Famous Belgian Cyclists

Eddy Merckx is a Belgian former road and track bicycle racer. Widely regarded as the most successful rider in competitive cycling history, Merckx achieved several important victories, such as 11 Grand Tours, three World Championships, and all five Monuments. He is also considered the greatest cyclist of all time. After retiring, he coached his national cycling team for 11 years.

A 3-time Olympian, Belgian cyclist Philippe Gilbert is best known for winning the 2012 World Road Race Championships. He is also one of only 2 cyclists who have won 3 Ardennes classics. After representing teams such as the BMC Racing Team and Quick-Step Floors, he switched to Lotto–Soudal.

Tom Boonen is a Belgian retired road bicycle racer who competed for Quick-Step Floors teams and the U.S. Postal Service between 2002 and 2017. He is best known for winning a gold medal at the 2005 UCI Road World Championships in Madrid. Tom Boonen was named Belgian Sportsman of the Year on three occasions during his career.

The son of retired Belgian cyclist Patrick Evenepoel, Remco Evenepoel too is a skilled cyclist in his own right and an Olympian. While he began his sports career as a footballer with Anderlecht, he later switched to cycling. He now represents the Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team.

Belgian cyclist Greg Van Avermaet was born into a family of cyclists, with both his father and grandfather being cyclists. The Olympic gold medalist has represented Predictor–Lotto and the BMC Racing Team, before switching to the French cycling team AG2R Citroën Team. He specializes in classic cycle races.

Roger De Vlaeminck is a Belgian retired racing cyclist. One of the most talented racing cyclists of his generation, De Vlaeminck is best known for winning a gold medal for his country at the 1975 World Championships. He also won a silver medal in the same tournament. He was inducted into the Union Cycliste Internationale Hall of Fame in 2002.

Retired Belgian cyclist Freddy Maertens enjoyed success in phases. While he initially won numerous junior races and went on to become a Belgian and world champion, he was later plagued by debt and alcoholism. However, he bounced back later with a Tour de France green jersey and a World Championship win.

Retired Belgian cyclist Johan Museeuw, also known as The Lion of Flanders, was regarded as a master of classic races. Apart from being an Olympian, he was also a 3-time winner of both the Tour of Flanders and Paris–Roubaix. He also recorded multiple Tour de France wins.

Belgian cyclist Bjorg Lambrecht was not just a national junior champion but also made it to the 2018 Vuelta a España starlist. The Lotto–Soudal member was just 22 when he died of internal hemorrhage after crashing into a concrete culvert during the 3rd stage of the 2019 Tour de Pologne.

Wouter Weylandt was a Belgian cyclist who was part of two professional teams, namely Quick-Step–Davitamon and Leopard Trek. He won a couple of races before dying in a crash while competing in the third stage of the Giro d'Italia in 2011. He was 26 years old at the time of his death.

Frank Vandenbroucke was a Belgian road racing cyclist. Despite his troubles with drug addiction, Vandenbroucke was seen as a bright prospect and a great hope for Belgian cycling. However, his addiction ultimately led to his estrangement from the world of cycling. Frank Vandenbroucke died at the age of 34 due to a pulmonary embolism.

Rik Van Looy is a Belgian retired professional cyclist best known for winning a gold medal at the 1952 Olympic Games in Helsinki, Finland. He also won gold medals at the 1960 and 1961 World Championships. Nicknamed the King of the Classics, Rik Van Looy is ninth on the all-time Grand Tour stage winners list with 37 victories.

Rik Van Steenbergen was a Belgian racing cyclist who is often counted among the greatest Belgian cyclists of all time. A three-time world champion, Steenbergen was made an inductee of the UCI Hall of Fame in 2002. A statue of Rik Van Steenbergen was unveiled in Arendonk in 2004.

Thomas De Gendt is a Belgian road racing cyclist. He came into prominence in 2019 when he won stage eight of the popular Tour de France. Thomas De Gendt is currently a part of the famous UCI WorldTeam, Lotto–Soudal.

Belgian bicycle racer Wout van Aert, who specializes in road bicycling and cyclo-cross racing, is an Olympic silver medalist and the 2021 UCI Cyclocross World Cup series title winner. He has also recorded multiple Tour de France stage wins. He is the nephew of retired Dutch cyclist Jos van Aert.

Femke Van den Driessche is a Belgian retired road racing cyclist, mountainbiker, and cyclo-cross cyclist. She won the Belgian championship title in 2016 but was later stripped of the title as she was charged with mechanical doping; she was the first person to be officially charged with mechanical doping. In 2016, Femke Van den Driessche was banned for six years.

Retired Belgian cyclist Axel Merckx, the son of legendary cyclist Eddy Merckx, first gained attention after his 2000 Belgian National Road Race Championship win. He also won a bronze medal at the 2004 Athens Olympics. He now heads the Hagens Berman Axeon team as its directeur sportif.

Sven Nys is a Belgian former cyclist who competed in mountain bike and cyclo-cross. A prominent figure in cyclo-cross, Nys is often counted among the greatest cyclo-cross racers of his generation. Sven Nys won two gold medals, two silver medals, and five bronze medals at the World Championships during his career. 

Tim Wellens is a Belgian road racing cyclist who currently competes for Lotto–Soudal. Wellens is best known as the son of former professional cyclist Leo Wellens. He is also the nephew of cyclists Johan and Paul Wellens.

Retired Belgian cyclist Lucien Van Impe specialized as a climber and won multiple Tour de France titles, including 6 mountains classification prizes. He has also been successful in Giro d'Italia and Vuelta a España. Post-retirement, he has managed several professional cycling teams and now heads the UCI World Team Intermarché–Wanty–Gobert Matériaux.

Retired Belgian racer Johan Bruyneel, who also managed the teams RadioShack–Nissan and U.S. Postal Service, has 2 major Tour de France wins, apart from a win at the Vuelta a España. He was later dragged into a doping scandal and was subsequently banned for life by the World Anti-Doping Agency.

Claude Criquielion was a Belgian road bicycle racer best remembered for winning a gold medal at the 1984 World Championships in Barcelona. He is also remembered for his association with the Lotto–Adecco team, where he served as directeur sportif from 2000 to 2004.

Belgian cyclist Eli Iserbyt has been a 2016 UCI Cyclo-Cross World Championship U-23 level gold medalist. He has also won U-23 events at the 2018 World Championships and the 2017 UEC European Cyclo-Cross Championships. A specialist in cyclo-cross and road cycling, he plays for Pauwels Sauzen–Bingoal.

Belgian cyclist Toon Aerts won the UCI Cyclo-Cross World Cup twice. A specialist in cyclo-cross and road cycling, he represented the UCI Continental team Baloise Trek Lions. He was dragged into a doping scandal after he tested positive for the substance Letrozole in January 2022.

Born in the Soviet Union, cyclist Andrei Tchmil has moved across countries since childhood, living in cycling in the Soviet Union, Moldova. Ukraine, and, eventually, Belgium. He also competed for Ukraine at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. His wins include the Paris–Roubaix and the Tour of Flanders.

Victor Campenaerts is a Belgian professional racing cyclist who won a bronze medal for his country at the 2018 World Championships in Innsbruck, Austria. He also won gold medals at the 2017 and 2018 European Championships in Herning and Glasgow respectively. Victor Campenaerts is currently a part of the UCI WorldTeam, Lotto–Soudal.

Belgian cyclist Herman Van Springel scripted history as a 7-time winner of the Bordeaux–Paris marathon race and thus gained the nickname Monsieur Bordeaux-Paris. He lost the 1968 Tour de France by a 38-second margin but won the green jersey without any stage wins at the 1973 Tour de France.

Retired Belgian cyclist Walter Godefroot, who was a master of classic cycle races, was not just a national champion but had also won the Tour of Flanders and Bordeaux–Paris twice. He also recorded several Tour de France achievements. The Bulldog of Flanders later managed teams such as Astana.

Tara Gins is a Belgian racing cyclist who rode professionally for teams like Lares–Waowdeals, Memorial Santos–SaddleDrunk, and Health Mate–Cyclelive Team between 2016 and 2020. Tara Gins is currently a part of an amateur team named Get Coached.

Belgian cyclist Raymond Impanis recorded some major wins during his career, including the Paris–Roubaix and the Tour of Flanders. A Tour de France stage winner, he hailed from a family of bakers in the town of Berg and was thus nicknamed Bakkertje van Berg. He competed for teams such as Alcyon-Dunlop.

Jolien Verschueren was a Belgian cyclo-cross cyclist who represented her country at the UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships in 2016, where she competed in the women's elite event. Apart from her cycling career, Jolien Verschueren also had a teaching career as she worked as a schoolteacher. Jolien Verschueren died of brain cancer at the age of 31.  

Erik De Vlaeminck was a Belgian professional cyclist best remembered for winning the men's cyclo-cross World Championship titles on a record seven occasions. Apart from his seven gold medals, Erik De Vlaeminck also won a bronze medal at the 1977 World Championships in Hanover.