.jpg) De Vlaeminck in 1972 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Roger De Vlaeminck | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nickname | Le gitan (The Gypsy[1]) Monsieur Paris–Roubaix | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | (1947-08-24)24 August 1947 (age 78) Eeklo,East Flanders, Belgium | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Discipline | Road Cyclo-cross | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Role | Rider | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rider type | Classics specialist | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Professional teams | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1969–1971 | Flandria–De Clerck–Krüger | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1972 | Dreher | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1973–1977 | Brooklyn | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1978 | Sanson–Campagnolo | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1979 | Gis Gelati | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1980 | Boule d'Or–Studio Casa | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1981–1982 | DAF Trucks–Côte d'Or | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1983 | Gios–Clement | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1984 | Gis Gelati–Tuc Lu | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Major wins | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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Roger De Vlaeminck (Flemish pronunciation:[rɔˈʑeːdəˈvlaːmɪŋk];[2] born 24 August 1947) is aBelgian former professionalracing cyclist. He was described byRik 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 classicParis–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".
De Vlaeminck was born on 24 August 1947 in theEast Flanders town ofEeklo,[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 brotherErik 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 ridingcyclo-cross. In Luxembourg in 1968, Erik became world professional champion and Roger the amateur champion on the same day. Roger eventually took the professional title in 1975.[3]
In 1968 De Vlaeminck rode theroad race at the1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico and finished 18th.[5]
De Vlaeminck turned professional at the start of the 1969 season with Flandria-Declerck and won theOmloop "Het Volk" in his first race. De Vlaeminck's career ran parallel withEddy 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 skills 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 raceTirreno–Adriatico as training for the spring classics. He dominated the race between 1972 and 1977, winning every edition and taking 15 stages. His six victories are the most of all time and no other rider has won the race more than twice.[6]
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 theGiro di Lombardia). The other two are fellow BelgiansRik van Looy and Eddy Merckx. In total De Vlaeminck won 11 Monument races, and finished in the top ten on an additional 25 occasions.[7] The only major one-day race he did not win was theworld road race championship, his best performance was second to DutchmanHennie Kuiper in 1975.
He rode threeTours de France, winning stage 6 in 1970 between Amiens and Valenciennes. De Vlaeminck took the points jersey in theGiro d'Italia on three occasions as well as 22 stages overall including seven stages in1975. He took a stage win in theVuelta a España in his final season in 1984. His career lasted 15 years and he eventually had 259 road race victories. He always kept active in cyclo-cross, resulting in 70 cyclo-cross victories and a world title in 1975. De Vlaeminck also had a few successes on track, with several podium finishes inSix-Day races and a national Madison title in 1972 alongsidePatrick Sercu.[8] This makes him the only cyclist who won a Belgian national championship in road cycling, cyclo-cross and track cycling.
In 1970,Rik Van Looy ended his career and many fans then focused on Roger De Vlaeminck as his successor. Another young rider who could succeed Van Looy wasEddy Merckx. When the professional careers of both riders had just started, De Vlaeminck always wanted to beat Merckx. He was even disappointed if someone else came in second, because then people could say he had no opposition. After racing against each other for a number of years, the two started to think differently about each other. De Vlaeminck gained respect for Merckx's performance and Merckx appreciated that his competitor always fought him with an open mind.
De Vlaeminck also believes that there were others who benefited from the competition between him and Merckx. He often restricted his competitor, but this cost so much strength that someone else took advantage of it. De Vlaeminck also says that he could have won some races if Merckx had not participated, but in other races he drove better because he never wanted to be inferior to his competitor.
Ultimately, De Vlaeminck named his son Eddy De Vlaeminck, after his competitor.[9]
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De Vlaeminck, who lives on a farm inKaprijke, 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.[citation needed] De Vlaeminck is also known for his harsh opinion ofTom Boonen, calling him unworthy of equaling his Paris–Roubaix record of 4 wins, claiming cycling is not 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.[10]
UCI World Amateur Championships
National Amateur Championships National Amateur Championships
UCI World Amateur ChampionshipsNational ChampionshipsUCI World ChampionshipsUCI World ChampionshipsNational ChampionshipsNational ChampionshipsRoad race, National Amateur Championships
OverallAmateur Tour of Belgium
Points classificationRoad race, National Championships after Stages 7–8b
after Stages 1a–5 after Stage 6 Points classification
OverallFour Days of Dunkirk
Mountains classification
Points classification after Stages 2–6b
OverallTirreno–Adriatico
Points classification OverallTirreno–Adriatico Mountains classification after Stages 15–17 OverallTirreno–Adriatico
OverallGiro di SiciliaPoints classification OverallTour de Suisse Points classification OverallTirreno–AdriaticoRoad race,UCI World ChampionshipsPoints classification OverallTirreno–Adriatico Points classification.png)
OverallGiro di Sardegna after Stages 2 & 4–5 after Stages 4–19 Points classification Points classification OverallTirreno–Adriatico Points classification after Stages 7, 9 & 11b OverallGiro di Puglia after Stages 11 & 12 OverallVuelta a MallorcaRoad race, National Championships| Grand Tour | 1969 | 1970 | 1971 | 1972 | 1973 | 1974 | 1975 | 1976 | 1977 | 1978 | 1979 | 1980 | 1981 | 1982 | 1983 | 1984 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vuelta a España | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | DNF |
| Giro d'Italia | — | — | — | 7 | 11 | 11 | 4 | DNF | DNF | DNF | DNF | — | — | — | — | DNF |
| Tour de France | DNF | DNF | DNF | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Monument | 1969 | 1970 | 1971 | 1972 | 1973 | 1974 | 1975 | 1976 | 1977 | 1978 | 1979 | 1980 | 1981 | 1982 | 1983 | 1984 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Milan–San Remo | 2 | — | — | 12 | 1 | 3 | 31 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 13 | — | — |
| Tour of Flanders | — | 13 | 17 | — | — | 29 | 11 | 4 | 1 | 10 | 12 | 4 | 6 | 25 | — | — |
| Paris–Roubaix | 5 | 2 | 7 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | DNF | 2 | 6 | — | — |
| Liège–Bastogne–Liège | 22 | 1 | — | — | — | 11 | 8 | — | 4 | — | — | — | — | 7 | — | — |
| Giro di Lombardia | — | — | 8 | — | 2 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 15 | — | 15 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Classic | 1969 | 1970 | 1971 | 1972 | 1973 | 1974 | 1975 | 1976 | 1977 | 1978 | 1979 | 1980 | 1981 | 1982 | 1983 | 1984 |
| Omloop Het Volk | 1 | 8 | 33 | — | 2 | 26 | 4 | 19 | 8 | — | 1 | 4 | 6 | 38 | — | — |
| Amstel Gold Race | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 6 | — | — | — | 2 | — | — | — |
| Gent–Wevelgem | 2 | 12 | 2 | 16 | — | 3 | — | 6 | — | 6 | 2 | 39 | 2 | 22 | — | — |
| La Flèche Wallonne | 6 | 15 | 1 | — | — | 2 | 9 | — | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Züri-Metzgete | 3 | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | 2 | — | — | 8 | 4 | — | — | — | — |
| Paris–Brussels | Not held | 13 | 2 | — | — | 4 | — | 12 | — | 1 | — | — | — | |||
| Paris–Tours | 30 | 5 | 22 | 4 | 2 | 7 | 3 | 16 | 4 | — | — | — | 50 | — | — | — |
| 1969 | 1970 | 1971 | 1972 | 1973 | 1974 | 1975 | 1976 | 1977 | 1978 | 1979 | 1980 | 1981 | 1982 | 1983 | 1984 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| World Championships | 14 | 11 | 46 | 12 | 31 | DNF | 2 | — | DNF | 10 | 10 | 7 | DNF | — | — | — |
| National Championships | 1 | — | 8 | 11 | 4 | 8 | 4 | — | — | 17 | — | — | 1 | — | — | — |
| — | Did not compete |
|---|---|
| DNF | Did not finish |
Madison, National Championships (withPatrick Sercu)
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
