Race details | |
---|---|
Date | Early September |
Region | Arendonk, Belgium |
English name | Memorial Rik Van Steenbergen |
Local name(s) | Memorial Rik Van Steenbergen (in Dutch) |
Discipline | Road |
Competition | UCI Europe Tour |
Type | Single-day |
Web site | www |
History | |
First edition | 1991 |
Editions | 24 (as of 2022) |
First winner | Olaf Ludwig (GER) |
Most wins | Niko Eeckhout (BEL)(4 wins) |
Most recent | Tim Merlier (BEL) |
Memorial Rik Van Steenbergen (previously GP Rik Van Steenbergen) is a single-day road bicycle race held annually in September in Arendonk, Belgium. [1] The race, paying respect to the famous Belgian rider of the 1940s and 1950s, quickly gained importance and since 2005, it is a 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour. The race was canceled in 2013 and again in 2014 because the organizers were unable to raise sufficient funding and subsequently disappeared permanently from the calendar before being revived for 2019. [2] In contrary to the previous editions, the race will now be held in Arendonk where before it was held in Aartselaar. [3]
Arendonk is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Antwerp. The municipality comprises only the town of Arendonk proper. In 2021, Arendonk had a total population of 13,207. The total area is 55.38 km².
Hendrik "Rik" Van Steenbergen was a Belgian racing cyclist, considered to be one of the best among the great number of successful Belgian cyclists.
The UCI Road World Championships Elite Men's Road Race is a one-day event for professional cyclists that takes place annually. The winner is considered the World Cycling Champion and earns the right to wear the Rainbow Jersey for a full year in road race or stage events. The event is a single 'mass start' road race with the winner being the first across the line at the completion of the full race distance. The road race is contested by riders organized by national cycling teams as opposed to commercially sponsored or trade teams, which is the standard in professional cycling.
Constant ("Stan") Ockers was a Belgian professional racing cyclist.
Henri "Rik" Van Looy is a Belgian former professional cyclist of the post-war period. Nicknamed the King of the Classics or Emperor of Herentals, he dominated the classic cycle races in the late 1950s and first half of the ‘60s.
Marc Wauters is a Belgian former cyclist who was professional from 1991 until 2006. The 2004 Olympian, nicknamed The Soldier was a member of the Rabobank cycling team of the UCI ProTour since 1998 and had to end his career several weeks short because of a broken collarbone which he suffered during a training on 20 September 2006.
Alfred De Bruyne was a Belgian champion road cyclist. He won six Tour de France stages early in his career and went on to win many other Monuments and stage races.
Marcel Kint was a Belgian professional road bicycle racer who won 31 races between 1935 and 1951. His finest year was 1938 when he won the World Cycling Championship, three stages of the Tour de France and the season-long competition equivalent to today's UCI ProTour.
Niko Eeckhout is a Belgian former professional road racing cyclist, who rode professionally between 1992 and 2013. He was the 2005–2006 UCI Europe Tour series and the 2006 Belgian National Cycling Championship Road Race champion, and currently works for the An Post–Chain Reaction Team as a coach.
Steven de Jongh is a Dutch former road bicycle racer.
Stefan van Dijk is a former professional road racing cyclist.
Matthé Pronk is a Dutch former professional road bicycle racer.
Jürgen Roelandts is a Belgian former professional road bicycle racer, who rode professionally between 2008 and 2020, for the Lotto–Soudal, BMC Racing Team and Movistar Team squads. He now works as a directeur sportif for his final professional team, Movistar Team.
Geert Omloop is a Belgian former professional road racing cyclist who was born in Herentals. He is the cousin of fellow cyclist Wim Omloop and the son of Marcel Omloop. He turned professional in 1997 having raced for several professional teams in 1995 and 1996 as a trainee. He became the Belgian National Road Race Champion in 2003, but lost the title in 2004 when he finished second.
The 39th running of the Tour of Flanders cycling classic was held on Sunday, 27 March 1955. French rider Louison Bobet won the race in a three-man sprint with Hugo Koblet and Rik Van Steenbergen. 47 of 203 riders finished.
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
Gert Vanderaerden is a Belgian former road cyclist, who competed as a professional from 1996 to 2007. His older brother Eric was also a professional cyclist.
The 2021 Belgian Road Cycling Cup was the sixth edition of the Belgian Road Cycling Cup. As no overall winner was declared during the 2020 edition, there was no defending champion.
Danny Daelman is a Belgian former racing cyclist, who competed as a professional from 1993 to 2003.