Flandria was a Belgian professional
cycling team
A cycling team is a group of cycle sport, cyclists who join a team or are acquired and train together to compete in bicycle racing, bicycle races whether amateur or professional – and the supporting personnel. Cycling teams are most important i ...
that existed from 1957 to 1979. It was sponsored by Flandria a bicycle manufacturer located in
West Flanders
West Flanders is the westernmost province of the Flemish Region, in Belgium. It is the only coastal Belgian province, facing the North Sea to the northwest. It has land borders with the Dutch province of Zeeland to the northeast, the Flemis ...
that also manufactures mopeds, lawnmowers, and motorbikes.
History
Started with a team built around
Joseph Planckaert, and
Rik Van Looy
Henri "Rik" Van Looy (20 December 1933 – 17 December 2024) was a Belgian professional Cycle sport, cyclist of the post-World War II, war period. Nicknamed the ''King of the Classics'' or ''Emperor of Herentals'' (after the small Belgian city ...
. Youngsters
Eddy Merckx
Édouard Louis Joseph, Baron Merckx (born 17 June 1945), known as Eddy Merckx (, ), is a Belgian former professional road and track cyclist racer who is the most successful rider in the history of competitive cycling. His victories include an ...
,
Peter Post
Peter Post (12 November 193314 January 2011) was a Dutch professional cyclist whose career lasted from 1956 to 1972. Post competed in road and track racing. As a rider he is best remembered for Six-day racing, having competed in 155 races and wo ...
,
Herman Van Springel
Herman Vanspringel (14 August 1943 – 25 August 2022), also spelled Herman Van Springel, was a Belgian road racing cyclist, from Grobbendonk, in the Flemish Campine or Kempen region. He achieved podium finishes in all three of the grand tours w ...
, and
Walter Godefroot
Walter Godefroot (born 2 July 1943) is a retired Belgian professional road bicycle racer and former directeur sportif of , later known as T-Mobile Team.
As amateur cyclist, he won the bronze medal in the individual road race of the 1964 Summe ...
all joined at early stages of their career, although some such as Merckx left soon after to become leader of his own team.
After Van Looy's retirement, Belgian
Freddy Maertens
Freddy Maertens (born 13 February 1952) is a Belgian people, Belgian former professional racing cyclist who was twice UCI Road World Championships – Men's road race, world road race champion. His career coincided with the best years of anothe ...
took over the leadership mantle, famous for his rivalry with Eddy Merckx. Irishman
Sean Kelly also started his professional career with Flandria, as Maertens' super-domestique.
Joop Zoetemelk
Gerardus Joseph "Joop" Zoetemelk (; born 3 December 1946) is a Dutch former professional racing cyclist. He started and finished the Tour de France 16 times, which were both records when he retired. He also holds the distance record in Tour de F ...
rode for the team from 1970-1972 finishing on the podium twice in the
Tour de France
The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage cycle sport, bicycle race held primarily in France. It is the oldest and most prestigious of the three Grand Tour (cycling), Grand Tours, which include the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a ...
during this span. He also finished 5th in the
1972 Tour de France
The 1972 Tour de France was the 59th edition of the Tour de France, one of cycling's Grand Tour (cycling), Grand Tours. It took place from 1 to 22 July, with 20 stages covering a distance of . After riding strongly in the first two weeks of the ...
and won the King of the Mountains classification in the
1971 Vuelta a España
The 26th Edition ''Vuelta a España'' (Tour of Spain), a long-distance bicycle stage race and one of the three grand tours, was held from 29 April to 16 May 1971. It consisted of 17 stages covering a total of , and was won by Ferdinand Bracke of ...
.
Roster
Roster in 1975:
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References
Further reading
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External links
{{Giro d'Italia team classification winners
Cycling teams based in Belgium
Cycling teams established in 1957
Cycling teams disestablished in 1979
Defunct cycling teams based in Belgium