The 61st running of the

Tour of Flanders The Tour of Flanders ( nl, Ronde van Vlaanderen), also known as ''De Ronde'' (''"The Tour"''), is an annual road cycling race held in Belgium every spring. The most important cycling race in Flanders, it is part of the UCI World Tour and organi ...

cycling race Cycle sport is competitive physical activity using bicycles. There are several categories of bicycle racing including road bicycle racing, cyclo-cross, mountain bike racing, track cycling, BMX, and cycle speedway. Non-racing cycling sp ...

in Belgium was held on 3 April 1977. Belgian

Roger De Vlaeminck Roger De Vlaeminck (; born 24 August 1947) is a Belgian former professional racing cyclist. He was described by Rik Van Looy as "The most talented and the only real classics rider of his generation". Nicknamed “The Gypsy” because he was born ...

won in a two-man sprint before

Freddy Maertens Freddy Maertens (born 13 February 1952) is a Belgian former professional racing cyclist who was twice world road race champion. His career coincided with the best years of another Belgian rider, Eddy Merckx, and supporters and reporters were sp ...

, although the latter was later disqualified for an illegal bike change. The race started in

Sint-Niklaas Sint-Niklaas (; french: Saint-Nicolas, ) is a Belgian city and municipality located in the Flemish province of East Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Sint-Niklaas proper and the towns of Belsele, Nieuwkerken-Waas, and . Sint-Nikl ...

and finished in

Meerbeke Meerbeke is a village in the Denderstreek in the province of East Flanders in Belgium. Administratively it is part of the municipality of Ninove. This rural community is located along the Dender River on the western border of what is known as "Pajo ...

Race Summary

The race was one of the most peculiar in the history of the Tour of Flanders.Vanwalleghem, Rik (1991), De Ronde van Vlaanderen, Pinguin, Belgium, , p184-187Vanwalleghem, Rik (2003), De Ronde van Vlaanderen, Lannoo, Belgium, , p78-81

Eddy Merckx Édouard Louis Joseph, Baron Merckx (, ; born 17 June 1945), better known as Eddy Merckx, is a Belgian former professional road and track bicycle racer who is among the most successful riders in the history of competitive cycling. His victorie ...

, seeking a third win in his home classic, attacked early in the race and addressed the first climbs as frontrunner.

punctured on the

Koppenberg Koppenberg (literally "Heads Mountain") is a high hill in Oudenaarde, the Flemish Ardennes, Belgium. "Koppen" is an abbreviation for cobblestones which in Dutch slang language are called ''kinderkoppen'', or "children's heads". This climb is part ...

and was given a wheel by a spectator who pushed him all the way up. De Vlaeminck broke clear on the Koppenberg in pursuit of Merckx, but punctured shortly after and was caught by a returning Maertens. After the

Taaienberg The Taaienberg is a hill in the municipality of Maarkedal, in the Belgium, Belgian province of East Flanders. With its top at 90 m, it is one of many hill formations in the Flemish Ardennes, in the south of East-Flanders. The slopes of the hi ...

a three-man group with Belgian cycling icons De Vlaeminck, Maertens and Merckx was ahead of the peloton. On the Varent climb, 70 km from the finish, a faltering Merckx was distanced by his companions and would not finish the race, spelling the end of his career. De Vlaeminck suddenly refused to work and cameras registered the two arguing. For the remaining 70 km Freddy Maertens rode to the finish with De Vlaeminck on his wheel and was easily beaten by the latter in the sprint. It was De Vlaeminck's first and only win in the classic. At two minutes,

Walter Planckaert Walter Planckaert (born 8 April 1948 in Nevele) is a Belgian former professional road racing cyclist. He is the younger brother of Willy Planckaert, the older brother of Eddy Planckaert, and the uncle of Jo Planckaert. He had 74 victories in his ...

won the sprint for third place.

Controversy

During the podium ceremony, De Vlaeminck was booed off stage by angry spectators who were displeased with his "cowardly" ride. The two protagonists made contradictory statements about what happened. Maertens stated that the judges had told him during the race he would be disqualified for his illegal wheel-change on the Koppenberg and that De Vlaeminck had offered him 300.000

francs The franc is any of various units of currency. One franc is typically divided into 100 centimes. The name is said to derive from the Latin inscription ''francorum rex'' (King of the Franks) used on early French coins and until the 18th centu ...

to keep riding to the finish. De Vlaeminck denied, saying that he tactically stayed on Maertens' wheel for 70 km, as he considered Maertens the better sprinter.Vanwalleghem, Rik (2003), De Ronde van Vlaanderen, Lannoo, Belgium, , p80-81 Days after the race, the controversy heightened even more, when news broke that Maertens and third-place finisher Walter Planckaert had tested positive for

amphetamines Substituted amphetamines are a class of compounds based upon the amphetamine structure; it includes all derivative compounds which are formed by replacing, or substituting, one or more hydrogen atoms in the amphetamine core structure with sub ...

and were both disqualified. Organizers decided to keep second and third place blank for this edition, unique in the Tour of Flanders' history.

Climbs

There were eight categorized climbs in this edition:

Results

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:1977 Tour of Flanders Tour of Flanders

1977 Super Prestige Pernod