Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne means the Spring Classics are back and with them the hills of the Flemish Ardennes. However, the hellingen were not always so integral to the great one-day races of Flanders…
Having written a book about the five “Monuments” of cycling, the question that I am most often asked is which one of them is my favourite. My rather corny answer is that they all are. Milan-San Remo ushers in the spring and offers beautifully balanced unpredictability. Paris-Roubaix is spectacularly unique. Liège-Bastogne-Liège is arguably the toughest race all year, while The Tour of Lombardy is probably the most stunning. Yet, I have to admit the Tour of Flanders stands out for me not only because of the nature of the race, but most importantly because of its location in the heart of a region where cycling and cycle racing form an intrinsic part of the cultural heritage.
To understand where that passion comes from you have to go back to the early years of the twentieth century, and particularly to the year of 1912, which saw Odile Defraye become the first Belgian winner of the Tour de France and the foundation of Flemish newspaper Sportwereld. While Defraye’s victory added impetus to the already flourishing cycling scene in Belgium, the subsequent appearance of Sportwereld in September 1912 would have a more significant effect.
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Bankrolled by print company owner August De Maeght, Sportwereld’s editorial directors, Leon Van de Haute and Karel Van Wijnendaele, had a specific objective beyond reporting on sport. By publishing their title in Dutch, they hoped to promote wider use of that language, which had only been recognised as Belgium’s official tongue alongside French in 1898. “We wanted to publish a paper to speak to our own Flemish people in their own language and give them confidence as Flandrians,” Van Wijnendaele later explained.
Van den Haute and Van Wijnendaele quickly decided to follow the lead of foreign sports papers by establishing a race in order to cement their title’s status. Looking particularly to Roubaix as an example, in February 1913 they unveiled plans for the Tour of Flanders, announcing that the first edition would take place in May that year.
The route of the inaugural Ronde Van Vlaanderen extended to 324 kilometres, circling the Dutch-speaking provinces of East and West Flanders and passing through all of the major towns because, as Van Wijnendaele wrote, “All Flemish cities had to contribute to the emancipation of the Flemish people.” The choice of Ghent as the start/finish location was deliberate as the French-speaking elite held sway in a city right in the Flemish heartland.
You can read more at Cyclingnews.com
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