The Ronde Van Vlaanderen, with its arrival in the beautiful city of Oudenaarde is the most important race of the cycling season for Flemish people and it is therefore the day on which a large Volksfeest is organized because that is the Tour of Flanders. On Sunday you can follow the race along the course or on one of the giant screens placed at many places along the course. This with the necessary pints of beer of course.
A lot has already been written about the Tour of Flanders and we try to describe the most important facts and facts below. If you want to know more fun anecdotes about the Tour of Flanders, I recommend the book 100 x De Ronde van Rik Vanwalleghem (in Dutch)
Some facts about the Ronde Van Vlaanderen
Cycling monument: The Tour of Flanders, together with Milan Sanremo, Paris Roubaix, Liège Bastogne Liège and the Tour of Lombardy, is part of the 5 cycling monuments.
1913: the first time that De Ronde Van Vlaanderen was organized by the newspaper Sportwereld with the Belgian Pol Deman as the winner. The first years it was mainly a Belgian race because the Tour was organized the same day as Milan Sanremo, with the best Italian and French riders choosing the latter who had already built up a reputation by then.
Karel Van Wijnendaele or Leon Van den Haute: It is still unclear who organized the Tour of Flanders for the first time, but it is certain that Karel Van Wijnendaele has brought the race its international fame.
3 victories: Achiel Buysse, Fiorenzo Magni, Eric Leman, Johan Museeuw, Tom Boonen and Fabian Cancellara each won De Ronde 3 times. Fiorenzo Magni even did that 3 times in a row. No Eddy Merckx so this time with the record holders.
Win in the jersey of world champion: 5 cyclists won the Tour of Flanders in the jersey of world champion: Louison Bobet (1955), Rik Van Looy (1962), Eddy Merckx (1975), Tom Boonen (2006) and Peter Sagan (2016)
Rik Van Steenbergen: Rik I was the youngest ever winner, in 1944 he was barely 19 years old
Andrei Tchmil: was the oldest winner in 2000 when he was already 37 years old
The magic number 9: strangely enough, a lot of riders who won the Tour on a year ending with a 9 have won the Tour twice. This has been the case since 1949. Wondering if Alberto Bettiol, the 2019 winner, will also be included in this list.
- 1949: Fiorenzo Magni
- 1959: Rik Van Looy
- 1969: Eddy Merckx
- 1979: Jan Raas
- 1989: Edwig Van Hooydonck
- 1999: Peter Van Petegem
- 2009: Stijn Devolder
69 Belgium victories: the Belgians lead the list with the most victories: 69 times, followed by the Italians with 11 and the Dutch with 12
Vlaamse Ardennen: the most important part of De Ronde takes place in the Vlaamse Ardennen where you have the most important climbs: the Koppenberg, and Paterberg, the Taaienberg, the Berendries, the Bosberg, the Oude Kwaremont, etc.
Koppenberg: the Koppenberg is one of the most difficult walls of De Ronde and has caused a lot of controversy in the past. Just think of The Tour of 1987 when Jesper Skibby fell over during the climb and the support vehicle continued on the bicycle, which wasn't appreciated by the audience present. Watch the fragment below
For that reason, the Koppenberg was left out of the course for several years because it was too dangerous. In humid weather, the cobblestones are very slippery with many falls as a result, although this has improved considerably in recent years, mainly due to the development of the gear range. In the past, the riders had to conquer the steep climb (up to 23%) mainly on strength, now this is more on flexibility.
1975: Eddy Merckx won this edition in a grand way. He attacked more than 100km from the finish and only 1 rider could follow: Frans Verbeeck. His words at the arrival have become legendary: “It is unbelievable Fred how Eddy drives. You cannot say that. Gosh, I suffered so much. You must say it as it is… He drives five miles per hour too fast for us. I do not know what that is. He drives once as fast as last year. "
Watch the fragment here below
1977: Roger De Vlaeminck won the 1977 edition when he escaped together with Freddy Maertens, but the latter was disqualified during the race because he had made a non-regulatory bicycle change during the race. On arrival De Vlaeminck was greeted with boos because he would have stolen the victory.
2001: was the fastest Ronde ever driven with an average speed of 43,580 km / h. The winner was the Italian Gianluca Bortolami
2012: in 2012, a major course change was implemented, whereby the arrival from Meerbeke was moved to Oudenaarde. The most important change is that the race ends with 3 local rounds around Oudenaarde, each time climbing the Oude Kwaremont and the Paterberg.
2017: was the last time that a Belgian won the match, namely Philippe Gilbert
2018: Niki Terpstra was the last Dutch winner in 2018. That has changed since 2020 with Mathieu van der Poel's victory, 34 years after his father's victory. In 2022, Mathieu added another victory.
The Tour de France and the Ronde van Vlaanderen: only 3 riders have ever won both the Ronde van Vlaanderen and the Tour de France: Louison Bobet, Eddy Merckx and, more recently, Tadej Pogacar.
Ronde Van Vlaanderen for women: since 2004, a Tour for women has also been organised. The 1st winner was Kazakh Zoelfia Zabirova, record holder with 2 victories are the Dutch Mirjam Melchers – Van Poppel, Annemiek Van Vleuten, the German Judith Arndt and the Belgian Lotte Kopecky.
Village of De Ronde: since 2000, a village has been chosen as Village of De Ronde in which a person who has been important for the Ronde is honored. Numerous festivities are organized in this village. Some examples:
- 2000: Ingelmunster – Eric Leman
- 2010: Desselgem – Briek Schotte
- 2015: Zwevegem – Marcel Kint
Virtual edition of The Tour of Flanders: Due to the Corona pandemic, a virtual Tour was organized on April 5, 2020 in which the participants covered the last 32km from their home on the rollers. There were 13 participants and Greg Van Avermaet was victorious. The real Ronde only took place on Sunday October 18 without an audience and the usual street feast.
Ronde Van Vlaanderen winners list
Finally, below you will find the list with all winners from 1913 for the men and from 2004 for the women
Winners men
| 1913 | Pol Deman | 1957 | Fred De Bruyne | 2001 | Gianluca Bortolami |
| 1914 | Marcel Buysse | 1958 | Germain Derycke | 2002 | Andrea Tafi |
| 1915 | not organised because of World War I | 1959 | Rik Van Looy | 2003 | Peter Van Petegem |
| 1916 | not organised because of World War I | 1960 | Arthur Decabooter | 2004 | Steffen Wesemann |
| 1917 | not organised because of World War I | 1961 | Tom Simpson | 2005 | Tom Boonen |
| 1918 | not organised because of World War I | 1962 | Rik Van Looy | 2006 | Tom Boonen |
| 1919 | Henri Vanlerberghe | 1963 | Noel Foré | 2007 | Alessandro Ballan |
| 1920 | Jules Vanhevel | 1964 | Rudi Altig | 2008 | Stijn Devolder |
| 1921 | René Vermandel | 1965 | Jo de Roo | 2009 | Stijn Devolder |
| 1922 | Leon Devos | 1966 | Ward Sels | 2010 | Fabian Cancellara |
| 1923 | Heiri Suter | 1967 | Dino Zandegu | 2011 | Nick Nuyens |
| 1924 | Gerard Debaets | 1968 | Walter Godefroot | 2012 | Tom Boonen |
| 1925 | Julien Delbecque | 1969 | Eddy Merckx | 2013 | Fabian Cancellara |
| 1926 | Denis Verschueren | 1970 | Eric Leman | 2014 | Fabian Cancellara |
| 1927 | Gerard Debaets | 1971 | Evert Dolman | 2015 | Alexander Kristoff |
| 1928 | Jan Mertens | 1972 | Eric Leman | 2016 | Peter Sagan |
| 1929 | Jef Dervaes | 1973 | Eric Leman | 2017 | Philippe Gilbert |
| 1930 | Frans Bonduel | 1974 | Cees Bal | 2018 | Nicki Terpstra |
| 1931 | Romain Gijssels | 1975 | Eddy Merckx | 2019 | Alberto Bettiol |
| 1932 | Romain Gijssels | 1976 | Walter Planckaert | 2020 | Mathieu van der Poel |
| 1933 | Alfons Schepers | 1977 | Roger De Vlaeminck | 2021 | Kasper Asgreen |
| 1934 | Gaston Rebry | 1978 | Walter Godefroot | 2022 | Mathieu van der Poel |
| 1935 | Louis Duerloo | 1979 | Jan Raas | 2023 | Tadej Pogacar |
| 1936 | Louis Hardiquest | 1980 | Michel Pollentier | ||
| 1937 | Michel D’Hooghe | 1981 | Hennie Kuiper | ||
| 1938 | Edgard De Caluwé | 1982 | René Martens | ||
| 1939 | Karel Kaers | 1983 | Jan Raas | ||
| 1940 | Achiel Buysse | 1984 | Johan Lammerts | ||
| 1941 | Achiel Buysse | 1985 | Eric Vanderaerden | ||
| 1942 | Briek Schotte | 1986 | Adrie van der Poel | ||
| 1943 | Achiel Buysse | 1987 | Claude Criquielion | ||
| 1944 | Rik Van Steenbergen | 1988 | Eddy Planckaert | ||
| 1945 | Sylvain Grysolle | 1989 | Edwig Van Hooydonck | ||
| 1946 | Rik Van Steenbergen | 1990 | Moreno Argentin | ||
| 1947 | Emiel Faingnaert | 1991 | Edwig Van Hooydonck | ||
| 1948 | Briek Schotte | 1992 | Jacky Durand | ||
| 1949 | Fiorenzo Magni | 1993 | Johan Museeuw | ||
| 1950 | Fiorenzo Magni | 1994 | Gianni Bugno | ||
| 1951 | Fiorenzo Magni | 1995 | Johan Museeuw | ||
| 1952 | Roger Decock | 1996 | Michele Bartoli | ||
| 1953 | Wim Van Est | 1997 | Rolf Sorensen | ||
| 1954 | Raymond Impanis | 1998 | Johan Museeuw | ||
| 1955 | Louison Bobet | 1999 | Peter Van Petegem | ||
| 1956 | Jean Forestier | 2000 | Andrei Tchmil |
Winners women
| 2004 | Zoelfia Zabirova | 2019 | Marta Bastianelli |
| 2005 | Mirjam Melchers – Van Poppel | 2020 | Chantal van den Broek – Blaak |
| 2006 | Mirjam Melchers – Van Poppel | 2021 | Annemiek Van Vleuten |
| 2007 | Nicole Cooke | 2022 | Lotte Kopecky |
| 2008 | Judith Arndt | 2023 | Lotte Kopecky |
| 2009 | Ina-Yoko Teutenberg | ||
| 2010 | Grace Verbeke | ||
| 2011 | Annemiek Van Vleuten | ||
| 2012 | Judith Arndt | ||
| 2013 | Marianne Vos | ||
| 2014 | Ellen van Dijk | ||
| 2015 | Elisa Longo Borghini | ||
| 2016 | Elizabeth Armitstead | ||
| 2017 | Coryn Rivera | ||
| 2018 | Anna van der Breggen |
A lot has been written about the Ronde Van Vlaanderen. If you want more information about the history of this beautiful unique race, you can take a look at the following link > Books about the Ronde Van Vlaanderen
