De Vlaeminck recalls his successes

In the golden years – it was the 70s – it worked like this: give it a classic, it will conquer the world. Roger De Vlaeminck today, at 77 years old, retains in his angular profile the slap of the wind that pushed him to the finish line for so many years. They called him “Monsieur Paris-Roubaix”, because he won it four times (and came second four times). The elegance, the style: this was Roger De Vlaeminck. On the board: Milan-Sanremo three times, two the Tour of Lombardy, one the Tour of Flanders, one the Liège-Bastogne-Liège. He was one of the greatest road cyclists of all time, certainly the most versatile. 22 stage victories in the Giro d’Italia, best result 4th place in 1975. And 6 consecutive Tirreno Adriatico. “A phenomenon – Davide Cassani introduces him before interviewing him – who has won over 250 races in his career”. De Vlaeminck looks at him sideways, with irony there are almost 500, if we also count the amateur ones.”

he did not contemplate defeat

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Born to win, undoubtedly. Perfectly immersed in the atmosphere of the Trento Festival; RDV reveals that the passion is always there (“I still cycle, 50 km a day, three days a week: but it hurts my butt, I prefer walking”) and talks about his career, including anecdotes (“After the first Milan-Sanremo they gave me a Ferrari: I returned to Belgium driving the car, but I had no document and no insurance: they stopped me at customs, they no longer wanted to let me through”) and pearls from the past that come back to the surface: “Once at the Tour of Switzerland Bellini, one of my followers, asked me to win a stage, because at the time they gave each stage winner a coat. And I told him: go, you win, take this blessed coat”.

initially a footballer

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De Vlaeminck was born as a footballer (“I stopped because they didn’t pay me”), his first real bike ride came at the age of 16, following in the footsteps of his brother Erik. He won his first race after just two months of training. In the history of cycling, together with Eddy Merckx and Rik Van Looy, RDV was the only rider to have won all five monument classics. At a certain point he extracts a piece of paper from his jacket. All his victories are recorded there. He reads them, one after the other. Cassani – laughing, with much affection – interrupts him. The list is very long, it would take night. He always won, he won everywhere: he was also the amateur cyclocross world champion in 1968, a feat repeated as a professional in 1975. One regret: he never won the world championship. But he doesn’t like remembering his failed victories. “I once came second, but I don’t want to remember those bad moments anymore.”

friends (and enemies)

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The story of the relationship with Eddie Merckx, the “Cannibal” who took away a lot of glory – his goodness – in his best years is inevitable. “We got along well, I named my son after him. We still see each other now once every twenty days. I once asked him: Eddie, can I win this? And so it was. In Paris-Roubaix, however, I even beat him in the sprint, it was one of the best victories.” Cassani asks him for a Merckx-Pogacar comparison. The answer was blunt: “Pogacar is the best in the world, but Merckx isn’t worth it.” Also definitive on Italian cycling today. “Ganna? Well done, but he must win more.” The rivalry with Francesco Moser, with whom he raced together in 1978 at Sanson, was also epochal. “But I only went because they paid me a lot.” And the relationship with Moser? “Great runner, but we didn’t get along. At all.” Laughter in the room. And then, together again, at Gis Gelati, in 1984. “There too, I only went because they gave me a lot of money.” Laughter, theme song, curtain call. In the sprint, obviously.