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The second Monument is the Ronde van Vlaanderen. This year we will see the 106th edition of 'Vlaanderens Mooiste' (meaning Flanders' most beautiful). The whole Flemish part of the country has been building up excitement for weeks, all coming together into Sundays event.

Most wins

The maximum number of victories in the Ronde van Vlaanderen is three. This amount of victories has been achieved by no less than six riders! The first to have three victories was Belgian cycling relic Achiel Buysse, who achieved his victories during World War II. He was followed by Italy's Fiorenzo Magni, Belgian riders Eric Leman, Johan Museeuw and Tom Boonen. Swiss rider 'Spartacus' Fabian Cancellara was the last rider to complete his hattrick.

The only rider who has achieved a 'proper hattrick' was Il leone delle Fiandre ('The Lion of Flanders') Magni. He was able to win the editions of 1949, 1950 and 1951 in a row.

Table 1. Most wins

Looking at the active riders, there are seven riders who have won 'only' one 'Hoogmis' (meaning high mass, because of the race riden during the Easter period). These riders are: Alexander Kristoff (NOR - 2015), Peter Sagan (SLO - 2016), Philippe Gilbert (BEL - 2017), Niki Terpstra (NED - 2018), Alberto Bettiol (ITA - 2019), Mathieu van der Poel (NED - 2020) and Kasper Asgreen (DEN - 2021).

Table 2. Riders that won a monument

It will not be a surprise that the home nation has won the most editions of their national pride. Their 69 victories is a huge number, compared to the 'mere' 11 victories for both Italy and the Netherlands. Also their numbers in second (67) and third (72) places are extraordinary. The only problem: it has been from 2017 since the home nation has won in their most prestigious race.

Table 3. Most wins, 2nd, 3rd + last win

Age is a number

The oldest winner of the Ronde van Vlaanderen is multi-nationality rider Andrei Tchmil. When he won the Ronde van Vlaanderen in 2000, he had a Belgian passport. And with his age of 37 years and 72 days he became the eldest victor of the Flemish classic. He succeeded Walter Godefroot as oldest winner (winning in 1978).

Table 4. Oldest winners

The oldest competitor on this years start list is France's Cyril Lemoine. The B&B Hotels - KTM-rider could become the oldest rider ever to win the Ronde van Vlaanderen. Also Spains Imanol Erviti, German-Australian Heinrich Haussler and Dutchman Niki Terpstra would be topping the leaderboard if they would win the race.

Table 5. Oldest competitors

On the other side of the spectrum, we have the list of youngest winners of the race. This classification is being led by Rik Van Steenbergen. The monumental Belgian rider was only 19 years and 206 days old when he made the victory salute in the edition of 1944, finishing at 't Kuipke in Gent.

Table 6. Youngest winners

Youngest winner 'Keizer Rik I' will also top this list after the 2022 edition of the Ronde van Vlaanderen, because there is no rider on the start list that is younger than he was when he won the Ronde in 1944. There are three riders that can take the second place in the youngest winners-classification.

Table 7. Youngest competitors

The need for speed

The amount of climbs and cobble stone sectors will affect the average speed of the race. The fastest edition of the Ronde van Vlaanderen has an average of 'just' 43.576 km/h, when Italy's Gianluca Bortolami suprisingly defeated Dutchman Erik Dekker by the smallest of differences.

Table 8. Fastest editions (including current edition)

This years edition of the Ronde van Vlaanderen will be the 10th when looking at the longest race distance. The first edition in 1913, won by Paul Deman, was the longest with 324 kilometers.

Table 9. Longest races/stages

Remarkable fact: during World War I alternative editions of the Ronde van Vlaanderen were held. Due to the restrictions the German occupiers had set, it was not allowed to cross the borders of any province, without a written permit. Both races were contested on an open air track: in 1915 in Evergem, in 1916 at 't Arsenaal in Gentbrugge.

wanted: Experience

Of the riders on the start list, a Spaniard has the most starts under his belt. 38 year old Imanol Erviti has participated in 17 editions, followed by Greg Van Avermaet and Sebastian Langeveld (both 15) and Heinrich Haussler and Niki Terpstra having 14 starts each.

Table 10. Most starts in this race

Where Erviti is the most experienced rider starting, French team TotalEnergies is the team with the most starts. Hopefully the experience of the team will result in a good race, as they should know their way around the Flemish cobbles and climbs

Table 11. Most experienced

Looking at the quality of the riders each team has selected for the Ronde van Vlaanderen, Alpecin-Fenix has the strongest selection.

Table 12. Startlist quality

Playing the numbers game, the Belgian riders have the biggest chance of winning the 2022 edition. With 44 out of 175 riders on the starting list, Belgium has a 25% chance of winning their 70th.

Table 13. Riders per nation