History

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. 

When Miguel Indurain was young, he played football and participated in athletics, but cycling did not catch his attention. When he was 12 years old, this changed: he participated in a cycle race for the first time and immediately fell in love with the sport. 

Roger de Vlaeminck was one of the few riders who could challenge Eddy Merckx at the peak of his career. This was reflected in the results he achieved during his professional cycling career. Alongside Eddy Merckx and Rik van Looy, he was one of the only riders to win all five cycling classics.

In 1939, the team leaders of the Legano cycling team, where Gino Bartali was the front man, saw a new talent emerging, called Fausto Coppi. From the beginning, Coppi was very assertive and self-confident, which most 'servants' would not dare to show. Bartali and Coppi were opposites in all aspects.