View source for Omloop "Het Volk"

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! colspan=2 |'''Omloop "Het Volk"'''
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|Other names || ''"Het Volk"'' (NL)<br>''Gent-Gent'' (NL)<br>''Gand-Gand'' (FR)
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|Region || {{flagiconBelgium}} [[Flanders]], [[Belgium]]
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|Date || end February
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|Type || One-day race
|- style="color:#fff; background:darkred;"
! colspan=2 |History
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|First Edition || 1945
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|Editions || 58
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|First Winner || [[Jean Bogaerts]] ({{BEL}})
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|Most Recent || [[2005]] ([[Nick Nuyens]] {{BEL}})
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|Most Wins || [[Ernest Sterckx]] ({{BEL}}), <br>[[Joseph Bruyere]] ({{BEL}}) and <br>[[Peter Van Petegem]] ({{BEL}}): 3 times
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'''Omloop &#8220;Het Volk&#8221;''' (often just called Het Volk) is a [[Europe]]an [[List of important cycling events|semi classic]] single day [[Road bicycle racing|cycle race]] held in the [[Belgium|Belgian]] province of [[East Flanders]]. The race is the opening event on the Belgian cycling calendar and is usually held on the last Saturday in February or the first in March. The race is characterised by cold weather and short cobbled climbs and comes as a complete contrast to the early season training camps of the [[Italy|Italian]] Riviera or the south of [[France]].

The race was first held in [[1945]], and  is organised by the [[newspaper]] ''[[Het Volk]]'' in response to rival daily ''[[Het Nieuwsblad]]''&#8217;s running of the more famous [[Classic cycle races|'Monument' Classic]] [[Tour of Flanders|Ronde van Vlaanderen]]. Indeed Omloop &#8220;Het Volk&#8221; uses many of the same climbs used in the Ronde and is seen as important preparation for the bigger event. In the early days the race was often known as Ghent-Ghent as some newspapers did not want to give their rival any publicity.

== Het Volk and the weather ==
[[Image:Het_Volk_on_Oude_Kwaremont.jpg|thumb|right|300px|The 2005 edition of Het Volk climbs the Oude Kwaremont (Picture courtesy of Eddy Van Laere of the Official Het Volk Site (http://omloop.sportwereld.be/omloop/nieuws.html) .]]
Because of its early season spot in the calendar Omloop Het Volk is often subject to inclement and cold weather. In spite of this, it has had very few cancellations due to snow. The race organisers are reliant on the weather forecasts in the days leading up to the race and will make some adjustments to the course if some of the cobbled climbs are deemed unsafe for the riders. Heavy snow fell the night before the [[1955]], [[1974]] and [[1988]] editions of the race but it was still possible to run the event. The [[1971]] race was postponed due to heavy snowfalls but was eventually run three weeks later on Thursday [[26 March]] when the organisers of the GP Pino Cerami agreed to move their race to another date. Ironically there was a thaw on the Saturday afternoon of the original date and it was possible to run the following days [[Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne]], which is always scheduled on the Sunday (the day after Omloop Het Volk). The [[1986]] edition was the victim of heavy snow and was cancelled with the race organisers deciding not to run the race at a later date because of the expense. It was a similar story in [[2004]] with race organiser Wim Van Herreweghe saying: "The safety of the riders could not be guaranteed, the snow and freezing cold made the route too dangerous." The [[1960]] race was also cancelled but this was due to a disagreement between the race organisers and cycling&#8217;s ruling body the [[Union Cycliste Internationale]] (UCI). The UCI had given preferential treatment to other Belgian Spring classics regarding race dates and riders (Article 108bis), the Het Volk organisers decided not to run their race as a protest.

== History ==
The cold conditions that the race is usually run under have always favoured the Flemish cyclist and it was 15 years before a non-Belgian won the race, that was [[Ireland]]&#8217;s [[Seamus Elliot]] in [[1959]]. The legendary [[Italy|Italian]] [[Fausto Coppi]] was first over the line in [[1948]] after dominating the race, however he was disqualified after accepting a wheel change from the Belgian Walschott who was not a member of his team (the rules only allowed assistance from team-mates).

The record for the number of wins in the race stands at three jointly held by [[Joseph Bruyere]] ([[1974]], [[1975]] and [[1980]]), [[Ernest Sterckx]] ([[1952]], [[1953]] and [[1956]]) and [[Peter Van Petegem]] ([[1997]], [[1998]] and [[2002]]). Bruyere also hold the record for the fastest average speed (43.35 km/h) for his 1975 victory.

A whole host of famous names have won the race twice including [[Eddy Merckx]], [[Roger De Vlaeminck]], [[Freddy Maertens]] and [[Johan Museeuw]]. [[Netherlands|Dutchman]] [[Jan Raas]] took a deserved victory in 1981 after finishing 2nd in 1977, 3rd in 1978, 2nd in 1979 and 4th in 1980. In the 58 editions of the race since its inception there have only been two winners from outside northern Europe: the Italian classic specialists [[Franco Ballerini]] and [[Michele Bartoli]].

== The route ==
Het Volk formerly started and finished in [[Ghent]] but since 1996 the conclusion of the race has been at [[Lokeren]], 20km to the north east. The starting line is outside S.M.A.K, Ghent's Museum of Contemporary Art, the race then heads south towards the &#8220;monts&#8221;, the short, sharp climbs that feature in many of the Flemish classics. The Oude Kwaremont is encountered after around 50 km but this 2 km cobbled climb is too far from the finish to be significant. The riders then encounter the savage Muur van [[Geraardsbergen]] after 85 km and this can break the race up. The Kleiberg, Eikenberg, Leberg, Berendries and Molenberg are all climbed in quick succession, the Molenberg is the final climb around 60 km from the finish and this short climb which averages almost 10% in gradient can be the launching point for a winning break. The final 60 km have no climbs but are characterised by numerous flat cobbled sections like the infamous Paddestraat at [[Zottegem]], which can be just as decisive as the &#8220;monts&#8221; as the route twist and turns towards the finish on the Bergendriesstraat in Lokeren.

==Further reading==
The book "European Cycling - The 20 Greatest Races" by Noel Henderson (1989) ISBN 0-941950-20-4 (now out of print) was a source for some of this article.

== External link ==
[http://omloop.sportwereld.be/omloop/nieuws.html] Official Site in Dutch.

== Winners ==
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* [[2005]] - [[Nick Nuyens]] {{BEL}}
* [[2004]] - cancelled (snow)
* [[2003]] - [[Johan Museeuw]] {{BEL}}
* [[2002]] - [[Peter Van Petegem]] {{BEL}}
* [[2001]] - [[Michele Bartoli]] {{ITA}}
* [[2000]] - [[Johan Museeuw]] {{BEL}}
* [[1999]] - [[Frank Vandenbroucke (cyclist)|Frank Vandenbroucke]] {{BEL}}
* [[1998]] - [[Peter Van Petegem]] {{BEL}}
* [[1997]] - [[Peter Van Petegem]] {{BEL}}
* [[1996]] - [[Tom Steels]] {{BEL}}
* [[1995]] - [[Franco Ballerini]] {{ITA}}
* [[1994]] - [[Wilfried Nelissen]] {{BEL}}
* [[1993]] - [[Wilfried Nelissen]] {{BEL}}
* [[1992]] - [[Johan Capiot]] {{BEL}}
* [[1991]] - [[Andreas Kappes]] {{GER}}
* [[1990]] - [[Johan Capiot]] {{BEL}}
* [[1989]] - [[Etienne De Wilde]] {{BEL}}
* [[1988]] - [[Ronny Van Holen]] {{BEL}}
* [[1987]] - [[Teun van Vliet]] {{NED}}
* [[1986]] - cancelled (snow)
* [[1985]] - [[Eddy Planckaert]] {{BEL}}
| align=left valign=top width=34% |
* [[1984]] - [[Eddy Planckaert]] {{BEL}}
* [[1983]] - [[Alfons De Wolf]] {{BEL}}
* [[1982]] - [[Alfons De Wolf]] {{BEL}}
* [[1981]] - [[Jan Raas]] {{NED}}
* [[1980]] - [[Joseph Bruyere]] {{BEL}}
* [[1979]] - [[Roger De Vlaeminck]] {{BEL}}
* [[1978]] - [[Freddy Maertens]] {{BEL}}
* [[1977]] - [[Freddy Maertens]] {{BEL}}
* [[1976]] - [[Willem Peeters]] {{BEL}}
* [[1975]] - [[Joseph Bruyere]] {{BEL}}
* [[1974]] - [[Joseph Bruyere]] {{BEL}}
* [[1973]] - [[Eddy Merckx]] {{BEL}}
* [[1972]] - [[Frans Verbeeck]] {{BEL}}
* [[1971]] - [[Eddy Merckx]] {{BEL}}
* [[1970]] - [[Frans Verbeeck]] {{BEL}}
* [[1969]] - [[Roger De Vlaeminck]] {{BEL}}
* [[1968]] - [[Herman Vanspringel]] {{BEL}}
* [[1967]] - [[Willy Vekemans]] {{BEL}}
* [[1966]] - [[Jo De Roo]] {{NED}}
* [[1965]] - [[Noél De Pauw]] {{BEL}}
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* [[1964]] - [[Frans Melckenbeek]] {{BEL}}
* [[1963]] - [[René Van Meenen]] {{BEL}}
* [[1962]] - [[Robert De Middeleir]] {{BEL}}
* [[1961]] - [[Arthur De Cabooter]] {{BEL}}
* [[1960]] - cancelled
* [[1959]] - [[Seamus Elliott]] {{IRL}}
* [[1958]] - [[Joseph Planckaert]] {{BEL}}
* [[1957]] - [[Norbert Kerckhove]] {{BEL}}
* [[1956]] - [[Ernest Sterckx]] {{BEL}}
* [[1955]] - [[Lode Anthonis]] {{BEL}}
* [[1954]] - [[Karel De Baere]] {{BEL}}
* [[1953]] - [[Ernest Sterckx]] {{BEL}}
* [[1952]] - [[Ernest Sterckx]] {{BEL}}
* [[1951]] - [[Jean Bogaerts]] {{BEL}}
* [[1950]] - [[André Declerck]] {{BEL}}
* [[1949]] - [[André Declerck]] {{BEL}}
* [[1948]] - [[Sylvain Grysolle]] {{BEL}}
* [[1947]] - [[Albert Sercu]] {{BEL}}
* [[1946]] - [[André Pieters]] {{BEL}}
* [[1945]] - [[Jean Bogaerts]] {{BEL}}
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[[Category:Cycle races]]
[[Category:Classic cycle races|Omloop "Het Volk"]]
[[Category:Cycle racing in Belgium]]