Gent Wevelgem was first run in 1934 and is yet another race started by a newspaper. The race originally visited the Flemish Ardennes to create a hilly race but since the 1980s has become more of a sprinter’s classic.
The first E3 BinckBank Classic was first run in 1958 and would head from Harelbeke to Antwerp and back. From the early 1960s it was called the E3-Prijs Vlaanderen. Originally named after a local motorway, the road has since been renamed the E17 but the race has name has stuck.
The first Kuurne Brussels Kuurne was in 1946 and until the late 60s, followed a route to Brussels. It was known as Omloop der beide Vlaanderen in the 1970s to reflect the new route to the Flemish Ardennes. In 1979 it reverted back to its original name.
Originally named Omloop van Vlaanderen, the race was created by newspaper Het Volk to compete against rival Het Nieuwsblad’s Tour of Flanders (Ronde van Vlaanderen).
