Lucky Room 11
As a pro, Yvo Molenaers won the Tour of Luxembourg, as well as stages in Paris-Nice and the Tour de Suisse. Then, after retiring, Molenaers (who is also Valerio Piva’s father-in-law) opened the Hotel Malpertuus, in the Belgian town of Riemst, not far of Liège. With time, one of the hotel’s rooms – Room 11, to be precisely – became a talisman for the riders, many of the ones who have slept there going on to take a big win soon afterwards.
Thanks to Emile Molenaers, Yvo’s son, I got to make a list of the cyclists who stayed in the famous Room 11 and their victories.
| Year | Race Won | Winner | Team |
| 1990 | Flèche Wallonne | Moreno Argentin | Ariostea |
| 1991 | Flèche Wallonne+ Liège–Bastogne–Liège | Moreno Argentin | Ariostea |
| 1993 | Amstel Gold Race | Rolf Järmann | Ariostea |
| 1994 | Amstel Gold Race | Johan Museeuw | GB-MG |
| 1997 | Liège–Bastogne–Liège | Michele Bartoli | MG-Technogym |
| 2002 | Amstel Gold Race | Michele Bartoli | Fassa Bortolo |
| 2002 | World Championships | Mario Cipollini | Italia |
| 2008 | Flèche Wallonne | Kim Kirchen | Team Columbia |
| 2010 | Eneco Tour | Tony Martin | HTC-Columbia |
| 2012 | Flèche Wallonne | Joaquim Rodriguez | Katusha |
| 2013 | Flèche Wallonne | Daniel Moreno | Katusha |
Cafe Roubaix 