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Grote Scheldeprijs

Race details
Date	Mid April
Region	Antwerp, Belgium
English name	Grand Prix of the Schelde
Local name(s)	Grote Scheldeprijs(Dutch) Grand Prix de l'Escaut (French)
Discipline	Road race
Competition	UCI Europe Tour
Type	Single-day
History
First edition	1907
Editions	96 (as of 2007)
First winner	Maurice Leturgie
Most wins	Piet Oellibrandt
Most recent	Mark Cavendish

The Grote Scheldeprijs is a Belgian semi classic cycling race which starts in the city of Antwerp and finishes in the town of Schoten. The event, which is ranked at 1.HC on the UCI European calendar, is traditionally seen as a race for the sprinters, being held on flat roads over a distance of roughly 200 kilometres. The race consists of one big circuit of 155 kilometres which goes into the countryside of Antwerp province followed by three finishing circuits of 15 kilometres based on the finishing town of Schoten, the route includes seven tough cobbled sections varying in length between 1300 metres and 3000 metres. The race takes place in mid April on the Wednesday following the cobble classic Paris-Roubaix. It has formerly been known as the Scheldeprijs Vlaanderen and by its French name of the Grand Prix de l'Escaut.

The race has a neutralised start on the banks of the River Schelde in the centre of Antwerp at the Grote Markt outside the City Hall, however, racing does not begin until the town of Schoten is reached a few kilometres to the north east and the official starting signal is given. The finish of the race is outside Schoten town hall.

The first Scheldeprijs was organised by the Antwerp branch of the Belgium Cycling Society (BWB) on July 8 1907 making it the oldest cycle race in Flanders. The early years of the race saw it starting and finishing in Antwerp, with the conclusion of the event taking place at the now demolished Zurenborg velodrome. Later on the start of the race was moved to Merksem and then to Deurne, which are both satellite towns of Antwerp, however in 1996 the race start was moved back to the centre of Antwerp. That first edition of the race in 1907 was won by the Frenchman Maurice Leturgie, however it would be another 46 years before another non Belgian (Dutchman Hans Dekkers in 1953) triumphed in the race as home riders dominated the event. Since 1978 the nationality of the race winner has become more diversified.

2005 saw the 93rd edition of the race since 1907 and only the first and second World Wars have interrupted the event. The Scheldeprijs will celebrate it’s 100th anniversary in 2007 and the race organisers are already planning special events to celebrate. Some of the great names of cycling have triumphed in the race over it’s long history, Eddy Merckx, Rik Van Looy, Mario Cipollini, Freddy Maertens, Roger De Vlaeminck, Erik Zabel, Briek Schotte, Stan Ockers and Georges Ronsse have all been successful, however, Belgian Piet Oellibrandt, holds the record for the most wins in the race, taking three victories in the early 1960s. Belgian cycling legend Johan Museeuw, who never actually won the Scheldeprijs but finished second twice in 1992 and 1997 chose the 2004 event as the final race in an illustrious career, saying, “I could have retired after Paris-Roubaix but I felt it important that my last race should be in Belgium, the Scheldeprijs is a great race and I love especially the start in Antwerp market place.”

Rider Team 1907 Maurice Leturgie 1908 Adrien Kranskens 1909 Raymond Van Parijs 1910 Florent Luyckx 1911 Florent Luyckx 1912 Joseph Van Wetter 1913 Joseph Van Wetter 1914 Octave Jacques 1915- 1918 No race 1919 Isidoor Mechant 1920 Victor Lenaers 1921 René Vermandel 1922 Florent Vandenbergh 1923 Emile Thollembeek 1924 René Vermandel 1925 Karel Van Hassel 1926 Jef Dervaes 1927 Georges Ronsse 1928 Jef Dervaes 1929 Joseph Wauters 1930 Denis Verschueren 1931 Godefried Devoght 1932 Godefried Devoght 1933 Jan-Jozef Horemans 1934 Léon Tommies 1935 Gerard Loncke 1936 Marcel Van Schil 1937 Sylvain Grysolle 1938 Antoine Dignef 1939 Achiel Buysse 1940 No race 1941 Stan Ockers 1942 Lode Busschops 1943 Eloi Meulenberg 1944 No race 1945 No race 1946 Stan Ockers 1947 René Mertens 1948 Achiel Buysse 1949 Roger Decorte 1950 André Pieters 1951 Ernest Sterckx 1952 Roger Decorte 1953 Hans Dekkers 1954 Roger Decock 1955 Briek Schotte 1956 Rik Van Looy 1957 Rik Van Looy 1958 Raymond Vrancken

Rider Team 1959 Willy Butzen 1960 Piet Oellibrandt 1961 Raymond Vrancken 1962 Piet Oellibrandt 1963 Piet Oellibrandt 1964 Jos Hoevenaers 1965 Willy Vannitsen 1966 Joseph Spruyt 1967 Paul In 't Ven 1968 Edward Sels 1969 Walter Godefroot 1970 Roger De Vlaeminck 1971 Gustaaf Van Roosbroeck 1972 Eddy Merckx 1973 Freddy Maertens 1974 Marc Demeyer 1975 Ronald De Witte 1976 Frans Verbeeck 1977 Marc Demeyer 1978 Dietrich Thurau 1979 Daniel Willems 1980 Ludo Peeters 1981 Ad Wijnands 1982 Ludo Schurgers 1983 Jan Bogaert 1984 Ludo Peeters 1985 Adri van der Poel 1986 Jean-Paul van Poppel 1987 Etienne De Wilde 1988 Jean-Paul van Poppel 1989 Jean-Marie Wampers 1990 John Talen 1991 Mario Cipollini 1992 Wilfried Nelissen 1993 Mario Cipollini 1994 Peter Van Petegem 1995 Rossano Brasi 1996 Frank Vandenbroucke 1997 Erik Zabel 1998 Servais Knaven 1999 Jeroen Blijlevens 2000 Endrio Leoni 2001 Endrio Leoni 2002 Robbie McEwen 2003 Ludovic Capelle 2004 Tom Boonen 2005 Thorwald Veneberg 2006 Tom Boonen 2007 Mark Cavendish

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