![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Overwinning_Eric_Vanderaerden_Dwars_door_Belgie_1986_Waregem_Maurice_Terryn_collectie_KOERS._Museum_.jpeg\")
<\/a>In 1986, Eric Vanderaerden proved to be the fastest of a compact leading group. After a third (1983) and second (1985) place, the Limburg native took victory for the first time. Dwars door Belgi\u00eb 1986, Waregem. Photo by Maurice Terryn (collectie KOERS. Museum van de Wielersport), CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons<\/p>\nQ1. Since 1945, Omloop Het Nieuwsblad opens the Belgian cobbled season as the spring classics\u2019 curtain-raiser. Organizers originally named the race Omloop Het Volk after its newspaper sponsor. After Het Volk merged with Het Nieuwsblad in 2009, organizers renamed it. Riders contest the race on the final Saturday of February, often providing the first chance to see who has the form and courage to tackle the hellingen in cold, unpredictable conditions. The Omloop traverses many iconic climbs used in the Ronde van Vlaanderen. Which fearsome cobbled climb, first included in 1979, features gradients over 20% and serves as a decisive selection point in both races?<\/p>\n
Q2. Teams contest Kuurne\u2013Brussel\u2013Kuurne on the Sunday after the Omloop, forming the \u201cOpening Weekend\u201d double to assess early-season form. Organizers first ran the race in 1946 to celebrate the region\u2019s post-war recovery. The course loops from Kuurne to Brussels and back. Unlike the hilly Omloop, Kuurne\u2013Brussel\u2013Kuurne favors riders suited to flatter, wind-exposed roads through the Flemish Ardennes and Pajottenland. Which legendary Belgian classics specialist holds the record with three victories?<\/p>\n
Q3. Organizers first ran the Bredene Koksijde Classic in 2018, making it the newest early-season race. The course offers coastal racing along the North Sea between Bredene and Koksijde, replacing the defunct Handzame Classic and providing a tune-up the week after Opening Weekend. What notorious weather phenomenon, common along the Belgian coast in early March, repeatedly decimates pelotons and forces organizers to alter courses?<\/p>\n
Q4. Since 1968, Le Samyn\u2014formerly the Grand Prix Samyn and now the Ename Samyn Classic\u2014takes place in Wallonia\u2019s Hainaut province, an outlier among Flemish-dominated races. Organizers first called it the Grand Prix de Fayt-le-Franc, then renamed it after Jos\u00e9 Samyn, who won the 1968 edition and died in a 1969 racing accident. The race honors his memory while giving francophone Belgium its own cobbled classic, featuring the notorious c\u00f4tes of Hainaut. Which Belgian rider holds the record for most Le Samyn victories, and how many riders have won it more than once?<\/p>\n
Q5. Organizers first held Nokere Koerse in 1944 during the last year of German occupation. Named for the small village of Nokere near Kruishoutem, it gained fame for its finale with multiple laps on a local circuit featuring the Nokereberg, a short but punchy climb. What distinctive road surface covers the final stretch to the finish, and why does it produce such dramatic endings?<\/p>\n
Q6. Organizers first ran the E3 Saxo Classic in 1958 as Harelbeke\u2013Antwerp\u2013Harelbeke. Over time, it grew from a regional event into a Monument-quality classic, earning the nickname \u201cthe little Tour of Flanders.\u201d The race takes its name from the E3 highway, now the A14\/A17, which once connected the region. Held on the Friday nine days before the Ronde van Vlaanderen, it covers much of the same terrain as a final dress rehearsal. Ten riders have won both the E3 and the Ronde in the same year. Which Belgian rider holds the record, and in which years did he achieve it?<\/p>\n
Q7. Organizers renamed Gent\u2013Wevelgem \u201cIn Flanders Fields\u201d in 2024 to honor World War I history and John McCrae\u2019s poem. They first ran the race in 1934 from Ghent to Wevelgem, later moving the start to places like Deinze and Middelkerke. Unlike other Flemish races, it ventures into the Heuvelland near France, where the Kemmelberg and Monteberg provide decisive terrain. The Kemmelberg serves as the signature climb, feared for its savagery more than its length. In which year did organizers abandon its original cobbled south side for safety, and why was it so dangerous?<\/p>\n
Q8. Dwars door Vlaanderen (known as the Dwars door Belgi\u00eb through 1999), held the Wednesday before the Ronde, has run since 1945 as a final test before the Monument. Once regarded as a minor semi-classic, organizers elevated it to WorldTour status in 2019, reflecting its growing importance. The race cuts diagonally across Flanders from Roeselare to Waregem and includes hellingen that appear three days later. Dwars favors attackers rather than sprinters and often produces surprise winners. Only two riders have won Dwars on Wednesday and the Ronde on Sunday in the same week. Name either rider.<\/p>\n
Q9. Only a few riders win multiple Belgian semi-classics and Monuments in a single spring. The cobbled season demands so much that even two wins represent a remarkable feat; three or more signals dominance. Which rider assembled the most dominant modern spring, and which races did he win?<\/p>\n
See next page for answers.<\/p>\n
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