Roger De Vlaeminck

Roger De Vlaeminck (born 24 August 1947) is a Belgian former professional racing cyclist. He was described by Rik Van Looy as "The most talented and the only real classics rider of his generation". Nicknamed "The Gypsy" because he was born into a family of traveling clothiers, he is known for exploits in the cobbled classic Paris–Roubaix race, but his performances in other "Monument" races gave him a record that few can match. His record in Paris–Roubaix earned him another nickname, "Monsieur Paris–Roubaix".

Early life and amateur career
De Vlaeminck was born on 24 August 1947 in the East Flanders town of Eeklo, His first love was football. At the age of 16 he debuted for F.C. Eeklo. He could have made a career in the sport, however his elder brother Erik was having success as a pro cyclist and this persuaded Roger to try cycling. He raced as a junior in 1965, gaining one win, but 1966 saw 25 victories. Roger and Erik spent their winters riding cyclo-cross. In Luxembourg in 1968, Erik became world professional champion and Roger the amateur champion on the same day. Roger eventually took the professional title in 1975.

In 1968 De Vlaeminck rode the road race at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico and finished 18th.

Professional career
De Vlaeminck turned professional at the start of the 1969 season with Flandria-Declerck and won the Omloop "Het Volk" in his first race. De Vlaeminck's career ran parallel with Eddy Merckx and he battled for ascendancy with Merckx throughout his career. De Vlaeminck rode Paris–Roubaix on 14 occasions, winning four times (1972, 1974, 1975, 1977), finished second four times, third once, fifth once, sixth once, seventh twice and abandoned only in 1980. His skills as a cyclo-cross rider made him an expert on the cobbles of northern France which the race crosses. De Vlaeminck used the early season Italian stage race Tirreno–Adriatico as training for the spring classics. He dominated the race between 1972 and 1977, winning every edition and taking 15 stages. His six victories are the most of all time and no other rider has won the race more than twice.

De Vlaeminck is one of only three riders to have won all five 'Monuments of Cycling' (i.e., Milan–San Remo, Tour of Flanders, Paris–Roubaix, Liège–Bastogne–Liège, and the Giro di Lombardia). The other two are fellow Belgians Rik van Looy and Eddy Merckx. In total De Vlaeminck won 11 Monument races, and finished in the top ten on an additional 25 occasions. The only major one-day race he did not win was the world road race championship, his best performance was second to Dutchman Hennie Kuiper in 1975.

He rode three Tours de France, winning stage 6 in 1970 between Amiens and Valenciennes. De Vlaeminck took the points jersey in the Giro d'Italia on three occasions as well as 22 stages overall including seven stages in 1975. He took a stage win in the Vuelta a España in his final season in 1984. His career lasted 15 years and he eventually had 259 road race victories. He always kept active in cyclo-cross, resulting in 70 cyclo-cross victories and a world title in 1975. De Vlaeminck also had a few successes on track, with several podium finishes in Six-Day races and a national Madison title in 1972 alongside Patrick Sercu. This makes him the only cyclist who won a Belgian national championship in road cycling, cyclo-cross and track cycling.

Rivalry with Merckx
In 1970, Rik Van Looy ended his career and many fans then focused on Roger De Vlaeminck as his successor. Another young rider who could succeed Van Looy was Eddy Merckx. When the professional careers of both riders had just started, De Vlaeminck always wanted to beat Merckx. He was even disappointed if someone else came in second, because then people could say he had no opposition. After racing against each other for a number of years, the two started to think differently about each other. De Vlaeminck gained respect for Merckx's performance and Merckx appreciated that his competitor always fought him with an open mind.

De Vlaeminck also believes that there were others who benefited from the competition between him and Merckx. He often restricted his competitor, but this cost so much strength that someone else took advantage of it. De Vlaeminck also says that he could have won some races if Merckx had not participated, but in other races he drove better because he never wanted to be inferior to his competitor.

Ultimately, De Vlaeminck named his son Eddy De Vlaeminck, after his competitor.

Post-career
De Vlaeminck, who lives on a farm in Kaprijke, is still in cycling. He has been coaching cyclo-cross riders. In April 2004 he quit his job as coach to the John Saey-Deschacht team in Belgium to spend more time with his family, However he was tempted back to the sport in November 2004 as advisor to the Zimbabwe team as it prepared for the world championship in St. Wendel, Germany, at the end of January 2005.

De Vlaeminck is known for firm opinions about cycling and is often consulted by journalists. In particular, he criticizes the trend to have multiple leaders in a team. That, he says, means the best racers share important races between them. De Vlaeminck is also known for his harsh opinion of Tom Boonen, calling him unworthy of equaling his Paris–Roubaix record of 4 wins, claiming cycling is not as hard as it used to be. This led to the meme "In den tijd van Roger De Vlaeminck ..." ("in the days of Roger De Vlaeminck") where De Vlaeminck was attributed to doing all kinds of unrealistic stuff.

Cyclo-cross

 * 1967
 * 2nd National Championships


 * 1968
 * 1st Jersey rainbow.svg UCI World Amateur Championships
 * 1st Jersey belgianflag.svg National Amateur Championships
 * 1st Middelkerke


 * 1969
 * 1st Jersey belgianflag.svg National Amateur Championships
 * 1st Koksijde
 * 2nd Silver medal uci.svg UCI World Amateur Championships
 * 2nd National Championships


 * 1970
 * 1st Overijse
 * 3rd Niel


 * 1972
 * 1st Koksijde
 * 1st Overijse


 * 1974
 * 1st MaillotBélgica.svg National Championships
 * 1st Overijse
 * 2nd Silver medal uci.svg UCI World Championships


 * 1975
 * 1st Jersey rainbow.svg UCI World Championships
 * 1st Jersey belgianflag.svg National Championships
 * 3rd Overijse


 * 1978
 * 1st Jersey belgianflag.svg National Championships
 * 1st Overijse


 * 1979
 * 1st Diegem
 * 2nd National Championships


 * 1981
 * 1st Diegem

Road

 * 1967
 * 1st Stage 4 Amateur Tour of Belgium
 * 1st Stage 4 Tour de la province de Namur
 * 3rd Road race, National Amateur Championships
 * 7th Road race, UCI World Amateur Championships


 * 1968
 * 1st Jersey belgianflag.svg Road race, National Amateur Championships
 * 1st Overall Amateur Tour of Belgium
 * 1st Stage 8
 * 1st La Flèche Ardennaise
 * 10th Overall Tour de l'Avenir
 * 1st Jersey green Epic Series.svg Points classification
 * 1st Stages 10a & 10b


 * 1969
 * 1st Jersey belgianflag.svg Road race, National Championships
 * 1st Omloop Het Volk
 * 1st Brussels–Ingooigem
 * 1st Stage 3 Tour of Belgium
 * 1st Omloop Schelde-Durme
 * 1st LuK Challenge Chrono (with Herman Vanspringel)
 * 1st Kampioenschap van Oost-Vlaanderen
 * 1st Ronde van West-Vlaanderen
 * 2nd Milan–San Remo
 * 2nd Gent–Wevelgem
 * 2nd Omloop der Zennevallei
 * 2nd Grote Prijs Jef Scherens
 * 3rd GP Stad Vilvoorde
 * 3rd Züri–Metzgete
 * 3rd Overall Paris-Luxembourg
 * 3rd Wattrelos-Meulebeke
 * 5th Paris–Roubaix
 * 6th La Flèche Wallonne


 * 1970
 * 1st Liège–Bastogne–Liège
 * 1st Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne
 * 1st Grote Scheldeprijs
 * 1st Druivenkoers Overijse
 * 1st Omloop van het Houtland
 * 1st Stage 6 Tour de France
 * 1st Geraardsbergen-Viane
 * 1st Prologue (TTT) Four Days of Dunkirk
 * 2nd Paris–Roubaix
 * 2nd E3 Prijs Vlaanderen
 * 3rd Wattrelos-Meulebeke
 * 3rd GP Roeselare
 * 4th Overall Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré
 * 1st Jersey green Epic Series.svg Points classification
 * 1st Stage 4
 * 5th Paris–Tours
 * 8th Omloop Het Volk


 * 1971
 * 1st Jersey pink.svg Overall Four Days of Dunkirk
 * 1st Stage 2
 * Tour de Suisse
 * 1st Jersey black.svg Points classification
 * 1st Stage 3
 * 1st La Flèche Wallonne
 * 1st E3 Prijs Vlaanderen
 * 1st Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne
 * 1st Omloop van het Zuidwesten
 * Tour de la Nouvelle France
 * 1st Stage 1 & 4
 * 1st Omloop van de Westkust
 * 2nd Gent–Wevelgem
 * 3rd Overall Vuelta a Andalucía
 * 1st Jersey polkadot.svg Mountains classification
 * 1st Stage 1 & 6
 * 3rd Brabantse Pijl
 * 4th Overall Tour de Suisse
 * 1st Stage 3
 * 7th Paris–Roubaix
 * 8th Giro di Lombardia


 * 1972
 * 1st MaillotEspaña.PNG Overall Tirreno–Adriatico
 * 1st Stages 4 & 5b
 * 1st Paris–Roubaix
 * 1st Milano–Torino
 * 1st Druivenkoers Overijse
 * 1st Coppa Placci
 * 1st Gran Premio Città di Camaiore
 * 1st Halse Pijl
 * 1st Stage 1 Giro di Sardegna
 * 3rd Grand Prix Pino Cerami
 * 4th Paris–Tours
 * 4th Trofeo Laigueglia
 * 7th Overall Giro d'Italia
 * 1st Jersey violet.svg Points classification
 * 1st Stages 6, 15, 18 & 19a
 * 10th Sassari-Cagliari


 * 1973
 * 1st MaillotEspaña.PNG Overall Tirreno–Adriatico
 * 1st Jersey green Epic Series.svg Mountains classification
 * 1st Stage 5a
 * 1st Milan–San Remo
 * Giro d'Italia
 * 1st Stages 2, 11 & 13
 * 1st Giro di Toscana
 * 1st Trofeo Matteotti
 * 1st Boucles de l'Aulne
 * 1st Omloop van het Zuidwesten
 * 1st Grand Prix de Monaco
 * 2nd Giro di Lombardia
 * 2nd Paris–Tours
 * 2nd Coppa Bernocchi
 * 2nd Coppa Sabatini
 * 2nd Omloop Het Volk
 * 2nd Trofeo Laigueglia
 * 2nd Omloop der Zennevallei
 * 3rd Omloop van de Westkust
 * 3rd Milano–Torino
 * 4th Coppa Placci
 * 6th Overall Giro di Sardegna
 * 1st Stage 3 & 6
 * 7th Paris–Roubaix
 * 8th Brabantse Pijl


 * 1974
 * 1st MaillotEspaña.PNG Overall Tirreno–Adriatico
 * 1st Stage 5
 * 1st Jersey red.svg Overall Giro di Sicilia
 * 1st Paris–Roubaix
 * 1st Giro di Lombardia
 * Giro d'Italia
 * 1st Jersey violet.svg Points classification
 * 1st Stage 4
 * 1st Druivenkoers Overijse
 * 1st Giro del Veneto
 * 1st Milano–Torino
 * 1st Coppa Placci
 * 1st Stage 2 Giro di Puglia
 * 2nd Cronostafetta
 * 2nd GP Montelupo
 * 2nd Giro dell'Emilia
 * 2nd Ronde van Limburg
 * 2nd Paris–Brussels
 * 2nd La Flèche Wallonne
 * 2nd Giro della Provincia di Reggio Calabria
 * 2nd Overall Super Prestige Pernod International
 * 3rd Milan–San Remo
 * 3rd Boucles de l'Aulne
 * 3rd Coppa Ugo Agostoni
 * 3rd Gent–Wevelgem
 * 3rd Grand Prix de Wallonie
 * 3rd Trofeo Baracchi (with Eddy Merckx)
 * 3rd Gran Premio di Lugano
 * 3rd Grand Prix de Wallonie
 * 4th Giro del Lazio
 * 7th Paris–Tours


 * 1975
 * 1st Jersey gold.svg Overall Tour de Suisse
 * 1st Jersey black.svg Points classification
 * 1st Prologue & Stages 1, 3, 5, 9 & 10 (ITT)
 * 1st MaillotEspaña.PNG Overall Tirreno–Adriatico
 * 1st Stages 2, 4 & 5
 * 1st Paris–Roubaix
 * 1st Züri–Metzgete
 * 1st Coppa Ugo Agostoni
 * 1st GP Montelupo
 * 1st Giro del Lazio
 * 1st Trofeo Pantalica
 * 1st Critérium des As
 * 1st GP Industria & Artigianato di Larciano
 * 1st Omloop van Neeroeteren
 * 1st Heusden Koers
 * 2nd Silver medal uci.svg Road race, UCI World Championships
 * 2nd Grote Prijs Marcel Kint
 * 2nd Paris–Tours
 * 2nd Milano–Torino
 * 2nd Overall Super Prestige Pernod International
 * 3rd Druivenkoers Overijse
 * 3rd Trofeo Laigueglia
 * 3rd Giro di Toscana
 * 3rd Paris–Tours
 * 3rd Milano–Torino
 * 4th Overall Giro d'Italia
 * 1st Jersey violet.svg Points classification
 * 1st Stages 4, 6, 7b, 10, 11, 18 & 20
 * 4th Giro di Lombardia
 * 4th Grote Scheldeprijs
 * 4th Omloop Het Volk
 * 5th Tre Valli Varesine
 * 7th Giro dell'Emilia
 * 8th Liège–Bastogne–Liège
 * 10th Overall Giro di Sardegna
 * 1st Stages 1, 4 & 6


 * 1976
 * 1st MaillotEspaña.PNG Overall Tirreno–Adriatico
 * 1st Jersey purple Epic Series.svg Points classification
 * 1st Stages 3, 4 & 5b
 * 1st Jersey Sardegna (Red-Blue Stripe).png Overall Giro di Sardegna
 * 1st Stages 1b & 5
 * 1st Giro di Lombardia
 * 1st Giro dell'Emilia
 * Giro d'Italia
 * 1st Stages 2, 5, 8 & 16
 * 1st Giro del Lazio
 * 1st Coppa Ugo Agostoni
 * 1st GP Montelupo
 * 1st Sassari-Cagliari
 * 1st Stage 3 Giro di Puglia
 * 2nd Overall Tour de Romandie
 * 1st Jersey red.svg Points classification
 * 1st Stage 5a
 * 2nd Giro delle Marche
 * 2nd Tre Valli Varesine
 * 2nd Grote Scheldeprijs
 * 2nd Züri–Metzgete
 * 2nd Trofeo Pantalica
 * 3rd Paris–Roubaix
 * 3rd Rund um den Henninger Turm
 * 3rd Giro di Campania
 * 4th Tour of Flanders
 * 5th Overall Volta a Catalunya
 * 1st Jersey blue Epic Series.svg Points classification
 * 1st Prologue & Stages 2 & 4
 * 5th Coppa Placci
 * 6th Gent–Wevelgem
 * 6th E3 Prijs Vlaanderen
 * 7th Milan–San Remo


 * 1977
 * 1st MaillotEspaña.PNG Overall Tirreno–Adriatico
 * 1st Stages 2 & 3
 * 1st Paris–Roubaix
 * 1st Tour of Flanders
 * 1st Giro del Piemonte
 * 2nd Milan–San Remo
 * 2nd Giro del Veneto
 * 2nd Giro di Toscana
 * 2nd Overall Super Prestige Pernod International
 * 2nd Challenge Gan
 * 4th Liège–Bastogne–Liège
 * 4th Paris–Tours
 * 4th Paris–Brussels
 * 6th Amstel Gold Race
 * 6th Coppa Bernocchi
 * 8th Omloop Het Volk
 * 7th Tre Valli Varesine


 * 1978
 * 1st Milan–San Remo
 * 1st Druivenkoers Overijse
 * 1st Giro del Friuli
 * Giro di Sardegna
 * 1st Jersey pink.svg Points classification
 * 1st Stages 1 & 5
 * 1st Stage 4 Giro di Puglia
 * 1st Sassari-Cagliari
 * 2nd Boucles de l'Aulne
 * 2nd Paris–Roubaix
 * 3rd Giro del Lazio
 * 5th Coppa Ugo Agostoni
 * 6th Gent–Wevelgem
 * 8th Züri–Metzgete
 * 8th Brabantse Pijl
 * 10th Tour of Flanders
 * 10th Road race, UCI World Championships


 * 1979
 * 1st Jersey gold.svg Overall Giro di Puglia
 * 1st Stages 1, 2 & 3
 * 1st Jersey pink.svg Overall Four Days of Dunkirk
 * 1st Stages 4a & 5b
 * 1st Milan–San Remo
 * Giro d'Italia
 * 1st Stages 2, 9 & 12
 * 1st Omloop Het Volk
 * 1st Milano–Vignola
 * 1st Erpe-Mere
 * 1st Gran Premio Bruno Beghelli
 * 2nd Giro del Friuli
 * 2nd Paris–Roubaix
 * 2nd Gent–Wevelgem
 * 3rd Overall Giro del Trentino
 * 1st Stage 1
 * 3rd Tre Valli Varesine
 * 4th Züri–Metzgete
 * 6th Overall Tirreno–Adriatico
 * 1st Stage 5a
 * 7th Coppa Ugo Agostoni
 * 10th Road race, UCI World Championships


 * 1980
 * 1st Jersey Sardegna (Red-Blue Stripe).png Overall Giro di Sardegna
 * 1st Stages 1, 2a, 4 & 5
 * 1st Jersey gold.svg Overall Vuelta a Mallorca
 * 1st Prologue & Stages 1 & 4
 * Tirreno–Adriatico
 * 1st Stages 1 & 2
 * Deutschland Tour
 * 1st Stages 1 & 2
 * 1st Trofeo Laigueglia
 * 1st Profronde van Stiphout
 * 1st Heusden Koers
 * 1st Stage 1 Four Days of Dunkirk
 * 2nd Liedekerkse Pijl
 * 4th Tour of Flanders
 * 5th Milan–San Remo
 * 5th Omloop Het Volk
 * 5th Coppa Bernocchi
 * 6th Grote Scheldeprijs
 * 6th Coppa Ugo Agostoni
 * 7th Road race, UCI World Championships


 * 1981
 * 1st Jersey belgianflag.svg Road race, National Championships
 * Tour de Suisse
 * 1st Stages 2 & 3a
 * Paris–Nice
 * 1st Stages 2a & 4
 * 1st Paris–Brussels
 * 1st Brabantse Pijl
 * 1st Profronde van Stiphout
 * 1st Omloop van de Grensstreek
 * 2nd Gent–Wevelgem
 * 2nd Milan–San Remo
 * 2nd Paris–Roubaix
 * 2nd Amstel Gold Race
 * 2nd Overall Super Prestige Pernod International
 * 3rd Trofeo Laigueglia
 * 5th Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne
 * 6th Tour of Flanders


 * 1982
 * 2nd E3 Prijs Vlaanderen
 * 6th Paris–Roubaix
 * 7th Overall Three Days of De Panne
 * 7th Liège–Bastogne–Liège
 * 7th Trofeo Laigueglia


 * 1983
 * 2nd GP Dr. Eugeen Roggeman


 * 1984
 * 1st Stage 8 Vuelta a España
 * 1st Giro di Campania
 * 1st Cronostafetta
 * 1st Stage 5 Coppi e Bartali
 * 3rd Milano–Torino
 * 3rd Giro della Provincia di Reggio Calabria

Monuments results timeline
Source:

Track

 * 1970
 * 2nd Six Days of Ghent (with Peter Post)


 * 1971
 * 1st Six Days of Ghent (with Patrick Sercu)
 * 2nd Six Days of Brussels (with Patrick Sercu)


 * 1972
 * 1st MaillotBélgica.svg Madison, National Championships (with Patrick Sercu)


 * 1979
 * 2nd Six Days of Antwerp (with Patrick Sercu and Rik Van Linden)


 * 1980
 * 1st Six Days of Antwerp (with René Pijnen and Wilfried Peffgen)
 * 2nd Six Days of Milan (with Alfons De Wolf)


 * 1982
 * 1st Six Days of Antwerp (with Patrick Sercu)
 * 3rd Six Days of Ghent (with Patrick Sercu)

Records

 * Most Tirreno–Adriatico wins: 6 in 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976 and 1977
 * Most Paris–Roubaix wins: 4 1972, 1974, 1975 and 1977 (record shared with Tom Boonen)
 * Most Druivenkoers Overijse wins: 4 1970, 1972, 1974 and 1978 (record shared with Björn Leukemans)
 * The only professional who won a national championship in road cycling (1969, 1981), cyclo-cross (1974, 1975, 1978) and track cycling (1972)

Awards and honours

 * Mendrisio d'Or: 1975
 * Winner of 7 of the 8 Classic cycle races (shared with Eddy Merckx). Rik van Looy won all 8.
 * Union Cycliste Internationale Hall of Fame: 2002
 * UCI Top 100: 19th place
 * Procyclingstats.com – All Time Wins Ranking: 3rd place (161 wins, shared with Mario Chipollini)
 * CyclingRanking – Overall ranking: 8th place