Roger De Vlaeminck

Roger De Vlaeminck

De Vlaeminck at the 2012 World Ports Classic
Personal information
Full name	Roger De Vlaeminck
Nickname	The Gypsy[1]
Born	(1947-08-24) 24 August 1947 Eeklo, East Flanders, Belgium
Team information
Current team	Retired
Discipline	Road/Cyclo-cross
Role	Rider
Rider type	Classics specialist
Professional team(s)
1969–1971	Flandria-De Clerck-Krüger
1972	Dreher
1973–1977	Brooklyn
1978	Sanson
1979	Gis Gelati
1980	Boule d'Or
1981–1982	DAF Trucks-Cote d'Or-Gazelle
1983	Gios
1984	Gis-Tuc Lu
Major wins
Grand Tours Tour de France 1 individual stage (1970) Giro d'Italia Points classification (1972, 1974, 1975) 22 individual stages (1972-1979) Vuelta a España 1 individual stage (1984) Stage races Tirreno–Adriatico (1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977) One-day races and Classics Omloop Het Volk (1969, 1979) Liège–Bastogne–Liège (1970) Paris–Roubaix (1972, 1974, 1975, 1977) Milan–San Remo (1973, 1978, 1979) Giro di Lombardia (1974, 1976) Tour of Flanders (1977) National Road Race Championships (1969, 1981) Cyclo-cross World Cyclo-cross Championships (1975) National Cyclo-cross Championships (1974, 1975, 1978)
Medal record Representing  Belgium Men's cyclo-cross World Championships 1975 Melchnau Elite race 1974 Bera Elite race Men's road bicycle racing World Championships 1975 Yvoir Elite road race

Roger De Vlaeminck (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈrɔʒɛi də ˈvlamɪnk];^[2] born 24 August 1947) is a Belgian former professional racing cyclist. He was described by Rik Van Looy as "The most talented and the only real classics rider of his generation".^[1] Nicknamed “The Gypsy” because he was born into a family of traveling clothiers, he is known for exploits in the cobbled classic Paris–Roubaix race, but his performances in other “Monument” races gave him a record that few can match. His record in Paris–Roubaix earned him another nickname, “Monsieur Paris–Roubaix” (English: “Mr. Paris–Roubaix“).

Early life and amateur career

De Vlaeminck was born on 24 August 1947 in the East Flanders town of Eeklo,^[3] His first love was football. At the age of 16 he debuted for F.C. Eeklo. He could have made a career in the sport, however his elder brother Erik was having success as a pro cyclist and this persuaded Roger to try cycling.^[4] He raced as a junior in 1965, gaining one win, but 1966 saw 25 victories. Roger and Erik spent their winters riding cyclo-cross and in 1968 in Luxembourg Erik became world professional champion and Roger the amateur champion on the same day. Roger eventually took the professional title in 1975.

In 1968 De Vlaeminck rode the road race at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico and finished 18th.^[5]

Professional career

De Vlaeminck attempting to defend his Tour of Flanders title in 1978

De Vlaeminck turned professional at the start of the 1969 season with Flandria-Declerck and won the Omloop "Het Volk" in his first race. De Vlaeminck’s career ran parallel with Eddy Merckx and he battled for ascendancy with Merckx throughout his career. De Vlaeminck rode Paris–Roubaix on 14 occasions, winning four times (1972, 1974, 1975, 1977), finished second four times, third once, fifth once, sixth once, seventh twice and abandoned only in 1980. His skill as a cyclo-cross rider made him an expert on the cobbles of northern France which the race crosses. De Vlaeminck used the early season Italian stage race Tirreno–Adriatico as training for the spring classics. He dominated the race between 1972 and 1977, winning on six occasions and taking 15 stages.

De Vlaeminck is one of only three riders to have won all five 'Monuments of Cycling' (i.e., Milan–San Remo, Tour of Flanders, Paris–Roubaix, Liège–Bastogne–Liège, and the Giro di Lombardia). The other two are fellow Belgians Rik van Looy and Eddy Merckx. The only major one-day race he did not win was the world road race championship, his best performance was second to Dutchman Hennie Kuiper in 1975. He rode three Tour de France, winning stage 6 in 1970 between Amiens and Valenciennes. He took the points jersey in the Giro d'Italia on three occasions as well as 22 stages overall including seven stages in 1975. He took a stage win in the Vuelta a España in his final season in 1984. His career lasted 15 years (retiring in 1984) and he had 257 victories.

Post-career

De Vlaeminck (left) with former professional cyclists Etienne De Wilde and Lucien Van Impe at a criterium in Aalst, Belgium in 2008

De Vlaeminck, who lives on a farm in Kaprijke, is still in cycling. He has been coaching cyclo-cross riders. In April 2004 he quit his job as coach to the John Saey-Deschacht team in Belgium to spend more time with his family, However he was tempted back to the sport in November 2004 as advisor to the Zimbabwe team as it prepared for the world championship in St. Wendel, Germany, at the end of January 2005.

De Vlaeminck is known for firm opinions about cycling and is often consulted by journalists. In particular, he criticizes the trend to have multiple leaders in a team. That, he says, means the best racers share important races between them. De Vlaeminck is also known for his harsh opinion of Tom Boonen, calling him unworthy of equaling his Paris-Roubaix record of 4 wins, claiming cycling isn't as hard as it used to be. This led to the meme "In den tijd van Roger De Vlaeminck ..." ("in the days of Roger De Vlaeminck") where De Vlaeminck was attributed to doing all kinds of unrealistic stuff.^[6]

Career achievements

Major results

Source:^[3][7][8]

Monuments results timeline

Source:^[7][8]

See also

• List of riders with stage wins at all three cycling Grand Tours
• Belgium at the UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships
• Belgium at the UCI Road World Championships
• Cycling records
• A Sunday in Hell
• List of Belgians

Notes

References

• Fotheringham, William (2003). A Century of Cycling: The Classic Races and Legendary Champions. London: Mitchell Beazley. ISBN 978-0-7603-1553-8. Retrieved 19 November 2013. 
• Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill (2011). Historical Dictionary of Cycling. Historical Dictionaries of Sports. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0-8108-7175-5. Retrieved 8 November 2013. 

Further reading

• Luchon, Raphael (1978). Roger De Vlaeminck. Silsden, UK: Kennedy Brothers. ASIN B0007C86H0. 

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Roger De Vlaeminck.

• Roger De Vlaeminck at Cycling Archives
• Complete palmares (in French)