History
The Tour of Flanders was conceived in 1913 by Karel Van Wijnendaele, co-founder of the sportspaper Sportwereld. In that era it was customary for publishers of newspapers and magazines to organise cycling races as a way of promoting circulation.
The race was before the second world war usually on the same day as the Milan–San Remo competition in Italy. Prominent Italian and French racers preferred the latter which explains why there was only a single non-Belgian winner before the war. After the war the race grew in importance when it became a part of the Challenge Desgrange-Colombo, a precursor of today's UCI ProTour, of which it is now a major round. The record holders are the Belgians, Achiel Buysse, Eric Leman, Johan Museeuw, and Tom Boonen, and the Italian, Fiorenzo Magni, each with three victories.
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