Classics master Sean Kelly grits his teeth after winning the 1984 Liège-Bastogne-Liège. The podium included Phil Anderson in second and Greg Lemond in third. 1984 was a wildly successful year for the Irish cyclist superstar, who would accumulate 33 victories on the year. Cor Vos
Belgium television crews in action at the 1983 Liège-Bastogne-Liège. The race is often referred to as “La Doyenne” which means “the oldest.” The race was founded by the newspaper La Expresse in 1892 and 2012 is the 98th edition of the race. Cor Vos
Classics master Sean Kelly grits his teeth after winning the 1984 Liège-Bastogne-Liège. The podium included Phil Anderson in second and Greg Lemond in third. 1984 was a wildly successful year for the Irish cyclist superstar, who would accumulate 33 victories on the year. Cor Vos
Silvano Contini, Peter Winnen, and Alfons De Wolf work hard at the front of the 1985 edition of Liège-Bastogne-Liège. None of these three would be victorious on the day, with Moreno Argentin of Italy claiming the win. Argentin would go on to become a four-time winner of the race, adding three more L-B-L wins in 1986, 1987, and 1991. Cor Vos
Gert-Jan Theunisse of Holland lays down the hammer on a climb at the 1987 running of Liège-Bastogne-Liège. Theunisse would not claim victory on this day, (or any day in 1987) as Italian Moreno Argentin would take the win. Cor Vos
Belgians dominated the 24th edition of the Amstel Gold Race, in 1989. Eric Van Lancker and Claude Criquielion stood on the top two steps of the podim, with Canadian Steve Bauer rounding out the top-three. Riders will take any help they can get on the narrow climbs like the Keutenberg. Cor Vos
This breakaway during the 1989 edition of the Amstel Gold Race included Claude Criquielion, Nico Verhoeven, Teun Van Vliet, and Steve Bauer. Noticeably absent from this image and the group is winner Eric Van Lancker. Cor Vos
Claude Criquielion, Nico Verhoeven, Teun Van Vliet, and Steve Bauer put in a big effort trying in vain to chase down winner Eric Van Lancker at the 1989 Amstel Gold Race. Cor Vos
Pedro Delgado of Spain looked calm and collected as he led the peloton at the 1990 edition of the Amstel Gold Race. He would ultimately finish 44th, 6:15 behind race winner Adri van der Poel. Cor Vos
At 35 kilometers to go in the 1990 edition of the race, Gert-Jan Theunisse broke away with Ronan Pensec. In the final meters of the race, Luc Roosen took his hands off the bars to celebrate his victory, but Adri van de Poel came through to embarrass Roosen with a bike throw. You can see video of the ill-fated too early victory salute
1987 is considered by many to be one of the most grueling edition of Paris-Roubaix ever. On this day, only 47 of 192 starters would make it to the finish, with a 25-year-old Eric Vanderaerden finishing at the top of the podium. Instead of finishing in the Roubaix Velodrome, the 1987 edition finished on the Avenue des Nations-Unies. Cor Vos
Sean Kelly would win the 1984 Paris-Roubaix. The decisive move that would allow Kelly to win came with 45 kilometers to go. Kelly chased down Gregor Braun and Alain Bondue, who had both broken away earlier. Rudy Rogiers joined Kelly and they eventually shed Bondue and Braun. Once the duo entered the Roubaix velodrome, Kelly easily outsprinted Rogiers. Cor Vos
Hennie Kuiper dropped the hammer on the cobbles during the 1983 Paris-Roubaix. Kuiper crashed twice, somehow maintaining his position within the lead group, before having another setback with 6km to go. Kuiper punctured while alone in the lead and waited impatiently in the left gutter for his mechanic. Kuiper would take a new bike and enter the velodrome in Roubaix alone. The sprint for second was between Gilbert Duclos-Lassalle and Francesco Moser. Duclos-Lassalle would take second and Moser would claim the third spot on the podium. Cor Vos
Sean Kelly, who won the 1984 Paris-Roubaix, said that the win came during the best time of his career. Rudy Rogiers would be second and Alain Bondue would round out the podium. Cor Vos
Alain Bondue of France and Gregor Braun of Germany put in a huge effort in the mud during the 1984 Paris-Roubaix. Neither Bondeue or Braun would be victorious this day, with Sean Kelly confirming that he was in fact the king of the classics. Kelly sprinted to win his first Paris-Roubaix in the Roubaix velodrome against Rudy Rogiers. Cor Vos
Dutch rider Jan Raas was angry with a photographer who was in his way on the Koppenberg. So he punched him in the face. Cor Vos
Francesco Moser (r) powers up the Koppenberg in 1981. Moser was nicknamed “Lo Sceriffo,” Italian for the sheriff. Moser represented a different era in cycling when one person could win both grand tours and monuments. Moser won the 1984 Milan-San Remo, Paris-Roubaix in 1978, 1979, and 1980, the 1979 Ghent-Wevelgem, the 1984 Giro d’Italia, and the 1977 world road championship. Cor Vos
Sean Kelly leads the way up the Muur de Geraardsbergen. Kelly, arguable one of the greatest classics riders ever, would not win Flanders in 1984 (or ever), but would go on to have his most wins in a single season ever this year; he would rack up over 33 victories. Cor Vos
Staying upright proved difficult on the Koppenberg in the 1984 race. Cor Vos
Riders pile-up behind the leaders as they ride up the Koppenberg. Sean Kelly is at the front. Cor Vos
Jan Raas puts in a huge effort on the Muur de Geraardsbergen. Raas won the race twice — in 1979 and 1983. Those wins would be just two of 115 career wins. In addition to winning Flanders, Raas also won Paris-Roubaix, Milan-San Remo, and ten stages of the Tour de France. Most of Raas’ success came from his clever tactics and ability to power through short climbs. Cor Vos
The 1983 Tour of Flanders was a wet and muddy affair. Jan Raas was the victor on this brutal day that saw only 38 out of 188 starters reach the finish line. Behind Raas would be two Belgians, both a minute-and-a-half back, in Ludo Peeters for second and Marc Sergeant for third. Cor Vos
Gregor Braun of Germany and Francesco Moser of Italy worked hard during the 1981 Tour of Flanders, but neither would claim glory that year. The win would go to Dutch rider Hennie Kuiper. Cor Vos
René Martens won the Tour of Flanders in 1982 riding for DAF Trucks. Cor Vos
Eric Vanderaerden crashed on the Muur de Geraardsbergen in 1985. Vandereraerden won Flanders in 1985 after riding solo for the final 20 kilometers. Only 24 of 173 starters made it to the finish. Cor Vos
Danish rider Jesper Skibby crashed on the Koppenberg before the course director drove over his bicycle. Skibby was known for more than just being a superb talent by fans and within the peloton, but also for his humor and constant joking. Cor Vos
Maurizio Fondriest, Luc Roosen and Lars Michaelson worked hard to maintain and grow their 15-second gap 5km from the finish. The trio was successful and ultimately went 1-2-3, with the Dane Michaelson winning the 1995 race. Fondriest would be second and Roosen would be third. Michaelson is currently the sports director of RadioShack-Nissan. Cor Vos
Edwig van Hooydonck passing by the picturesque Mont Cassel in 1995. Hooydonck put in a long effort, explaining that he was testing his legs for Sunday’s Paris-Roubaix. He would not go on to win the Hell of the North, but was able to capture two wins at the Tour of Flanders in 1989 and 1990. He would retire from the world of professional cycling after declaring that he could no longer compete with other cyclists because EPO was becoming too widely used. Cor Vos
Sean Kelly, Frank Hoste and Greg Braun dismounted their bikes and ran up the Kemmelberg during the 1982 edition of the race. The Kemmelberg starts at around 8% and then stretches to over 20% near the top. The climb, which is only a short cobbled stretch of road, is considered the key climb of Ghent-Wevelgem and was a key point of fighting during the First World War. Of the trio in the picture, the ultimate victor on the day would be Frank Hoste of Belgium. Cor Vos
Greg Braun of Germany put in a brilliant solo effort over the final 35 kilometers of the 1982 race. Unfortunately, the brilliant effort by Braun would not be enough to secure the win — he would end up finishing in 10th place. Cor Vos
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