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]

Tour of Belgium
Race details
DateLate-May
RegionBelgium
English nameTour of Belgium
Local name(s)Ronde van België (in Dutch)
Tour de Belgique (in French) Baloise Belgium Tour
DisciplineRoad
CompetitionUCI ProSeries
TypeStage race
Race directorJan Nys (Golazo Sports)
Web sitewww.sport.be/baloisebelgiumtour/ Edit this at Wikidata
History
First edition1908 (1908)
Editions93 (as of 2024)
First winner Lucien Petit-Breton (FRA)
Most wins Tony Martin (GER) (3 wins)
Most recent Søren Wærenskjold (NOR)
Philippe Gilbert as leader in Mechelen, 2010

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

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Twelve 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

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Year Country Rider Team
1908   France Lucien Petit-Breton Peugeot–Wolber
1909   France Paul Duboc Alcyon–Dunlop
1910   Belgium Jules Masselis Alcyon–Dunlop
1911   Belgium René Vandenberghe Alcyon–Dunlop
1912   Belgium Odile Defraye Alcyon–Dunlop
1913   Belgium Dieudonné Gauthy Alcyon–Soly
1914   Belgium Louis Mottiat Alcyon–Soly
1915–
1918
No race due to World War I
1919   Belgium Émile Masson Alcyon
1920   Belgium Louis Mottiat Alcyon
1921   Belgium René Vermandel individual
1922   Belgium René Vermandel Alcyon–Dunlop
1923   Belgium Émile Masson Alcyon–Dunlop
1924   Belgium Félix Sellier Alcyon–Dunlop
1925   Belgium Denis Verschueren Wonder
1926   Belgium Jean De Busschere Alcyon–Dunlop
1927   Belgium Paul Matton Armor–Dunlop
1928   Belgium Jules Vanhevel individual
1929   Belgium Armand Van Bruane La Nordiste
1930   Belgium Émile Joly Génial Lucifer
1931   Belgium Maurice De Waele M. Dewaele
1932   Belgium Léon Louyet Génial Lucifer–Hutchinson
1933   Belgium Jean Aerts Alcyon–Dunlop
1934   Belgium François Gardier Depas Cycles
1935   Belgium Joseph Moerenhout Dilecta–Wolber
1936   Belgium Emile Decroix Wolber
1937   Belgium Adolph Braeckeveldt Helyett–Splendor–Hutchinson
1938   Belgium François Neuville Helyett–Hutchinson
1939   Belgium Joseph Somers Helyett–Hutchinson
1940–
1944
No race due to World War II
1945   Belgium Norbert Callens Mercier–Hutchinson
1946   Belgium Albert Ramon Cilo
1947   Belgium Maurice Van Herzele Groene Leeuw
1948   Belgium Stan Ockers Garin–Wolber
1949   Belgium Ernest Sterckx L'Avenir
1950   Belgium Albert Dubuisson Groene Leeuw
1951   Belgium Lucien Mathys Groene Leeuw
1952   Belgium Henri Van Kerckhove individual
1953   Belgium Florent Rondelé Bertin–D'Alessandro
1954   Belgium Henri Van Kerckhove Groene Leeuw–Huret
1955   Belgium Alex Close Elvé–Peugeot
1956   Belgium André Vlayen Elvé–Peugeot
1957   Belgium Pino Cerami Peugeot–BP–Dunlop
1958   Belgium Noël Foré Groene Leeuw–Leopold
1959   Belgium Armand Desmet Groene Leeuw–Sinalco–SAS
1960   Belgium Alfons Sweeck Groene Leeuw–Sinalco–SAS
1961   Belgium Rik Van Looy Faema
1962   Belgium Noël Foré Flandria–Faema–Clément
1963   Netherlands Peter Post Dr. Mann–Labo
1964   Belgium Benoni Beheyt Wiel's–Groene Leeuw
1965   France Jean Stablinski Ford France–Gitane
1966   Italy Vittorio Adorni Salvarani
1967   Italy Carmine Preziosi Molteni
1968   Belgium Wilfried David Flandria–De Clerck
1969   Belgium Erik De Vlaeminck Flandria–De Clerck–Krüger
1970   Belgium Eddy Merckx Faemino–Faema
1971   Belgium Eddy Merckx Molteni
1972   Belgium Roger Swerts Molteni
1973   Denmark Leif Mortensen Bic
1974   Belgium Roger Swerts IJsboerke–Colner
1975   Belgium Freddy Maertens Carpenter–Confortluxe–Flandria
1976   Belgium Michel Pollentier Flandria–Velda–West Vlaams Vleesbedrijf
1977   Belgium Walter Planckaert Maes Pils–Mini-Flat
1978   Belgium André Dierickx IJsboerke–Gios
1979   Belgium Daniel Willems IJsboerke–Warncke Eis
1980   Netherlands Gerrie Knetemann TI–Raleigh–Creda
1981   Netherlands Ad Wijnands TI–Raleigh–Creda
1982–
1983
No race
1984   Belgium Eddy Planckaert Panasonic–Raleigh
1985   Belgium Ludo Peeters Kwantum–Decosol–Yoko
1986   Belgium Nico Emonds Kwantum–Decosol–Yoko
1987 No race
1988   Netherlands Frans Maassen Superconfex–Yoko–Opel–Colnago
1989   Great Britain Sean Yates 7-Eleven
1990   Netherlands Frans Maassen Buckler–Colnago–Decca
1991–
2001
No race
2002   Netherlands Bart Voskamp BankGiroLoterij–Batavus
2003   Australia Michael Rogers Quick-Step–Davitamon
2004   France Sylvain Chavanel Brioches La Boulangère
2005   Belgium Tom Boonen Quick-Step–Innergetic
2006   Netherlands Maarten Tjallingii Skil–Shimano
2007   Russia Vladimir Gusev Discovery Channel
2008   Belgium Stijn Devolder Quick-Step
2009   Netherlands Lars Boom Rabobank
2010   Belgium Stijn Devolder Quick-Step
2011   Belgium Philippe Gilbert Omega Pharma–Lotto
2012   Germany Tony Martin Omega Pharma–Quick-Step
2013   Germany Tony Martin Omega Pharma–Quick-Step
2014   Germany Tony Martin Omega Pharma–Quick-Step
2015   Belgium Greg Van Avermaet BMC Racing Team
2016   Belgium Dries Devenyns IAM Cycling
2017   Belgium Jens Keukeleire Belgium (national team)
2018   Belgium Jens Keukeleire Lotto–Soudal
2019   Belgium Remco Evenepoel Deceuninck–Quick-Step
2020 No race due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Belgium[3]
2021   Belgium Remco Evenepoel Deceuninck–Quick-Step
2022    Switzerland Mauro Schmid Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team
2023   Netherlands Mathieu van der Poel Alpecin–Deceuninck
2024   Norway Søren Wærenskjold Uno-X Mobility

Multiple winners

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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

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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

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As 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

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  1. ^ "Belgium Tour". FirstCycling.com. 2023.
  2. ^ "Tour de Belgique (Bel) - Cat.2.ProS". Memoire-du-cyclisme.eu (in French).
  3. ^ "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.
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