History

Last week the 108th edition of the Tour de France came to an end. An exciting Tour and one of the most memorable moments was the performance of Mark Cavendish. "Cav' equalled Eddy Merckx's stage record! With a shared record of 34 stage victories at the Tour de France, this may well be the last year that Merckx can enjoy his title. That's why we think it's once again about time to reflect on the Tour victories of this cycling legend!

Last Saturday, the Tour de France started again. And of course, many memories about this beautiful Tour emerge. And Gerben Karstens is a name that quickly comes to mind. He won six Tour stages in the 60s and 70s and wore the yellow jersey for two days. Karstens was a striking figure because of the funny pranks he pulled throughout his career... no wonder he had the nickname 'The Clown'! 🤡

Liège-Bastogne-Liège, known as La Doyenne among true cycling fans, is a cycling race that has been held since 1892. For a long time, this race has been considered the oldest cycling classic in Belgium. There have been many great victories at this race, such as 5 titles by the Cannibal. But still, one edition in particular remains very special...

This Sunday, it is finally time for the biggest Dutch cycling classic: the Amstel Gold Race. This one-day race was founded in 1966 by the two former team managers Ton Vissers and Herman Krott. The current record holder of this classic is, as many of you already know, Jan Raas, with no less than 5 victories. It is therefore not surprising that the Amstel Gold Race is often called the Amstel Gold Raas.

Since the Tour of Flanders took place last weekend, it's about time we look back at this beautiful race. Because although we know that many people think of the Cannibal, van Looy or Raas, there are many other successful riders who have won this race several times. And one of them is Eric Leman. Want to know more about him? Then feel free to read this blog.

The leader of the mountain classification in the Tour de France has worn the polka dot jersey since 1975. The first to wear it was the 'Little one of Mere', Lucien van Impe. Lucien's house must have been filled with these somewhat clownish jerseys because he won the mountain classification in the Tour de France no less than seven times. This story may sound familiar to you, but do you know where this polka dot jersey originally came from?