The Tour of Belgium (Dutch: Ronde van België; French: Tour de Belgique) is a five-day bicycle race which is held annually in Belgium, and is part of the UCI ProSeries.[1]
 | |
| Race details | |
|---|---|
| Date | Late-May |
| Region | Belgium |
| English name | Tour of Belgium |
| Local name(s) | Ronde van België (in Dutch) Tour de Belgique (in French) Baloise Belgium Tour |
| Discipline | Road |
| Competition | UCI ProSeries |
| Type | Stage race |
| Race director | Jan Nys (Golazo Sports) |
| Web site | www |
| History | |
| First edition | 1908 |
| Editions | 93 (as of 2024) |
| First winner |  Lucien Petit-Breton (FRA) |
| Most wins |  Tony Martin (GER) (3 wins) |
| Most recent |  Søren Wærenskjold (NOR) |
It was held annually between 1908 and 1981, except during both world wars. Between 1982 and 1990 several races were not organised and none at all from 1991 to 2001. From 2002 onwards the race has again become an annual fixture on the cycling calendar.[2]
Following the start of the UCI ProTour in 2005 it looked like the race would merge with the Eneco Tour; however this did not happen and it became part of the UCI Europe Tour competition.
Winners
editTwelve riders have managed to win the Tour of Belgium more than once. The most successful rider is German rider Tony Martin, who won three consecutive editions between 2012 and 2014.
By year
edit
Multiple winners
edit| Name | Country | Wins | Years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tony Martin | Germany |
3 | 2012, 2013, 2014 |
| Louis Mottiat |  Belgium |
2 | 1914, 1920 |
| Émile Masson | Belgium |
2 | 1919, 1923 |
| René Vermandel | Belgium |
2 | 1921, 1922 |
| Henri Van Kerckhove | Belgium |
2 | 1952, 1954 |
| Noël Foré | Belgium |
2 | 1958, 1962 |
| Eddy Merckx | Belgium |
2 | 1970, 1971 |
| Roger Swerts | Belgium |
2 | 1972, 1974 |
| Frans Maassen |  Netherlands |
2 | 1988, 1990 |
| Stijn Devolder | Belgium |
2 | 2008, 2010 |
| Jens Keukeleire | Belgium |
2 | 2017, 2018 |
| Remco Evenepoel | Belgium |
2 | 2019, 2021 |
By nation
edit| Rank | Country | Wins | Most times winner | Most Recent Winner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Belgium
|
69 | 2 wins | Remco Evenepoel (2021) |
| 2 | Netherlands
|
9 | Frans Maassen (2) | Mathieu van der Poel (2023) |
| 3 | France
|
4 | 1 win | Sylvain Chavanel (2004) |
| 4 | Germany
|
3 | Tony Martin (3) | Tony Martin (2014) |
| 5 |  Italy
|
2 | 1 win | Carmine Preziosi (1967) |
| 6 |  Australia
|
1 | Michael Rogers (1) | Michael Rogers (2003) |
 Denmark
|
1 | Leif Mortensen (1) | Leif Mortensen (1973) | |
 Great Britain
|
1 | Sean Yates (1) | Sean Yates (1989) | |
| Norway
|
1 | Søren Wærenskjold (1) | Søren Wærenskjold (2024) | |
 Russia
|
1 | Vladimir Gusev (1) | Vladimir Gusev (2007) | |
 Switzerland
|
1 | Mauro Schmid (1) | Mauro Schmid (2022) |
Classifications
editAs of the 2023 edition, the jerseys worn by the leaders of the individual classifications are:
Purple Jersey – Worn by the leader of the general classification.
Red Jersey – Worn by the leader of the points classification.
Yellow Jersey – Worn by the leader of the youth classification.
White Jersey – Worn by the leader of the combativity classification.
References
edit- ^ "Belgium Tour". FirstCycling.com. 2023.
- ^ "Tour de Belgique (Bel) - Cat.2.ProS". Memoire-du-cyclisme.eu (in French).
- ^ "Geen Baloise Belgium Tour en Elfstedenronde meer in 2020" [No Baloise Belgium Tour and Elfstedenronde in 2020] (in Dutch). sporza.be. 17 April 2020. Retrieved 17 April 2020.