Cafe Roubaix

Ronde van Vlaanderen Stats

Historical stats

– First ever rider 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 69 victories

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

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

– Briek Schotte and Johan Museeuw share the record for the most podiums: 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

– First ever hill to feature on the course was the Tiegemberg, back in 1919

– 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 was Fiorenzo Magni, in 1950

– The last rider to win from a day-long breakaway was Jacky Durand, in 1992

2018 stats

– 25 teams (18 World Tour and 7 Pro Continental) will be at the start of the 102nd edition

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

– 26 nations will have at least one representant in the peloton, with Belgium providing the most riders, 45

– Youngest competitor in the race is Julien Mortier (20 years), while the oldest one is Mathew Hayman (39 years)

– Four former winners will line up at the start: Stijn Devolder, Philippe Gilbert, Alexander Kristoff and Peter Sagan

– Pascal Eenkhorn, Jeremy Lecroq, Julien Mortier, Patrick Muller, Jan-willem Van Schip are the five neo-pros who’ll make their Monument debut at De Ronde

– Of the riders at the start, Stijn Devolder has the most participations: 17, including the one of this year

– The peloton of De Ronde van Vlaanderen have won a combined total of 4 Grand Tours, 19 Monuments, 9 world titles and over 90 Grand Tour stages

Milano-Sanremo Stats

Historical stats

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

– The only time the race has not been held was due to war, in 1916, 1944 and 1945

– 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

– Longest winless streak of the home riders was between 1954 and 1970

– 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 day-long 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, while Cipressa featured for the first time in 1982

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

– In 1909, the first bike change was allowed by the organisers

– 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

2018 stats

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

– Of these, Gazprom-RusVelo, Israel Cycling Academy, Nippo-Vini Fantini and Novo Nordisk are winless in 2018

– 31 nations will have at least one cyclist in the peloton, with Italy providing the most riders, 46

– Youngest rider in the race is Stepan Kurianov (21 years), while oldest one is Svein Tuft (40 years)

– Five former winners will line-up at the start: Mark Cavendish, Arnaud Démare, Alexander Kristoff, Michal Kwiatkowski and Filippo Pozzato

– Sam Brand, Giovanni Carboni, Nicolay Cherkasov, Damiano Cima, Evgeny Kobernyak, Stepan Kurianov, Jacopo Mosca, Marco Tizza and Aleksandr Vlasov are the nine neo-pros to make their debut in a Monument at “La Primavera”

– Of the riders at the start, Filippo Pozzato has the most participations: 15, including the one of this year

– Same Pozzato is the active rider with the most Monument starts: 48

– 4382 days have passed since the last triumph of the host nation

– The riders in Milano-Sanremo have won a combined total of 14 Monuments, 5 World Titles, 5 Grand Tours and more than 180 Grand Tour stages