Karel Van Wijnendaele,

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true meaning ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individual's o ...

of Carolus Ludovicius Steyaert (

Torhout Torhout (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities of Belgium, municipality located in the Belgium, Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Torhout proper, the villages of Wijnendale and Sint-Henri ...

, 16 November 1882 -

Deinze Deinze () is a city and a municipality in the Belgian province of East Flanders. It comprises the city of Deinze, and the towns of Astene, Bachte-Maria-Leerne, Gottem, Grammene, Hansbeke, Landegem, Meigem, Merendree, Nevele, Petegem-aan-de-Lei ...

, 20 December 1961), was a Flemish

sports journalist Sport is a physical activity or game, often competitive and organized, that maintains or improves physical ability and skills. Sport may provide enjoyment to participants and entertainment to spectators. The number of participants in a par ...

. He was the founder and first organizer of the

Tour of Flanders The Tour of Flanders () may refer to the following cycle races: * Tour of Flanders (men's race) The Tour of Flanders (), also known as ''De Ronde'' (''"The Tour"''), is an annual road bicycle racing, road cycling race held in Belgium every spri ...

cycling classic.

Biography

Van Wijnendaele was the fifth of 15 children of a family in the hamlet of Wijnendaele, near

. His father, a flax worker, died when Karel was 18 months.Vanwalleghem, Rik, Het Wonder van Vlaanderen, Pinguin, Belgium, , p18 He wrote in 1942: "Being born into a poor family was my strength. If you're brought up without frills ''("sober opgekweekt wordt")'' and you know what hunger is ''("door een mager leven gaat")'', you grow up hard enough to withstand bike racing." He left school at 14, worked for a baker, looked after cows, washed bottles and delivered parcels. He worked for well-to-do French-speaking families in

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

and

Ostend Ostend ( ; ; ; ) is a coastal city and municipality in the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It comprises the boroughs of Mariakerke, Raversijde, Stene and Zandvoorde, and the city of Ostend proper – the la ...

and felt humiliated by the way they treated him. Van Wijnendaele tried cycle-racing, won a few lesser prizes but soon turned to writing about cycling as a regional correspondent.Van Wijnendaele first wrote for ''De Torhoutenaer'', his local paper, then from 1909 for ''Onze Kampioenen'' in

Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...

and ''Sportvriend'' in

Izegem Izegem (; ) is a city and municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Izegem proper and the towns of Emelgem and Kachtem. Emelgem was added to Izegem in 1965, Kachtem in 1977. Izegem itse ...

. It was then that he adopted his

pen-name A pen name or nom-de-plume is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen name may be used to make the author's na ...

. This attracted the attention of De Maeght and his collaborator, race organiser Léon Van den Haute, who asked van Wijnendaele to join their new paper ''Sportwereld''. The first issue appeared in time for the Championship of Flanders on 12 September 1912. Van Wijnendaele became its editor on 1 January 1913. In 1925 he became co-owner and in 1931 full owner of ''Sportwereld'', thereby also owning the Tour of Flanders, until the sports paper and the event were bought by daily newspaper

Het Nieuwsblad (; ) is a Flemish newspaper that mainly focusses on "a broad view" regarding politics, culture, economics, lifestyle, society and sports. History and profile In 1929, was published by for the first time. In 1939, the sports paper ''Spo ...

. He remained editor-in-chief of ''Het Nieuwsblad's'' sports section until his death in 1961. He is buried at the cemetery of

Sint-Martens-Latem Sint-Martens-Latem () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of East Flanders, in Belgium. The municipality comprises the towns of Deurle and Sint-Martens-Latem proper. In 2021, Sint-Martens-Latem had a total population of 8,285. The ...

Flemish nationalism

Van Wijnendaele is known to have linked cycling and the Tour of Flanders to Flemish emancipation, in a time when the Belgian elite was still French-speaking. His articles fed the myth of the ''Flandriens'', Flemish men who rose above their humble origins and became cycling champions. In modern times, media uses the term ''Flandrien'' to denote winners and specialists of all cobbled classic races. In 1964, a monument in honor of Van Wijnendaele was inaugurated near the top of the

Oude Kwaremont The Oude Kwaremont ( English: ''Old Kwaremont'') is a road in Kluisbergen, a municipality in the Belgian province of East Flanders. The Oude Kwaremont, contrary to popular belief, is not the name of a hill, but the name of one of the cobbled ro ...

, in the ''Ronde van Vlaanderenstraat'' ''(English: Tour of Flanders street)'' in

Kluisbergen Kluisbergen () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of East Flanders, along the Scheldt river. The municipality comprises the towns of , Kwaremont, and which fused in 1971. In 2021, Kluisbergen had a total population of 6,682 ...

. The site is a pivotal location in the Tour of Flanders route.

External links

Official website Karel Van Wijnendaele

References

{{Authority control Belgian sports journalists Tour of Flanders 1882 births 1961 deaths

Biography

Flemish nationalism

External links

Further reading

References