He was the Classic Specialist par excellence. Nobody won more World Cup races than the Lion of Flanders, amongst others 3 x the Round of Flanders (8x stand in total) and 3 x the Hell of the North (6x stand Paris – Roubaix). The Lion wore the yellow jersey a couple of days in the Tour de France. He never raced the others big tours. In 1996 he achieved his biggest victory. He became world champion in Lugano and wore the rainbow jersey during one year!
