, all the great riders are present at the starting line to give the best of themselves. 

The Flemish classic Gent-Wevelgem has a rich cycling history that starts in 1934. At that time the race was only held for the amateurs and between 1936 and 1939 for the independents, but in 1945 (after an interruption during the war) it was transformed into a major event for the pros.

At 4 p.m. on Saturday, 19 March 1977, a large crowd at the finish line on the Via Roma in San Remo watched in amazement how the little-known Dutchman Jan Raas stole the day's headlines.

This Sunday (6 March) Paris-Nice starts again and therefore we are looking back on the cyclists who achieved the best performances in this race. The very first edition of Paris-Nice, aka the Race to the Sun, took place in 1933.

The Dutchman Cees Haast took his first steps in the cycling world in his home village Rijsbergen. Some years later, in '63, his professional cycling career took off.  He had an incredible desire to attack and therefore quickly became a public favourite. 

It was 1966 when Eric De Vlaeminck became the first Belgian ever to win the cyclocross world championship in Beasain, Spain. This victory immediately earned him the National Trophy for Sports Merit.