Dwars door Vlaanderen (English: Across Flanders) is a Flanders Classics road bicycle race, which as from 2013 will count as a 1.HC event on the UCI Europe Tour. Traditionally, it is the start of the Flemish cycling week, with Gent–Wevelgem (before 2010 the Brabantse Pijl instead of Gent–Wevelgem), the Three Days of De Panne and the Ronde van Vlaanderen. Dwars door Vlaanderen has always been contested on a Wednesday, a week and a half before the Ronde van Vlaanderen. The finish is always in Waregem. The race was first run in 1945 and the race has been every year since, with the exception of 1971. The race was previously named Dwars door België (English: Across Belgium). In the years 1945–1946 and 1948–1964, the race was run as a stage-race over two days; in 1947 and since 1965, it has been held as a one-day race.
Famous quotes containing the word door:
“The great fact in life, the always possible escape from dullness, was the lake. The sun rose out of it, the day began there; it was like an open door that nobody could shut. The land and all its dreariness could never close in on you. You had only to look at the lake, and you knew you would soon be free.”
—Willa Cather (1873–1947)