Cycle racing is a popular sport in
Belgium. It is governed by the
Royal Belgian Cycling League since 1882, which became a founding member of the
International Cycling Association in 1892 and later of the
Union Cycliste Internationale in 1900.
Since 2002, the Royal Belgian Cycling League is composed of the Wielerbond Vlaanderen (WBV), which governs the cycle racing in
Flanders and of the Fédération Cycliste Wallonie-Bruxelles (FCWB), which governs the cycle racing in
Wallonia and
Brussels. Belgium has been one of the major countries in different categories of cycle racing over the years, including
road cycling and
cyclo-cross. The best Belgian cyclist of all times,
Eddy Merckx, nicknamed the Cannibal, has won all of the three
grand tours (five
Tour de France and
Giro d'Italia wins as well as one
Vuelta a España win) and all of the five monuments of cycling. He also won the
UCI Road World Championships three times and set the
hour record, among other achievements.
Road bicycle racing
Palmares
At the
Olympic Games, Belgium has won four gold medals for road cycling, with two victories for the men's team time trial (at the
1948
Events January
* January 1
** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated.
** The Constitution of New Jersey (later subject to amendment) goes into effect.
** The railways of Britain are nationalized, to form British ...
and
1952
Events January–February
* January 26 – Black Saturday in Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses.
* February 6
** Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh, becomes m ...
Summer Olympics
The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inau ...
) and two in the individual race, for
André Noyelle
André Noyelle (29 November 1931 – 4 February 2003) was a road racing cyclist from Belgium. He won the gold medal in the men's individual road race at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, Finland. At the same tournament he also claimed the ...
in 1952 and
Greg Van Avermaet in
2016
File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...
. The time trial team had previously won the silver medal at the
1924 Summer Olympics
The 1924 Summer Olympics (french: Jeux olympiques d'été de 1924), officially the Games of the VIII Olympiad (french: Jeux de la VIIIe olympiade) and also known as Paris 1924, were an international multi-sport event held in Paris, France. The op ...
and the bronze at the
1936 Summer Olympics
The 1936 Summer Olympics (German: ''Olympische Sommerspiele 1936''), officially known as the Games of the XI Olympiad (German: ''Spiele der XI. Olympiade'') and commonly known as Berlin 1936 or the Nazi Olympics, were an international multi-sp ...
. Belgium has also collected the silver medal for the individual race competition in 1924 (
Henri Hoevenaers), in 1952 (
Robert Grondelaers) and in 2020 (
Wout Van Aert) and the bronze in 1948 (
Lode Wouters),
1960
It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism.
Events
January
* Ja ...
(
Willy van den Berghen),
1964
Events January
* January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved.
* January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarch ...
(
Walter Godefroot) and
2004
2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO).
Events January
* January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...
(
Axel Merckx).
Belgian cyclists have had more UCI Road World Championship gold medals (25) at the
men's road race than any other country.
Rik Van Steenbergen and Eddy Merckx have both won the title three times, and
Georges Ronsse,
Briek Schotte
Alberic "Briek" Schotte (born Kanegem, West Flanders, 7 September 1919 – died Kortrijk, 4 April 2004) was a Belgian professional road racing cyclist, one of the champions of the 1940s and 1950s. His stamina earned him the nickname "Iron B ...
,
Rik Van Looy and
Freddy Maertens have all won twice. Women have won six gold medals at the
women's road race event, with four for
Yvonne Reynders. Other famous riders who won the title include
Stan Ockers,
Johan Museeuw,
Tom Boonen and the current world champion
Remco Evenepoel
Remco Evenepoel (born 25 January 2000) is a Belgian cyclist, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam .
He is the son of Patrick Evenepoel, a former racing cyclist who won the 1993 Grand Prix de Wallonie. Remco Evenepoel started his sport career i ...
.
The first season-long competition in road cycling, the
Challenge Desgrange-Colombo
The Challenge Desgrange-Colombo was a season-long road bicycle racing competition between 1948 and 1958. There were two classifications, one for individual cyclists and another for nations.
History
The Challenge Desgrange-Colombo competition was ...
was introduced in 1948, and first won by Belgian rider Briek Schotte. Later in 1955, Stan Ockers became the second Belgian to win the competition. From 1956 to 1958,
Fred de Bruyne won the trophy three times, and so equalled the record of
Ferdinand Kübler. The next year, the challenge was replaced by the
Super Prestige Pernod International
The Super Prestige Pernod was a season-long competition in road bicycle racing between 1958 and 1987. For the first edition it was known as the Prestige Pernod, and for the last four years as the Super Prestige Pernod International.
History
Disa ...
. Starting in 1968, this competition was won by Belgians ten times in a row, first by
Herman Van Springel, then seven consecutive times by Eddy Merckx and in 1976 and 1977 by Freddy Maertens. In 1989, the
UCI Road World Cup started and was won twice by Johan Museeuw (1995 and 1996) and once by
Andreï Tchmil
Andrei Tchmil (born 22 January 1963) is a retired Soviet (until 1991), Moldovan (1992–1995), Ukrainian (1995–1998) and Belgian (since 1998) professional road bicycle racer. He competed in the men's individual road race at the 1996 Summer Oly ...
(1999). Since the competition was replaced by the
UCI ProTour in 2005 and then by the
UCI World Tour in 2009, Tom Boonen has reached the highest ranking with a second place in
2005
File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...
and
Philippe Gilbert
Philippe Gilbert (born 5 July 1982) is a Belgian former professional road bicycle racer, who is best known for winning the World Road Race Championships in 2012, and for being one of two riders, along with Davide Rebellin, to have won the three ...
has been ranked third in
2010
File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...
.
Belgian cyclists have also performed very well in the three big tours. Ten cyclists have won the Tour de France, making of Belgium the second country with the most Tour de France wins (18) behind France. Besides Eddy Merckx (five wins),
Philippe Thys won the most prestigious tour three times (
1913
Events January
* January 5 – First Balkan War: Battle of Lemnos (1913), Battle of Lemnos – Greek admiral Pavlos Kountouriotis forces the Turkish fleet to retreat to its base within the Dardanelles, from which it will not ven ...
,
1914
This year saw the beginning of what became known as World War I, after Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the Austrian throne was Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, assassinated by Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip. It als ...
and
1920
Events January
* January 1
** Polish–Soviet War in 1920: The Russian Red Army increases its troops along the Polish border from 4 divisions to 20.
** Kauniainen, completely surrounded by the city of Espoo, secedes from Espoo as its own ma ...
) while
Firmin Lambot
Firmin Lambot (; 14 March 1886 – 19 January 1964) was a Belgian bicycle racer who twice won the Tour de France.
Born in the small town of Florennes,The Bicycle, UK, 26 March 1952, p6 Lambot worked as a saddler. He worked 12 hours a day, star ...
(
1919
Events
January
* January 1
** The Czechoslovak Legions occupy much of the self-proclaimed "free city" of Pressburg (now Bratislava), enforcing its incorporation into the new republic of Czechoslovakia.
** HMY ''Iolaire'' sinks off the c ...
and
1922
Events
January
* January 7 – Dáil Éireann (Irish Republic), Dáil Éireann, the parliament of the Irish Republic, ratifies the Anglo-Irish Treaty by 64–57 votes.
* January 10 – Arthur Griffith is elected President of Dáil Éirean ...
) and
Sylvère Maes
Sylvère Maes (; 27 August 1909 – 5 December 1966) was a Belgian cyclist, who is most famous for winning the Tour de France in 1936 and 1939. In 1937, Maes left the 1937 Tour de France together with his Belgian team while he was leading the gene ...
(
1936
Events
January–February
* January 20 – George V of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India, dies at his Sandringham Estate. The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King E ...
and
1939
This year also marks the start of the Second World War, the largest and deadliest conflict in human history.
Events
Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix.
January
* January 1
** Third Reich
*** Jews are forbidden to ...
) both won twice. The latest Belgian winner at the Tour de France however was
Lucien Van Impe in
1976
Events January
* January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force.
* January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea.
* January 11 – The 1976 Phila ...
. Belgian cyclists have been more successful at winning the ''
maillot vert'' for best sprinter, with 19 wins. Eddy Merckx and Freddy Maertens (three wins) and Stan Ockers (two wins) are the multiple winners in this classification.
Wout Van Aert won the shirt recently in
2022
File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...
. The ''
maillot à pois'' for best climber was won six times by Lucien Van Impe, the last time in
1983
The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call.
Events January
* January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to Internet protocol suite, TCP/IP is officially completed (this is consid ...
, equalling the record of
Federico Bahamontes, and twice by
Félicien Vervaecke and Eddy Merckx. In 2004 however, the record of six ''maillot à pois'' wins was beaten by
Richard Virenque. At the Giro d'Italia, Belgium has had seven wins, being the second country most successful country after Italy (66 wins). Michel Pollentier and Johan De Muynck (the latest Belgian to have won the Giro in
1978
Events January
* January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213.
* January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd go ...
) are with Eddy Merckx (five wins) the three Belgian winners of this tour. Other achievements in this tour include six ''
maglia verde'' of best climber (including two for Lucien Van Impe) and five ''
maglia ciclamino'' for best sprinter (three for
Roger De Vlaeminck and two for Eddy Merckx). Belgium also has had eight wins at the Vuelta a España, with two wins by Gustaaf Deloor, the first winner of this tour in
1935
Events
January
* January 7 – Italian premier Benito Mussolini and French Foreign Minister Pierre Laval conclude Franco-Italian Agreement of 1935, an agreement, in which each power agrees not to oppose the other's colonial claims.
* ...
and
1936
Events
January–February
* January 20 – George V of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India, dies at his Sandringham Estate. The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King E ...
. The latest Belgian winner was
Remco Evenepoel
Remco Evenepoel (born 25 January 2000) is a Belgian cyclist, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam .
He is the son of Patrick Evenepoel, a former racing cyclist who won the 1993 Grand Prix de Wallonie. Remco Evenepoel started his sport career i ...
in
2022
File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...
. In the other classifications, Belgian cyclists have won 13 times the points classification, including
Greg Van Avermaet in
2008
File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...
but never the mountains classification.
Many Belgian cyclists have won one of the five monument cycle races. At the Tour of Flanders, Belgium counts 67 wins in 95 editions with three wins for Achiel Buysse, Eric Leman and Johan Museeuw. Roger De Vlaeminck holds the record of wins at Paris–Roubaix (four), and Belgium is the most successful country in this race with 54 wins in 109 editions. Liège–Bastogne–Liège was won 59 times on 97 by Belgian cyclists. Eddy Merckx holds the record of the most individual wins (five). At the Giro di Lombardia, Belgium counts 12 titles in 104 editions, with only Italy performing better. Milan – San Remo was won seven times by Eddy Merckx, who holds the record of the most wins, and Belgium has won 20 times on 102, being the second most successful country after Italy in this race. In contrast to the big tours, where Belgians did not win between 1978 and 2022, cyclists from Belgium have been more successful in the monument races. At Paris–Roubaix, Johan Museeuw and Tom Boonen have won three times each since 1996, and Peter Van Petegem and Johan Van Summeren have also won the race once each. At the Tour of Flanders, Belgium has 11 wins since 1993, with three by Johan Museeuw, two by Peter Van Petegem, Tom Boonen and Stijn Devolder and one by Andreï Tchmil and Nick Nuyens. In the other three monuments, Belgians has been less successful recently, with Andreï Tchmil being the only Belgian winner of Milan – San Remo in 1999 since Fons De Wolf in 1981. Philippe Gilbert has been the only winner of the Giro di Lombardia since Fons De Wolf in 1980, with wins in 2009 and 2010 and only five Belgians have won Liège–Bastogne–Liège since Joseph Bruyère in 1978: Eric Van Lancker in 1990, Dirk De Wolf in 1992, Frank Vandenbroucke in 1999, Philippe Gilbert in 2011 and Remco Evenepoel in 2022
Famous races
Among the best-known road races, two out of the five monuments of cycling are held in Belgium: the
Tour of Flanders and
Liège–Bastogne–Liège. The Tour of Flanders is the final race of the
Flemish Cycling Week, held in late March and early April, along with the
Classic Bruges–De Panne,
E3 Saxo Bank Classic
E3 Saxo Bank Classic, previously known as E3 BinckBank Classic, E3 Harelbeke, Harelbeke–Antwerp–Harelbeke and E3-Prijs Vlaanderen, is an annual road cycling race in Flanders, Belgium. The race starts and finishes in Harelbeke, covering 203 kil ...
,
Gent–Wevelgem,
Dwars door Vlaanderen. Meanwhile, the Liège–Bastogne–Liège and
La Flèche Wallonne are part of the
Ardennes classics, held in mid-April. The
Omloop Het Nieuwsblad is the eighth Belgian classic race in the
UCI World Tour. Other classic one day races in Belgium are
Brussels Cycling Classic
The Brussels Cycling Classic (known until June 2013 as Paris–Brussels) is a semi classic European bicycle race, one of the oldest races on the international calendar.
History
Paris–Brussels was first run on 12 August 1893 as an amateur even ...
,
Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne,
Grand Prix de Wallonie. The best-known stage-races in Belgium are the
Tour of Benelux
The Benelux Tour (previously known as the Eneco Tour and the BinckBank Tour) is a road bicycle racing stage-race that is part of the UCI World Tour. The race was established in 2005 and was originally known as the Eneco Tour, named after the orig ...
, part of the UCI World Tour, and the
Tour of Belgium, part of the UCI Europe Tour.
The
Belgian National Road Race Championships,
Belgian National Time Trial Championships and
Belgian National Cyclo-cross Championships determine which rider carries the Belgian flag for 12 months.
Professional teams
Belgium has currently two professional cycling teams performing in the UCI World Tour:
Soudal-Quick-Step and
Intermarché-Circus-Gobert.
Other categories
In mountain bike, Filip Meirhaeghe has won the 2002 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup and the 2003 UCI Mountain Bike & Trials World Championships and was silver-medalist at the 2000 Summer Olympics. In mountain bike trials, Kenny Belaey has won the 26-inch wheel trial World Cup in 2002, 2005 and 2006.
In cyclo-cross, Belgian competitors have gained 25 gold medals at the UCI Cyclo-cross Men World Championships since 1950 and 54 medals overall, making it the best country in cyclo-cross, ahead of France with 10 gold medals out of 34 medals. Eric De Vlaeminck has the most world title in cyclo-cross with 7 World Cup wins between 1966 and 1973. Other multiple Belgian world champions are Roland Liboton (4 titles), Mario De Clercq and Erwin Vervecken (3) and Bart Wellens (2).
In track cycling, Matthew Gilmore and Etienne De Wilde won the gold medal of Men's Madison event at the 1998 UCI Track Cycling World Championships and the silver medal of Men's Madison at the 2000 Summer Olympics. Roger Ilegems won the gold medal of the Men's point race at the 1984 Summer Olympics while Patrick Sercu held several world records and won the gold medal of the Men's 1 km time trial at the 1964 Summer Olympics.
References
{{reflist
External links
Belgian League Official Website