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Roger De Vlaeminck

Roger De Vlaeminck
A man wearing a black jacket
De Vlaeminck at the 2012 World Ports Classic
Personal information
Full name Roger De Vlaeminck
Nickname The Gypsy
Born (1947-08-24) 24 August 1947 (age 69)
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)

Grand Tours

Stage races

One-day races and Classics

Cyclo-cross

Roger De Vlaeminck (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈrɔʒɛi də ˈvlamɪnk]; 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". 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“).

De Vlaeminck was born on 24 August 1947 in the East Flanders town of Eeklo, 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. 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.

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.


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