The 28th running of the Tour of Flanders cycling classic was held on Sunday, 2 April 1944.[1] 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 [2]

1944 Tour of Flanders
Race details
DatesApril 2, 1944
Stages1
Distance224 km (139.2 mi)
Winning time6h 23' 30"
Results
  Winner  Rik van Steenbergen (BEL)
  Second  Briek Schotte (BEL)
  Third  Joseph Moerenhout (BEL)
← 1943
1945 →

Route edit

The race started in Ghent and finished there in the Kuipke velodrome, totaling 224 km (139 miles).[3]

The course featured 3 categorized climbs:

Race summary edit

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.[4]

General classification edit

Final general classification edit

Rank Rider Team Time
1   Rik van Steenbergen (BEL) Trialoux–Wolber 6h 23' 00"
2   Briek Schotte (BEL) Helyett–Hutchinson s.t.
3   Joseph Moerenhout (BEL) Dilecta–Wolber s.t.
4   Frans Sterckx (BEL) Michard–Hutchinson s.t.
5   Frans Bonduel (BEL) Dilecta–Wolber s.t.
6   Frans van Hellemont (BEL) Individual s.t.
7   Célestin Riga (BEL) Dilecta–Wolber s.t.
8   Albert Hendrickx (BEL) Michard–Hutchinson s.t.
9   Marcel Kint (BEL) Mercier–Hutchinson s.t.
10   Georges Claes (BEL) Trialoux–Wolber 1' 05"

References edit

  1. ^ "Ronde van Vlaanderen 1944". FirstCycling.com. 22 September 2023.
  2. ^ "Cyclisme sur route - Tour des Flandres - 1944 - Résultats détaillés". les-sports.info (in French). 22 September 2023.
  3. ^ "1944»28thRonde van Vlaanderen / Tour des Flandres". ProcyclingStats. 22 September 2023.
  4. ^ "28ème Ronde van Vlaanderen 1944". Memoire-du-cyclisme.eu (in French). Retrieved 20 September 2023.

External links edit