1973 Tour of Flanders

1 April 1973 1 263 km 6h 17' Eric Leman BEL Peugeot–BP Freddy Maertens BEL Flandria-Shimano Eddy Merckx BEL Molteni 1972 1974 The 57th running of the Tour of Flanders cycling race in Belgium was held on Sunday 1 April 1973. Belgian Eric Leman won the classic ahead of Freddy Maertens and Eddy Merckx.Vanwalleghem, Rik (1991), De Ronde van Vlaanderen, Pinguin, Belgium, 90-73322-02-2, p168McGann McGann Bill Carol http://www.bikeraceinfo.com/classics/Tour%20of%20Flanders/1973-tour-of-flanders.html 1973 Ronde van Vlaanderen results BikeRaceInfo McGann Publishing Cherokee Village, Arkansas 1 June 2015 The race started in Ghent and finished for the first time in Meerbeke (Ninove). 37 out of 174 riders arrived. Course Cycling icon Eddy Merckx was the pre-race favourite, but despite several attempts, he failed to distance Leman, Maertens and De Geest on the Muur van Geraardsbergen and the run-in to the finish. In a four-man sprint Eric Leman narrowly beat Freddy Maertens. Merckx was third.Vanwalleghem, Rik (1991), De Ronde van Vlaanderen, Pinguin, Belgium, 90-73322-02-2, p172 Leman became the third rider to win the Tour of Flanders three times, equalling the previous record of Achiel Buysse and Fiorenzo Magni.Vanwalleghem, Rik (1991), De Ronde van Vlaanderen, Pinguin, Belgium, 90-73322-02-2, p169-173 Climbs There were six categorized climbs: Oude Kwaremont Nieuwe Kruisberg Edelareberg Varent Valkenberg Muur of Geraardsbergen Results CyclistTeamTime1Eric Leman BEL Peugeot–BP 6h 17' 00"2Freddy Maertens BEL Flandria-Shimano s.t.3Eddy Merckx BEL Molteni s.t.4Willy De Geest BEL Rokado s.t.5Joop Zoetemelk NED Gitane + 45"6Walter Godefroot BEL Flandria-Shimano + 51"7Frans Verbeeck BEL Watneys–Maes s.t.8Herman Van Springel BEL Rokado s.t.9Patrick Sercu BEL Brooklyn + 1'20"10Willy In't Ven BEL Molteni s.t. References Further reading Saunders David Tour of Flanders 1973: April Fool – Eddy International Cycle Sport May 1973 60 19 http://www.internationalcyclesport.com/html/ics_1973-05_p19.html 10 April 2020 Kennedy Brothers Publishing Keighley, UK 0020-6504 InternationalCycleSport.com Category:Tour of Flanders Tour of Flanders Tour of Flanders Category:1973 Super Prestige Pernod