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Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Western Europe. It is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to the southwest, and the North Sea to the northwest. It covers an area of 30,689 km2 (11,849 sq mi) and has a population of more than 11.5 million, making it the 22nd most densely populated country in the world and the 6th most densely populated country in Europe, with a density of 376 per square kilometre (970/sq mi). The capital and largest city is Brussels; other major cities are Antwerp, Ghent, Charleroi and Liège.
Cycle sport is competitive physical activity using bicycles. There are several categories of bicycle racing including road bicycle racing, time trialling, cyclo-cross, mountain bike racing, track cycling, BMX, and cycle speedway. Non-racing cycling sports include artistic cycling, cycle polo, freestyle BMX and mountain bike trials. The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) is the world governing body for cycling and international competitive cycling events. The International Human Powered Vehicle Association is the governing body for human-powered vehicles that imposes far fewer restrictions on their design than does the UCI. The UltraMarathon Cycling Association is the governing body for many ultra-distance cycling races.
Léon Houa was a Belgian road bicycle racer famous for winning the first three editions of Liège–Bastogne–Liège in 1892–1894. The race has come to be known as La Doyenne, and is one of the five 'Monuments' of the European professional road cycling calendar, and the oldest.
Georges Ronsse was a two-time national cyclo-cross and two-time world champion road bicycle racer from Belgium, who raced between 1926 and 1938.
Sport in Belgium plays a prominent role in the society. As of 2010, Belgium counted around 17,000 sport clubs with approximately 1.35 million members, thus 13% of the Belgian population is involved in sport. Popular sports in Belgium are, among others: football, cycling, tennis, table tennis, athletics, swimming, basketball, badminton, judo, hockey, rowing, motocross, auto racing, volleyball and running. Belgium has organized the 1920 Olympic Games in Antwerp as well as the 1972 UEFA European Championship and the 2000 UEFA European Championship along with the Netherlands. The Belgium national football team's best result was a 3rd place at the 2018 FIFA World Cup and a second place of the 1980 UEFA European Championship. Belgian football clubs have won 3 times the UEFA Cup Winners Cup and twice the UEFA Cup, plus 3 times the UEFA Supercup.
Emma Johansson is a Swedish retired professional racing cyclist. Nicknamed Silver Emma, Johansson accumulated many second and third places at major championships and one-day classics. In 2013 she finished the year as number one on the UCI Women's World Ranking.
Keith Butler was a British cycling champion who raced as a professional in Belgium and France and who later organised cycle races in England.
Carlo Bomans is a Belgian former racing cyclist. He competed in the individual road race event at the 1984 Summer Olympics. In October 2005 he succeeded José De Cauwer as coach of the Belgian national cycling team. As coach of the Belgian national cycling team he won the world championship cycling in 2012 with Philippe Gilbert.
Wiggle High5 Pro Cycling was a British professional cycling team based in Belgium, which competed in elite road bicycle racing and track cycling events, such as the UCI Women's Road World Cup. The team closed at the end of 2018.
Petrus Van Theemsche was a Belgian racing cyclist. He won the Belgian national road race title in 1938.
Alois Vansteenkiste was a Belgian racing cyclist. He won the Belgian national road race title in 1953.
Petrus Oellibrandt was a Belgian racing cyclist. He won the Belgian national road race title in 1959.
Jozef Boons was a Belgian racing cyclist. He won the Belgian national road race title in 1967. He also competed in the individual road race at the 1964 Summer Olympics.
Gery Verlinden is a former Belgian racing cyclist. He won the Belgian national road race title in 1979.
Benjamin Van Itterbeeck is a former Belgian racing cyclist. He won the Belgian national road race title in 1991.
Alain Van Den Bossche is a former Belgian racing cyclist. He won the Belgian national road race title in 1993.
Marie-Rose Gaillard is a former Belgian racing cyclist. She won the Belgian national road race title in 1966.
Kelly Druyts is a Belgian racing cyclist, who currently rides for UCI Women's Continental Team Chevalmeire Cycling Team. She finished in second place in the Belgian National Road Race Championships in 2010. She won a bronze medal in the scratch race at the 2012 UCI Track Cycling World Championships, and gold in the scratch race at the 2014 Championships.
The 2013 women's road cycling season was the first year of the team Wiggle–Honda.
References
- ↑ "Linda Troyekens". Cycling Archives. Retrieved 4 May 2014.
