Omloop Het Nieuwsblad
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Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, previously Omloop Het Volk, is a one-day road cycling race in Belgium, held annually in late February. It is the opening event of the Belgian cycling season, as well as the first race of the year in Northwestern Europe, and holds significant prestige because of it. Since 2017, the race is part of the UCI World Tour, cycling's top-tier professional events.
Tom Boonen at the start of the 2009 event
Route of the 2015 edition
Podium of the 2008 Omloop Het Volk: Nick Nuyens, Philippe Gilbert and Thor Hushovd.
Podium of the 2015 event: Niki Terpstra, winner Ian Stannard and Tom Boonen.
Tour of Flanders
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The Tour of Flanders, also known as De Ronde, is an annual road cycling race held in Belgium every spring. The most important cycling race in Flanders, it is part of the UCI World Tour and organized by Flanders Classics. Its nickname is Vlaanderens Mooiste. First held in 1913, the Tour of Flanders had its 100th edition in 2016.
Korenmarkt, Ghent (pictured ca. 1890-1900), was the scene of the start of the first Tour of Flanders in 1913
Marcel Buysse, winner of the second Tour of Flanders, pictured in 1913
The 1929 Tour of Flanders on the dyke of the Bruges–Ostend Canal
Statue in honour of Briek Schotte in Kanegem. Schotte won the race twice and holds a record 20 participations between 1940 and 1959.