The Tour of Flanders was conceived of in 1913 by Karel Van Wijnendaele, co-founder of the sportspaper 'Sportwereld'. In that era it was customary for publishers of newspapers and magazines to organise cycling races as a way of promoting circulation.
Prior to WWII the race was usually held on the same day as the Italian Milan–San Remo competition. Prominent Italian and French racers preferred the latter which explains why there was only a single non-Belgian winner before WWII. After WWII the race grew in importance when it became a part of the Challenge Desgrange-Colombo which was a precursor to today's UCI ProTour. Since the 2005 inception of the ProTour, the Tour of Flanders has been a major component.
Record holders are the Belgians Achiel Buysse, Eric Leman and Johan Museeuw and the Italian Fiorenzo Magni, each with three victories.
History
On May 25 1913 Karel Van Wijnendaele organised the first Tour of Flanders. It covered 330 km, all on bad roads with just the occasional cycle path. There were 27 riders. The race finished on a wooden track that circled a lake in Mariakerke near Ghent. The first race was won by Paul Deman, a 25-year-old who went on to win Bordeaux–Paris in 1914.
The route
The course has changed considerably. For the first 30 years it was a loop starting and ending in Ghent, although the finish moved every few years.
In 1913 the race at first went inland to St-Niklaas before turning a clockwise circle through Aalst, Kortrijk, out to the coast at Ostend and then back to Ghent with a detour to Roeselare. The course stayed the same in 1914 but without the leg to the coast.
In 1919 the direction turned to counter-clockwise, turning south at Brugge. The route extended to the coast in 1920 and stayed that way until 1938, heading out through Eeklo and Brugge to reach the North Sea between Ostend and Blankenberge. Van Wijnendaele included the coast through his sentimental vision of Flanders.The ride there was often into a strong wind that inhibited attacks but spelled the end for those left behind the shelter of the main field. Turning left at the sea meant the wind blew from the side, producing the diagonal line of riders, each sheltering the other, characteristic of the Ronde and other Belgian races.
It changed with the outbreak of war because access to the coast was restricted. The wartime route was a circle within the heart of Flanders but the return of peace brought the race back to its pre-War route in 1946. It stayed much the same until 1952, when the ride to the coast was abandoned and the route turned off in Brugge. The stretch to and along the coast came back in 1961 only to disappear again in 1964. From 1973 the race was no longer a loop. It started in Ghent and finished in Meerbeke, still not taking in the sea. Then Ghent was abandoned in 1977 and the start was moved to the neighbouring city of Sint-Niklaas. The race now curved only around inland Flanders, going no further west than Eeklo or Roeselare. Only the move of the start to Bruges brought the race back along the North Sea, although avoiding almost all the long windy ride to get there.
The strategic part of the race comes after it has turned back inland, running just north of the French border. The course goes into the only short, sharp hills in the otherwise flat Flanders countryside. The route twists and turns to ride as many as possible. Some of the hills are cobbled and one - the Koppenberg - has been dropped some years because of its danger and difficulty. It is hard for riders to take all the climb while still riding. A fall by one rider can bring down many others and, in turn, halt those behind. The stopped and fallen often have to continue to the top on foot.
The Koppenberg returned in 2003 after its surface was improved. It was then dropped again in 2007, replaced by the Kluisberg and the Côte de Trieu, which had roadworks in previous years, and the first ascent of the Eikenmolen. The Koppenberg came back in 2008 after the city of Oudenaarde renovated it.
