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Ronde van Vlaanderen Stats

Historical stats

– First ever cyclist to take the victory was Paul Deman, back in 1913, when he needed 12 hours, 3 minutes and 10 seconds to complete the 324 km-long course

– Six riders share the record for the most wins (3): Tom Boonen, Achiel Buysse, Fabian Cancellara, Eric Leman, Fiorenzo Magni and Johan Museeuw

– Belgium leads in the nations standings, with no less than 68 victories

– Other countries to have a winner are Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Slovakia, Switzerland and United Kingdom

– Last victory of a home rider was brought by Tom Boonen, five years ago, this being the longest drought of the host nation since the inception of the race

– Five of the 100 editions didn’t have a Belgian cyclist on the podium: 1951, 1961, 1981, 1997 and 2001

– Briek Schotte and Johan Museeuw share the record for the most podiums (wins included): 8

– The legendary Briek Schotte is also the rider with the most starts (20 in a row) and the most finishes (16), but the latter record is shared with Frederic Guesdon

– Youngest ever winner is Rik Van Steenbergen, 19 years and 206 days (1944); oldest one is Andrei Tchmil, 37 years and 71 days (2000)

– 1920 – when Jules Van Hevel notched the win – saw the lowest average speed: 26,105 km/h

– Highest average speed – 43,576 km/h – was recorded in 2001

– The first edition was also the longest one: 324 kilometers

– Only once throughout history De Ronde had less than 200 kilometers, in 1941 (198 de kilometers), when Achiel Buysse won the race for the second time

– Five reigning world champions racked up a victory in De Ronde: Louison Bobet (1955), Rik Van Looy (1962), Eddy Merckx (1975), Tom Boonen (2006) and Peter Sagan (2016)

– 1919 saw the largest winning margin: 14 minutes between Henri Van Lerberghe and Lucien Buysee

– The only cyclist to take three wins in a row is Fiorenzo Magni (1949-1951)

– Five riders have won the amateur, as well as the pro Ronde van Vlaanderen: Roger Decock, Edward Sels, Eric Vanderaerden, Edwig van Hooydonck and Nick Nuyens

– Last Grand Tour champion to take the victory here was Gianni Bugno, in 1994

– Gent is the only city that has hosted both the start and the finish of the race

– 1944 was the last year in which the Tour of Flanders ended on the velodrome

– In 1984, only Phil Anderson and Jan Raas made it to the top of the Koppenberg without walking, the main reason for the ordeal the riders had to endure being the deteriorating state of the cobbles

– First cyclist to ride over the Muur-Kapelmuur was Fiorenzo Magni, in 1950

2017 stats

– 25 teams (18 World Tour and 7 Pro Continental) will be at the start of the 101st edition

– Of these, Astana, Roompot, Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise and Verandas Willems-Crelan are winless this season

– 32 nations will have at least one cyclist in the peloton, with Belgium providing the most riders, 44

– Youngest rider in the race is Ivan Cortina (21 years), while the oldest one is Mathew Hayman (38 years)

– Four former winners will line-up at the start: Tom Boonen, Stijn Devolder, Alexander Kristoff and Peter Sagan

– Rudy Barbier, Simone Consonni, Dries De Bondt, Jonathan Dibben, Owain Doull, Jon Insausti, Amund Jansen, Edward Planckaert, Elmar Reinders, Oliviero Troia, Alex Turrin, Taco van der Hoorn and Stef Van Zummeren are the 13 neo-pros to make their debut in a Monument at De Ronde

– Of the riders at the start, Stijn Devolder has the most participations: 16, including the one of this year

– For Filippo Pozzato, this will be the 50th career start in a Monument, a record among active riders

– The peloton of De Ronde van Vlaanderen have won a combined total of 23 Monuments, 8 world titles and more than 100 Grand Tour stages

Milano-Sanremo Stats

Historical stats

– “La Primavera” was first raced in 1907, when Lucien Petit-Breton took the victory

– The inaugural edition had 33 riders at the start, only 14 of them completing the event

– Eddy Merckx holds the record for the most wins, seven, between 1966 and 1976

– The team with the most victories in the race is Bianchi – 17; first came in 1907, last one in 1974

– Italy leads the nations standings with 50 successes over the years, the last of which came in 2006

– Six-time winner of Milano-Sanremo, Costante Girardengo has the most podiums, 11

– Italian cyclists have taken the first three positions 34 times

– Youngest winner is Ugo Agostoni, 20 years and 252 days (1914); oldest one is Andrei Tchmil, 36 years and 57 days (1999)

– Wladimiro Panizza has the most starts in “La Primavera”, 18

– Four riders have won Milano-Sanremo while wearing the rainbow jersey: Alfredo Binda (1931), Eddy Merckx (1972, 1975), Felice Gimondi (1974) and Giuseppe Saronni (1983)

– The only winners from outside of Europe are Australia’s Matthew Goss and Simon Gerrans

– Sean Kelly is the last Grand Tour champion victorious in Milano-Sanremo (1992)

– Throughout history, the maximum distance of the race has never exceeded 298 kilometers

– The last year to witness a winner from a daylong breakaway was 1982, when Marc Gomez was part of a 20-man escape

– Gino Bartali holds the record for the longest time span between the first and last victory: 11 years

– Poggio was introduced on the course in 1960, when Gastone Nencini was the first rider at the top of the climb

– Highest average speed was recorded in 1990: 45,806 km/h

– 1954 is the year in which the race was shown live on television for the first time

– Biggest gap between first and second came in 1910, when Eugene Christophe got to the line 61 minutes ahead of Giovanni Cocchi

– Milano-Sanremo is the only Monument which hasn’t been won three years in a row by the same rider

2017 stats

– 25 teams (18 World Tour and 7 Pro Continental) will be at the start of the 108th edition

– Of these, Astana, Cannondale-Drapac, Gazprom-RusVelo, Nippo-Vini Fantini and Novo Nordisk are winless in 2017

– 30 nations will have at least one cyclist in the peloton, with Italy providing the most riders, 56

– Youngest rider in the race is Egan Bernal (20 years), while oldest one is Angel Vicioso (39 years)

– Six former winners will line-up at the start: Mark Cavendish, John Degenkolb, Arnaud Démare, Simon Gerrans, Alexander Kristoff and Filippo Pozzato

– Davide Ballerini, Nuno Bico, Raffaelo Bonussi, Hector Carretero, Truls Korsaeth, Fausto Masnada, Jacopo Mosca, Umberto Poli and Miles Scotson are the nine neo-pros to make their debut in a Monument at “La Primavera”

– Of the riders at the start, Bernhard Eisel and Filippo Pozzato have the most participations: 14, including the one of this year

– In case of a victory, Tom Boonen (36 years and five months) will become the oldest ever winner of the race

– 4018 days have passed since the last triumph of the host nation

– The riders in Milano-Sanremo have won a combined total of 21 Monuments, 6 world titles and more than 150 Grand Tour stages