Donkeys, horses, storms: Five curious stories about the spring classics
Sebastian Lindner
· 22.02.2024
Where does the name E3 price come from?
Sponsors in the names of races are no longer a rarity. Whether Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift, Bemer Cyclassics or names that have been changed beyond recognition, such as the Renewi Tour (formerly the Benelux Tour): In many places today, the sponsors are already part of the name. The E3 Saxo Classic is no different. However, E3 is not a sponsor. It is the (old) name of a motorway.
European Route 3 was once the name of a series of motorways that connected Lisbon with Stockholm. The Belgian section of the motorway (now the E17 or A14) led via Kortrijk to Antwerp - and past Harelbeke. This is where the race is based, and today it starts and finishes in the small town. First held in 1958 under the name Harelbeke-Antwerp-Harelbeke, the motorway has been part of the name since the 1970s.
Extreme conditions: Only 26 riders reach the finish
Back in the day - way back in the day - it wasn't unusual for only a handful of riders to make it to the finish of a race. After all, the starting fields were much smaller. But even at Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne 2010, the number of riders who crossed the finish line was very small. Of the 198 professionals who started, only 26 reached the finish line.
Even though Dutchman Bobbie Traksel was honoured as the winner at the time, somehow everyone who arrived back in Kuurne after 194 kilometres had won. Because on that 28 February, hurricane Xynthia swept across Flanders and the whole of Western Europe. While the storm claimed 50 lives in France, cycling races were taking place a few kilometres further north. In extreme rainfall and wind speeds of up to 80 km/h. It was pure luck that there was only one fallen tree blocking the route, which was therefore shortened by 20 kilometres.
The donkey and the horse
Let's stay with Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne, because there is also one of the most curious winner's trophies in cycling. The winner receives a plush donkey. And there are historical reasons for this.
The donkey has long been a symbol of the small town of Kuurne. But the locals didn't do this to themselves. It was the neighbours from Kortrijk - and they didn't really mean well. Rather, they were annoyed when the vegetable farmers from Kuurne drove through the streets of the fashionable town at the crack of dawn to sell their goods at the big market. The loaded carts were pulled by donkeys, of course. From then on, the people of Kuurne lost their reputation. But they made the best of it. For example, a winner's trophy.
Just a stone's throw away, in Waregem, the annual Dwars door Vlaanderen, Cross Flanders ends. Incidentally, the winner - and the female winner - receives a plush horse. This, however, is easier to explain. The finish line is at the local racecourse.
No pony farm: Zabel at Gent-Wevelgem
Speaking of horses: They have also played their part in cycling. Still best remembered is a scene from the Strade Bianche Donne 2023, when one of these odd-toed ungulates accompanied the eventual winner a few metres along the course. Last year, two horses also strayed onto the route of the men's Sibiu Tour in Romania to compete with the professional cyclists.
Gent-Wevelgem 2000 also featured a similar scene. Two black ponies had freed themselves from their paddock, presumably frightened by the TV helicopter. They ran onto the course just as a large chasing group passed their home 26 kilometres before the finish. Erik Zabel, who had won Milan-San Remo shortly before, was also at the back of the group. However, he was denied victory at Gent-Wevelgem after one of the animals got too close and rammed him out of the saddle into the ditch. Zabel escaped with a scare and a few grazes and crossed the finish line a good 13 minutes after surprise winner Geert van Bondt in 41st place. Three days later, he finished on the podium at Paris-Roubaix for the only time in his career.
A sector of its own: 3700 metres of pavement for Degenkolb
Speaking of Paris-Roubaix. Yes, this is actually France. But the close proximity to the border means that many a die-hard Belgian likes to treat the race as their own. The relationship between French flags at the side of the course and Flemish lions is also sometimes balanced.
Under these conditions, this story in particular fits much better into the series. It is about John Degenkolb. For the German, Paris-Roubaix - attention, pun! - has always been a good place for the German. Degenkolb loves Roubaix. And Roubaix loves Degenkolb. Not just because of his victory in 2015, but above all because of an event that happened four years later. The U19 version of the Hell of the North was on the brink of cancellation. Funding problems. Degenkolb, who had become an ambassador for Les Amis de Paris-Roubaix, an association dedicated to preserving the cobblestones, just a few months earlier, immediately launched a crowdfunding campaign and raised 15,000 euros in just two days, securing the race.
As thanks, Degenkolb received eternal love from the French - and his own pavé. The cobbled section between Hornaing and Wandignies, one of the longest ever at 3700 metres and with a difficulty rating of four out of five stars, has been called Secteur John Degenkolb since February 2020. Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault, Jean Stablinksi, Marc Madiot, Frederic Guesdon - some Roubaix legends have had a sector dedicated to them. But none of them were still active. And so the Gera-born rider did not miss out on the opportunity to lead a top-class leading group in 2023. around the eventual winner Mathieu van der Poel to go into his own sector.
