1944 Tour of Flanders

The 28th running of the Tour of Flanders cycling classic was held on Sunday, 2 April 1944. Belgian Rik van Steenbergen finished as first. Aged 19, he still is the youngest cyclist ever to win this Monument. Of the 103 starting cyclists, 34 reached the finish

Route
The race started in Ghent and finished there in the Kuipke velodrome, totaling 224 km (139 miles).

The course featured 3 categorized climbs:


 * Kwaremont
 * Kruisberg
 * Edelareberg

Race summary
75 km from the finish, a leading group of three formed. They held on until 10 km before the finish. Six riders joined. Due to confusion about the course in the velodrome, the leading rider, Georges Claes, fell. Rik Van Steenbergen cleverly avoided the fallen rider and could beat his fellow escapees in the sprint.