| Race details | |
|---|---|
| Region | Eeklo, Belgium |
| English name | Grand Prix City Eeklo |
| Nickname(s) | GP Eecloonaar |
| Discipline | Cyclo-cross |
| Organiser | Wielerclub Sportvrienden Eeklo |
| Web site | www |
| History | |
| First edition | 1996 |
| First winner |  Mario Lammens (BEL) |
| Most wins | Sven Nys (BEL)(6 wins) |
| Most recent | Quinten Hermans (BEL) |
The Grote Prijs Stad Eeklo is a cyclo-cross race in Eeklo, Belgium organised since 1996 [1] by Wielerclub Sportvrienden Eeklo.
Eeklo is a Belgian municipality in the Flemish province of East Flanders. The municipality comprises only the town of Eeklo proper. The name Eeklo comes from the contraction of "eke" and "lo", two Old German words meaning oak and sparse woods.
Sven Nys is a former professional cyclist competing in cyclo-cross and mountain bike. With two world championships, seven world cups, and over 140 competitive victories, he is considered one of the best cyclo-cross racers of his generation, and remains a prominent figure in cyclo-cross. Apart from cyclo-cross, Nys is also fivefold national mountainbike champion, and has competed in that discipline in two Olympic games.
Bart Wellens is a Belgian former professional cyclo-cross and road cyclist. He now works as the team manager of UCI Cyclo-cross Team 777.
Niels Albert is a former professional cyclo-cross racing cyclist who currently resides in Tremelo. He became World Champion twice, in 2009 and 2012.
Mario De Clercq is a Belgian former racing cyclist. He specialized in cyclo-cross racing but also rode on the road and circuit races during his career, he raced as a professional between 1991 and 2004. The majority of his years as a professional were under the sponsorship of Palmans–Boghemans and its various co-sponsors.
Sanne Cant is a Belgian racing cyclist, who currently competes in cyclo-cross for UCI Cyclo-cross Team IKO–Crelan, and in road cycling for UCI Women's Continental Team Fenix–Deceuninck. Cant's cousin Loes Sels is also a professional cyclist.
Klaas Vantornout is a Belgian former professional racing cyclist, who rode professionally between 2006 and 2018 for the Fidea and Marlux–Bingoal teams. Vantornout was the winner of the Belgian National Cyclo-cross Championships in 2013 and 2015.
Sven Vanthourenhout is a Belgian cycling coach and former professional racing cyclist, primarily riding cyclo-cross. Since 2017, Vanthourenhout has been the coach of the Belgian national cyclo-cross team, and in 2020 became the coach of the national road cycling team as well.
Ben Berden is a Belgian professional racing cyclist specializing in cyclocross. Berden was caught for doping in January 2005, immediately admitted to it, and was ultimately banned from the sport for 15 months.
Michael Vanthourenhout is a Belgian cyclo-cross and road cyclist, who currently rides for UCI Continental team Pauwels Sauzen–Bingoal. He represented his nation in the men's elite event at the 2016 UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships in Heusden-Zolder.
Maud Kaptheijns is a Dutch cyclist, who primarily competes in the cyclo-cross discipline of the sport. She won the gold medal in the under-23 event at the 2015 UEC European Cyclo-cross Championships after eventual winner Femke Van den Driessche was disqualified. She also won the bronze medal in the women's under-23 event at the 2016 UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships in Heusden-Zolder. Kaptheijns took her first UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup race win when she took victory in Duinencross Koksijde in October 2017.
Eli Iserbyt is a Belgian cyclo-cross and road cyclist, who currently rides for UCI Continental team Pauwels Sauzen–Bingoal. As a junior, he won the silver medal at the 2015 UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships. He won the gold medal in the men's under-23 event at the 2016 UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships in Heusden-Zolder and took another gold in the under-23 race at the 2017 UEC European Cyclo-cross Championships in Tábor. In 2018 he won another gold medal in the men's under-23 event at the World Championships in Valkenburg.
Quinten Hermans is a Belgian road and cyclo-cross cyclist, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam Alpecin–Deceuninck.
Thijs Aerts is a Belgian cyclist, who currently rides for UCI Continental team Circus–ReUz–Technord. He competed in the men's under-23 event at the 2016 UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships in Heusden-Zolder. His brother Toon is also a professional cyclist.
Toon Aerts is a Belgian professional cyclo-cross and road cyclist, who last rode for UCI Continental team Baloise–Trek Lions. Aerts is a two-time winner of the UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup standings, and also won the men's elite race at the 2016 European Championships and the 2019 Belgian National Championships. His brother Thijs is also a professional cyclist.
Martin Bína is a Czech former cyclo-cross cyclist.
Inge van der Heijden is a Dutch professional racing cyclist, who currently rides for UCI Women's Continental Team Fenix–Deceuninck in road cycling, and in cyclo-cross for UCI Cyclo-cross Team 777.
Thibau Nys is a Belgian cyclo-cross and road cyclist, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam Lidl–Trek on the road and for UCI Cyclo-cross team Baloise–Trek Lions in cyclo-cross. Nys is the son of Sven Nys, one of the most successful cyclo-cross riders of all time.
Ryan Kamp is a Dutch cyclo-cross and road cyclist, who currently rides for UCI Continental team Pauwels Sauzen–Bingoal. As a junior, he won the silver medal at the 2018 UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships. He won the gold medal in the men's under-23 event at the 2020 UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships in Dübendorf.
Anna Kay is a British professional cyclist who specializes in cyclo-cross. She won the silver medal in the under-23 race at the 2019 European Cyclo-cross Championships, and bronze at the women's under-23 race at the 2020 UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships.
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