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Belgian cycling legend Rik van Looy after winning Liege-Bastogne-Liege in 1961

15 May1961 Rik Van Looy became the first cyclist to win all the five Monuments

With his victory at Liege-Bastogne-Liege in 1961, Belgian legend Rik Van Looy, the “Emperor” became the first cyclist ever to win all the five Monuments. He won Milano-Sanremo in 1958, Ronde van Vlaanderen in 1959 and 1962, Giro di Lombardia in 1959, Paris-Roubaix in 1961,1962, and 1965. Nevertheless, the race on 15 May 1961, when he won Liege-Bastogne-Liege, wasn’t that eventfull like the day when Roger De Vlaemick managed to win his fifth Monument. Besides them, the third cyclist who managed to win all the five historic one-day races is, of course, Eddy Merckx. During his successfull career, Philippe Gilbert won four of them (Giro di Lombardia 2009, 2010, Liege-Bastogne-Liege 2011, Ronde van Vlaanderen 2017,… Read More »15 May1961 Rik Van Looy became the first cyclist to win all the five Monuments

Record breaking vicrory of Mario Cipollini 42 stage victories at the Giro d'Italia

The most Giro d’Italia stage victories

Mario Cipollini won the most Giro d’Italia stages  He became the sole record holder on the 9th stage of Giro d’ Italia in 2003See the list of the top 25 riders:Mario Cipollini 42Alfredo Binda  41Learco Guerra  31Costante Girardengo  30Eddy Merckx  25Giuseppe Saronni  24Francesco Moser  23Roger De Vlaeminck 22Alessandro Petacchi 22Fausto Coppi  22Franco Bitossi  20Miguel Poblet 20Giuseppe Olmo 19Mark Cavendish 18Gino Bartali 17Adolfo Leoni  17Raffaele di Paco 16Guido Bontempi 16Marino Basso  15Urs Freuler  15Rik Van Steenbergen 15Olimpio Bizzi  13Patrick Sercu  13Oreste Conte 13Moreno Argentin  13Gaetano Belloni 12Robbie McEwen  12Rik Van Looy 12

Alfredo Binda and Giovanni Brunero riding together at the Giro d'Italia in 1926

Five facts about Giro d’Italia 1926

From the 204 (other sources say 206) riders on 18 were members of sponsored teams, the rest of the peloton were independent participants, among them one former winner (1924), Giuseppe Enrici This edition of Giro d’Italia promised the epic of the ” Campionissimi”, Alfredo Binda (winner of the previous edition) and Costante Girardengo. Binda crashed on the first day, gave up the fight for the first place of the general classification, but managed to win six stages while helping his teammate Giovanni Brunero to win the race. Girardengo led the general classification for a few days, but later he had to abandon the race.

Iconic vintage cycling moment in road cycling history on PelotonTales blog. Cycling climbing Col du Tourmalet at Tour de France 1937

Tour de France history on PelotonTales blog

Although Tour de France is not the only road cycling event with rich history, it is undeniably the most famous one with the biggest impact on the entire history of bicycle races. Furthermore, Tour de France has its own important place in the 20th-centurian cultural history of Europe. No wonder that the biggest chunk of the content on PelotonTales blog is about the French grand tour. This summary below is about what kind of posts you can find about the history of Tour de France on this blog. THE FIRST TOUR DE FRANCE The first Tour de France started on the afternoon of 1 July 1903.  At the beginning of the 20th century, organizing a… Read More »Tour de France history on PelotonTales blog

Fabian Cancellara and Tom Boonen at Ronde van Vlaanderen Tour of Flanders

Double winners of Ronde van Vlaanderen and Paris-Roubaix

Winners of both Ronde van Vlaanderen and Paris-Roubaix in the same year: Henri Suter 1923 Romain Gijssels 1932 Gaston Rebry 1934 Raymond Impanis 1954 Fred De Bruyne 1957 Rik Van Looy 1962 Roger De Vlaeminck 1977 Peter van Petegem 2003 Tom Boonen 2005 Fabian Cancellara 2010 Tom Boonen Belgium 2012 Fabian Cancellara 2013 Mathieu van der Poel 2024 IF YOU LIKE  PELOTONTALES BLOG, PLEASE SUPPORT IT WITH A SMALL DONATION VIA PAYPAL THANK YOU! 

Tom Simpson wins Ronde van Vlaanderen (Tour of Flanders) in 1961

26 March 1961 Tom Simpson won Ronde van Vlaanderen

During the first half century in the history of Ronde van Vlaanderen (Tour of Flanders) the race wasn’t meant for British cyclists. Before 1961 non of them finished the race. Then came the 45th edition and Tom Simpson, already a well-known name in the world of road cycling, but a debutant in the universe of Ronde van Vlaanderen. Rik Van Looy, “The Emperor” attacked first and together with defending champion Arthur De Cabooter and the Tom Simpson formed a breakaway trio. Later four other riders joined the group, including Simpson’s own teammate Jo de Haan. Unfortunatelly Van Looy crashed on the Kruijsberg and had to abandon the race. (He came back next year, of course,… Read More »26 March 1961 Tom Simpson won Ronde van Vlaanderen

Belgian cycling legend Eddy Merckx crossing the finish line at Omloop Het Volk on 25 March 1971

25 March 1971 Eddy Merckx wins Omloop Het Volk

You might wonder why an edition of Omloop Het  Nieuwsblad (or as it was called back in those day, Omloop Het Volk) was held so late in the spring classic calendar. The Omloop is one of the earliest races of the season, it always has been, because the creators of the competition wanted to have something earlier than the big rival Ronde van Vlaanderen. The reason of the late Omloop Het Nieuwsblad edition is simple: it was postponed because  three weeks earlier it was impossible to organize it due to snow. Neverthelessy this was Eddy Merckx’s first Omloop victory (the second came in 1973).  

Roger de Vlaeminck and Eddy Merckx at Omloop Het Volk (Omloop Het Nieuwsblad) 1973

9 fun facts of Omloop Het Nieuwsblad

The first edition (originally called Omloop van Vlaanderen) was held on 25 March 1945. It was only a few weeks after Belgium was liberated by the Aliied Forces, Jerome Stevens, journalist of the Het Volk newspaper, crewtor of the rsce had to have an approval of the British Army to hold the event. Jerome Stevens created the race with the purpose to rival Ronde van Vlaanderen, the only professional race was held in German-occupied territories during the war.  

Vintage picture from the first Omloop Het Volk, the predecessor of Omloop Het Nieuwsbald

Omloop Het Nieuwsblad winners

List of Omloop Het Nieuwsblad winners 1945-20231945 Jean Bogaerts (Alcyon–Dunlop)1946 André Pieters (Alcyon–Dunlop)1947 Albert Sercu (Bertin–Wolber)1948 Sylvain Grysolle (Zircon)1949 André Declerck (Bertin–Wolber)1950 André Declerck (Bertin–Wolber)1951 Jean Bogaerts (Starnord–Wolber)1952 Ernest Sterckx (L’Avenir)1953 Ernest Sterckx (L’Avenir)1954 Karel De Baere (Mercier–BP–Hutchinson)1955 Lode Anthonis (L’Avenir)1956 Ernest Sterckx (L’Avenir)1957 Norbert Kerckhove (Faema–Guerra)1958 Joseph Planckaert (Carpano)1959 Seamus Elliott (Helyett–Fynsec)1960 No race1961 Arthur De Cabooter( Groene Leeuw–Sinalco–SAS)1962 Robert De Middeleir (Wiel’s–Groene Leeuw)1963 René Van Meenen (Wiel’s–Groene Leeuw)1964 Frans Melckenbeek (Mercier–BP–Hutchinson)1965 Noël De Pauw (Solo–Superia)1966 Jo de Roo (Televizier–Batavus)1967 Willy Vekemans (Goldor–Gerka)1968 Herman Van Springel (Mann–Grundig)1969 Roger De Vlaeminck (Flandria–De Clerck–Krüger)1970 Frans Verbeeck( Geens–Watney)1971 Eddy Merckx (Molteni)1972 Frans Verbeeck (Watney–Avia)1973 Eddy Merckx (Molteni)1974 Joseph Bruyère (Molteni)1975 Joseph Bruyère (Molteni-RYC)1976 Willem Peeters (IJsboerke–Colnago)1977 Freddy… Read More »Omloop Het Nieuwsblad winners

Serse Coppi with his brother Fausto Coppi in 1947

29 June 1951 Death of Serse Coppi, Fausto’s little brother

Understandably, the death of Serse Coppi after a crash during a race in Turin (Italy) had a huge impact onhis brother, the great Fausto Coppi’s life.   Serse Coppi, like his more famous brother, was a professional cyclist too. He was three and a half years younger than Fausto, and started his career only after World War II as the most trusted domestic of his sibling in the Bianchi team.   Nevertheless, he had his own success too, when he won Paris-Roubaix in 1949. Although it was a bit controversal edition. Originally André Mahé crossed the finish line first, Serse Coppi only won the sprint among the next group of cyclists. Soon it turned out,… Read More »29 June 1951 Death of Serse Coppi, Fausto’s little brother