Flanders Heroes
Tom Boonen
In the spring of 2005, a lot of people wondered whether the young Tom Boonen would be able to stay the distance. 260 kilometres. That’s not quite the same as the semi-classics that he won in 2004 such as the E3-Prijs, the Scheldeprijs and Gent-Wevelgem. "Tornado Tom" gave all the critics a run for their money by securing a place in the lead group of six racers in the finish alongside big names such as Klier, Van Petegem and Zabel. Nine kilometres from the finish Boonen even caught up with Van Petegem, who was giving everything for his third victory in the race. Boonen didn’t wait for the final moment, but made an audacious solo attack. The others hesitated for a fraction of a second, but the bird had flown.
At the age of just 24, Boonen won his first Tour of Flanders; it was the start of a dream year. One week later he turned it into a double win with his Paris –Roubaix victory, later that year he also won two stages in the Tour de France, and to cap it all he was named World Cycling Champion in Madrid. The "curse of the rainbow jersey" did not fall upon Boonen. At the beginning of 2006 he won one race after another and started as a big favourite in the Tour of Flanders. His team mastered the race perfectly and when Leif Hoste broke away on the Valkenberg, Boonen stuck right on his heels. In a sprint between the two, the much slower Hoste was no match for Boonen who won the Tour as world champion. A milestone in his stunning career.
In the years that followed, Boonen did not succeed in turning events to his favour and he watched from the second row as his team mate Stijn Devolder won twice. These were not the happiest years for the “Bomb from Balen", and a cocaine scandal and a loss of physical condition had a lot of people writing him off prematurely. Especially when an impressive Fabian Cancellara got ahead of Boonen on the Muur in Geraardsbergen. But Boonen hit back and crowned himself King of the spring in 2012. He was the first racer to win a completely new version of the Tour of Flanders. After a tough Tour of Flanders which included a triple climb of the Oude Kwaremont and the Paterberg, he beat the Italians Ballan and Pozzato in Oudenaarde in the sprint.
Johan Museeuw
Johan Museeuw (born 13 October 1965 in Varsenare) is a retired Belgian professional road bicycle racer. He was a professional from 1988 to 2004 and was particularly successful in the classic cycle races in the nineties. In 1989 he was part of the ADR team in which Greg LeMond won his second Tour de France. In 1990 Museeuw went to the Lotto team for which he won two stages in the Tour de France that year. Later on he rode for the MG-GB, Mapei, Domo-Farm Frites and Quick-Step. He ended his career in the spring of 2004.
One week after winning the 1998 Ronde van Vlaanderen, Museeuw had a terrible fall in Paris–Roubaix (Bois de Wallers) in which his knee was shattered. On top of this came a dangerous infection which almost caused him to lose the injured leg. He fought back and resumed cycling after a long healing process. A couple of years later, he was again injured in a motor cycle accident. His dogged determination and powerful riding style won him legions of fans all over the world, but he is especially popular in his native Flanders, and was nicknamed Lion of Flanders. Upon crossing the finish line in victory in the 2000 Paris–Roubaix, he lifted his left foot and pointed at his knee as a reminder of the injury that almost ended his career two years earlier.
More recently, Johan has begun marketing his own brand of frames (made in Poland) from a combination of carbon fibre and flax.
Edwig Van Hooydonck
Edwig Van Hooydonck was born August, 4 1966 in Ekeren. He is a former Belgian professional road racing cyclist. He won the prestigious Tour of Flanders twice. The first time was in 1989, he was 22 years old and became so emotional that he cried on stage. The images went global and made him an instant hero in Belgium. He won again in 1991. This time he was less emotional but nevertheless he carries both victories in his heart.
Eric Vanderaerden
Eric Vanderaerden was born February 11, 1962. He is a retired Belgian road cyclist from the town of Lummen. He was a considerable talent, winning the prologue time trial of the Vuelta and the Tour de France in his professional debut year 1983. As for classics, he won the Tour of Flanders in 1985 and Paris–Roubaix in 1987. In the Tour de France, his participation in the 1985 edition was a strong one, beating the later winner Bernard Hinault in a time trial stage. The next year, he won the green jersey.
Eric Leman
Eric Leman was born July 17, 1946 in Ledegem is a former Belgian professional road racing cyclist from Belgium. He won the prestigious Tour of Flanders three times.
Eddy Merckx
Edouard Louis Joseph, Baron Merckx was born on June 17, 1945 in Meensel-Kiezegem. He is better known as Eddy Merckx. The French magazine Vélo called him "the most accomplished rider that cycling has ever known.". The American publication, VeloNews, called him the greatest and most successful cyclist of all time.
He won the Tour de France five times, won all the monuments of cycling, won the Giro d'Italia five times and the Vuelta a España once, won the world championship as an amateur and a professional, and broke the world hour record.
Tour of Flanders
Merckx won the Tour of Flanders two times. The first time was in 1969. It was his fifth year as a professional rider and he won serveral other top races already. The organizers of the Tour of Flanders were dreading the fact that Merckx would never win the monument of Belgian cycling. But he did. He left the bunch with still 70 kilometers to go, his attempt was never seen before and was thougt of being too impulsive. But he succeded and reached the finishline alone. He had managed to stay five minutes ahead of Felice Gimondi and eigth minutes in front of the tired bunch.
His second victory was even more impressive, Merckx left the bunch this time at the Oude Kwaremont, still 104 kilometres to go. Only Frans Verbeeck could keep his wheel but Merckx left him with six kilometres to go to win his second Tour of Flanders.
Rik Van Looy
Henri ("Rik") van Looy was born December 20, 1933 in Grobbendonk. He is a Belgian former professional cyclist of the post-war period, nicknamed the King of the Classics or Emperor of Herentals (after the small Belgian town where he lives). He was twice world professional road race champion, and was the first cyclist to win all five of the most prestigious one-day classics – a feat since achieved by just two others (both also Belgians: Roger De Vlaeminck and Eddy Merckx).
He won the Tour of Flanders twice: 1958 and 1962.
Rik Van Steenbergen
Rik Van Steenbergen was born in Arendonk on September 9, 1924 in a poor family. He started cycling as a professional during World War II in 1942, after being an amateur since he was 14. The next year, he won his first important races, and became Belgian road cycling champion. In 1944, he won the Tour of Flanders, which he won again two years later.
During his career, which lasted until 1966, Van Steenbergen won several more classics: Paris–Roubaix, Paris–Brussels and Milan – San Remo. He also won the World Road Cycling Championships three times. It is estimated Van Steenbergen won slightly fewer than 1000 races, though accounts differ widely.
After his cycling career he entered a dark period. He was named in connection with many unsavory practices. He had a gambling addiction and was suspected of drug trafficking, conspiracy and incitement to debauchery.
He died in Antwerp in 2003 after a prolonged sickness at the age of 78. When talking cycling, recalling those heroes from the past, the name of Rik Van Steenbergen is soon on the table. To honour him as the great sportsman he was, in 2004 a statue with his torso was placed on the Wampenberg in Arendonk.
Albéric Schotte
Alberic "Briek" Schotte was born in Kanegem, West Flanders on September 7, 1919. He was a Belgian professional road racing cyclist, one of the champions of the 1940s and 1950s. His stamina earned him the nickname "Iron Briek".
He won the Tour of Flanders twice: in 1942, 1948. In 1948 and 1950 he was world champion. He won the last stage of the 1947 Tour de France and finished second in the epic 1948 Tour, behind Gino Bartali.
Albéric Schotte took part in no less than twenty Tours of Flanders. From 1940 until 1959 (he was almost 40!) he competed each year. Sixteen times he reached the fininsh line.
After retirement as a rider in 1959, he was team coach for 30 years, mostly for Flandria.
He died on the day of the 2004 Tour of Flanders. The commentators during the race said "God must have been one of Briek's greatest fans".
Fiorenzo Magni
Magni was born in Vaiano, province of Prato (Tuscany). He was the "third man" of the golden age of Italian cycling, at the time of the rivalry between Fausto Coppi and Gino Bartali. The highlights of his career were his three overall wins in the 1948, 1951 and 1955 Giro d'Italia, and the three consecutive wins (record) at the Tour of Flanders (1949, 1950 and 1951).
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