Roger De Vlaeminck
Roger De Vlaeminck (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈrɔʒe də ˈvlamɪŋk];[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“).
.jpg) De Vlaeminck in 1972 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Roger De Vlaeminck | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nickname | The Gypsy[1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 24 August 1947 Eeklo, East Flanders, Belgium | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Current team | Retired | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 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 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Grand Tours
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Medal record
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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 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 Tours 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 (he retired in 1984) and he had 257 victories.
Post-career
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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
- 1967
- 1st Stage 4 Amateur Tour of Belgium
- 1st Stage 4 Tour de la province de Namur
- 7th Amateur Road race, Road World Championships
- 1968
- 1st
- 1st
- 1st Overall Amateur Tour of Belgium
- 1st Stage 8
- 1st La Flèche Ardennaise
- 10th Overall Tour de l'Avenir
- 1st Points classification
- 1st Stages 10a & 10b
- 1969
- 1st Omloop Het Volk
- 1st
- 1st Brussels–Ingooigem
- 1st Stage 3 Tour of Belgium
- 2nd Milan–San Remo
- 2nd Gent–Wevelgem
- 3rd Züri-Metzgete
- 5th Paris–Roubaix
- 6th La Flèche Wallonne
- 1970
- 1st Liège–Bastogne–Liège
- 1st Stage 6 Tour de France
- 1st Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne
- 1st Grote Scheldeprijs
- 1st Druivenkoers Overijse
- 1st Omloop van het Houtland
- 2nd Paris–Roubaix
- 2nd E3 Prijs Vlaanderen
- 5th Paris–Tours
- 8th Omloop Het Volk
- 1971
- 1st La Flèche Wallonne
- 1st Overall Four Days of Dunkirk
- 1st Stage 2
- 1st Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne
- 1st E3 Prijs Vlaanderen
- 1st Six Days of Ghent (with Patrick Sercu)
- 2nd Gent–Wevelgem
- 3rd Overall Vuelta a Andalucía
- 3rd Brabantse Pijl
- 4th Overall Tour de Suisse
- 1st Stage 3
- 7th Paris–Roubaix
- 8th Giro di Lombardia
- 1972
- 1st Paris–Roubaix
- 1st
- 1st Stages 4 & 5b
- 1st Milano–Torino
- 1st Coppa Placci
- 1st Gran Premio Città di Camaiore
- 1st Druivenkoers Overijse
- 1st
- 3rd Grand Prix Pino Cerami
- 4th Paris–Tours
- 4th Trofeo Laigueglia
- 7th Overall Giro d'Italia
- 1st
- 1st Stage 6, 15, 18 & 19a
- 1st
- 10th Sassari–Cagliari
- 1973
- 1st Milan–San Remo
- Giro d'Italia
- 1st Stages 2, 11 & 13
- 2nd Points classification
- 1st
- 1st Stage 5a
- 1st Giro di Toscana
- 1st Trofeo Matteotti
- 1st Boucles de l'Aulne
- 2nd Giro di Lombardia
- 2nd Paris–Tours
- 2nd Coppa Bernocchi
- 2nd Omloop Het Volk
- 2nd Trofeo Laigueglia
- 3rd Milano–Torino
- 4th Coppa Placci
- 7th Paris–Roubaix
- 8th Brabantse Pijl
- 1974
- 1st Paris–Roubaix
- 1st Giro di Lombardia
- Giro d'Italia
- 1st
- 1st Stage 4
- 4th Traguardi tricolori classification
- 1st
- 1st
- 1st Stage 5
- 1st Giro del Veneto
- 1st Milano–Torino
- 1st Druivenkoers Overijse
- 1st Coppa Placci
- 1st Giro della Sicilia
- 1st Stage 2 Giro di Puglia
- 1st
- 2nd
- 2nd Giro dell'Emilia
- 2nd Paris-Bruxelles
- 2nd La Flèche Wallonne
- 2nd Giro della Provincia di Reggio Calabria
- 2nd Overall Super Prestige Pernod International
- 3rd Milan–San Remo
- 3rd Coppa Agostoni
- 3rd Gent–Wevelgem
- 3rd Grand Prix de Wallonie
- 4th Giro del Lazio
- 7th Paris–Tours
- 1975
- 1st Paris–Roubaix
- 1st
- 1st Points classification
- 1st Prologue & Stages 1, 3, 5, 9 & 10
- 1st
- 1st
- 1st Stages 2, 4 & 5
- 1st Züri-Metzgete
- 1st Coppa Agostoni
- 1st Giro del Lazio
- 1st Trofeo Pantalica
- 1st Critérium des As
- 1st
- 2nd
- 2nd Paris–Tours
- 2nd Milano–Torino
- 2nd Druivenkoers Overijse
- 2nd Trofeo Laigueglia
- 2nd Overall Super Prestige Pernod International
- 4th Overall Giro d'Italia
- 1st
- 1st Stages 4, 6, 7b, 10, 11, 18 & 20
- 5th Mountains classification
- 1st
- 4th Giro di Lombardia
- 4th Grote Scheldeprijs
- 4th Omloop Het Volk
- 5th Tre Valli Varesine
- 7th Giro dell'Emilia
- 8th Liège–Bastogne–Liège
- 1976
- 1st Giro di Lombardia
- Giro d'Italia
- 1st Stages 2, 5, 8 & 16
- 1st Giro dell'Emilia
- 1st
- 1st Stages 3, 4 & 5b
- 1st Overall Volta a Catalunya
- 1st Prologue & Stages 2 & 4
- 1st Giro del Lazio
- 1st Overall Giro di Sardegna
- 1st Stages 1b & 5
- 1st Coppa Agostoni
- 1st Gran Premio di Montelupo
- 1st Stage 3 Giro di Puglia
- 2nd Overall Tour de Romandie
- 1st Stage 5a
- 2nd Tre Valli Varesine
- 2nd Grote Scheldeprijs
- 2nd Züri-Metzgete
- 3rd Paris–Roubaix
- 4th Tour of Flanders
- 5th Coppa Placci
- 6th Gent–Wevelgem
- 6th E3 Prijs Vlaanderen
- 7th Milan–San Remo
- 1977
- 1st Paris–Roubaix
- 1st Tour of Flanders
- 1st
- 1st Stages 2 & 3
- 1st Giro del Piemonte
- 2nd Milan–San Remo
- 2nd Overall Super Prestige Pernod International
- 4th Liège–Bastogne–Liège
- 4th Paris–Tours
- 4th Paris–Bruxelles
- 6th Amstel Gold Race
- 6th Coppa Bernocchi
- 8th Omloop Het Volk
- 7th Tre Valli Varesine
- 1978
- 1st Milan–San Remo
- 1st Druivenkoers Overijse
- Giro di Sardegna
- 1st Points classification
- 1st Stages 1 & 5
- 1st Giro del Friuli
- 1st Stage 4 Giro di Puglia
- 1st
- 2nd Paris–Roubaix
- 3rd Giro del Lazio
- 5th Coppa Agostoni
- 6th Gent–Wevelgem
- 8th Züri-Metzgete
- 8th Brabantse Pijl
- 10th Tour of Flanders
- 10th Road race, Road World Championships
- 1979
- 1st Milan–San Remo
- Giro d'Italia
- 1st Stages 2, 9 & 12
- 1st Omloop Het Volk
- Four Days of Dunkirk
- 1st Stages 4a & 5b
- 1st Overall Giro di Puglia
- 1st Stages 1, 2 & 3
- 1st Stage 5a Tirreno–Adriatico
- 1st Milano–Vignola
- 2nd Paris–Roubaix
- 2nd Gent–Wevelgem
- 3rd Overall Giro del Trentino
- 1st Stage 1
- 3rd Tre Valli Varesine
- 4th Züri-Metzgete
- 7th Coppa Ugo Agostoni
- 10th Road race, Road World Championships
- 1980
- 1st Overall Vuelta a Mallorca
- 1st Prologue & Stages 1 & 4
- Tirreno–Adriatico
- 1st Stages 1 & 2
- 1st Giro di Sardegna
- 1st Stages 1, 2a, 4 & 5
- 1st Trofeo Laigueglia
- 1st Stage 1 Four Days of Dunkirk
- 1st Profronde van Stiphout
- 4th Tour of Flanders
- 5th Milan–San Remo
- 5th Omloop Het Volk
- 5th Coppa Bernocchi
- 6th Grote Scheldeprijs
- 6th Coppa Agostoni
- 7th Road race, World Road Championships
- 1981
- 1st Paris–Brussels
- 1st
- 1st Brabantse Pijl
- Tour de Suisse
- 1st Stages 2 & 3a
- Paris–Nice
- 1st Stages 2a & 4
- 1st Profronde van Stiphout
- 2nd Milan–San Remo
- 2nd Paris–Roubaix
- 2nd Amstel Gold Race
- 2nd Overall Super Prestige Pernod International
- 3rd Trofeo Laigueglia
- 5th Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne
- 6th Tour of Flanders
- 1982
- 1st Six Days of Antwerp (with Patrick Sercu)
- 2nd E3 Prijs Vlaanderen
- 6th Paris–Roubaix
- 7th Liège–Bastogne–Liège
- 7th Overall Three Days of De Panne
- 7th Trofeo Laigueglia
- 1984
- 1st Stage 8 Vuelta a España
- 1st Giro di Campania
- 3rd Milano–Torino
Monuments results timeline
| Monument | 1969 | 1970 | 1971 | 1972 | 1973 | 1974 | 1975 | 1976 | 1977 | 1978 | 1979 | 1980 | 1981 | 1982 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Milan–San Remo | 2 | — | — | 12 | 1 | 3 | 31 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 13 |
| Tour of Flanders | — | — | — | 13 | 17 | 30 | 11 | 4 | 1 | 10 | 12 | 4 | 6 | 25 |
| Paris–Roubaix | 5 | 2 | 7 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | — | 2 | 6 |
| Liège–Bastogne–Liège | 22 | 1 | — | — | — | 11 | 8 | — | 4 | — | — | — | — | 7 |
| Giro di Lombardia | — | — | 8 | — | 2 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 15 | — | 15 | — | — | — |
See also
Notes
- Fotheringham 2003, p. 63.
- "Pronunciation: Roger De Vlaeminck". Forvo. Retrieved 10 July 2015.
- "Roger De Vlaeminck". Cycling Archives. de Wielersite. Retrieved 19 November 2013.
- Dobbelsten, Rob Van Den (14 February 1998). "Welk een Kampioen mijne heren'" [What a champion, gentlemen]. Leidsch Dagblad (in Dutch). Leiden, Netherlands. p. 41. Retrieved 14 May 2015.
- "Roger De Vlaeminck Olympic Results". sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 15 September 2014.
- "De Vlaeminck: Boonen's Paris-Roubaix rivals were "third rate"". Cyclingnews.com. Bath, UK: Future plc. 10 April 2010. Retrieved 19 November 2013.
- "Roger De Vlaeminck (Belgium)". The-Sports.org. Québec, Canada: Info Média Conseil. Retrieved 8 November 2013.
- "Palmarès de Roger De Vlaeminck (Bel)" [Awards of Roger De Vlaeminck (Bel)]. Memoire du cyclisme (in French). Retrieved 8 November 2013.
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.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
- 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.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
Further reading
- Luchon, Raphael (1978). Roger De Vlaeminck. Silsden, UK: Kennedy Brothers. ASIN B0007C86H0.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Roger De Vlaeminck. |
- Roger De Vlaeminck at Cycling Archives
- Complete palmares (in French)
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