Cyrille Van Hauwaert (1883-1974) was one of the most successful Belgian cyclist in the pre -WW1 era. His story began like a folktale. The big and strong Flemish farm boy, who didn’t speak French arrived in the office of the La Française team’s directeur sportif, Pierre Pierrard two days before Paris-Roubaix in 1907. Van Hauwaert … Read more
Heavy snowfall often determinates the outcome of a road cycling race during early springtime. But even among the stories about the heroic efforts of struggling through the otherwise beautiful white obstacle the 4th edition of Milano-Sanremo (held on 4th April 1910) has its own legendary place. This was the race that only four riders finished. … Read more
Like in the case of many of the great, historical cycling races, creating Milano-Sanremo was closely linked to a newspaper, namely, the La Gazzetta dello Sport. First of all, the finish town, Sanremo was certain. The wealthy members of the local sport club wanted to have a race and contacted Eugenio Costamagna, the owner of … Read more