Tour of Flanders 1981

At the start of the 1981 season, team manager Fred De Bruyne is mainly counting on the stage racer Hennie Kuiper. Although the Dutchman, like Roger De Vlaeminck, is designated as a protected rider, for the major one-day races both De Bruyne and sponsor director Willy van Doorne are primarily relying on their big Flemish asset Roger De Vlaeminck.

Kuiper’s friend and assistant team manager José De Cauwer knows better. He is instrumental in the transformation of the stage racer Kuiper into the classics rider Kuiper. De Cauwer is eager to see if the different training approach yields results.

There is no better test than the Tour of Flanders, known in the Roman Catholic, cycling-crazy Flanders for years as the High Mass.

As is often the case, in ‘81 the Koppenberg is included in the course. This steep hill strewn with rough cobblestones in the Flemish countryside is cursed by 95 percent of riders. Bernard Hinault refers to it as a bump, diminishing the sporting value of Flanders’ Finest to a lottery.

‘It was a nightmare in my days,’ says Hennie. ‘Nowadays, riders are better prepared, they tackle it with lighter gears. Back then, a cassette with 23 or 25 teeth was the lightest that could be mounted, combined with a chainring of 42 teeth.’

There is another factor that makes it somewhat easier nowadays: the cobblestones are arranged better.

Even after the turn of the century, the Koppenberg remains a controversial obstacle that can lead to race manipulation, but it is not as severe as it was in the seventies and eighties of the previous century.

Trick

It is still the case that when a rider falls on the Koppenberg, the riders behind him usually have to get off their bikes and are forced to continue their way to the top on foot. ‘Sometimes they also use all kinds of tricks,’ Hennie knows. ‘Then the team leader is already on his way to the top, a helper lets himself fall, then puts the bike across the road, thereby creating a blockade.’

Kuiper has been a victim of such practices more than once. Also in 1981, he has to walk up when he sees the road blocked by falling riders. That means a chase of sometimes tens of kilometers before you are back in the main group. ‘I once had to race for an hour and a half with Francesco Moser to return to the front of the race.’

On the eve of the Tour of Flanders 1981, the riders sleep in the villa of a hotel owner. The hotel is overbooked, but the patron considers it an honor to receive the gentlemen riders in his chic private domain. After all, they are not just anyone: the wildly popular Roger De Vlaeminck and the widely respected Hennie Kuiper. And all under the leadership of the famous former TV commentator and ex-top rider Fred De Bruyne. De Vlaeminck and Kuiper understand each other. There is mutual respect.

The atmosphere in the team is excellent. DAF has made an impression in Paris-Nice. De Vlaeminck has won two stages and the very young talent Adrie van der Poel, second in the final classification, has added a third victory. Kuiper is deeply impressed by De Vlaeminck’s way of preparing. Outwardly he may be a ‘jester’, but when it comes down to it, he works extremely seriously towards every race. Jokes and pranks from time to time, but above all great professionalism. The team is on edge for the ‘High Mass’, with De Vlaeminck leading the way. The professional peloton knows this too, which is why he is closely watched. Every move is immediately answered.

It is a period of great animosity between the young Flemish riders Fons De Wolf and Daniel Willems, both dubbed as the ‘crown princes’ of Belgian cycling. Since Eddy Merckx’s retirement, people have been praying for a successor. As soon as a rider stands out from the rest, the cycling-crazy media labels him as a ‘crown prince’. When there are two ‘crown princes’ in the peloton, it is not difficult to predict what will happen: they clash with each other. They race more against each other than trying to win themselves. The Tour of Flanders 1981 is no exception to this attitude. If De Wolf attacks, Willems jumps on his wheel and vice versa. The decision falls, as often happens, on the Muur, not Kuiper’s ideal battleground. The climb is too steep and too short for him. He struggles up on April 5th, 1981. At the top of the Muur, near the chapel, Hennie is the last one from the big group that can hold on at the front. The rest of the field of riders, including Van der Poel, are left behind in disarray.

Just under twenty kilometers from the finish line, right after climbing the last hill of the day, the Bosberg, the crown princes clash again. De Wolf attacks, Willems goes with him and even takes over at one point. Kuiper sees it happen. He jumps along. ‘I thought: if I’m away with those two and Roger stays calm, others will have to work to catch me back and then Roger can go for it.’

When Hennie takes over at the front from the princely duo, they mainly look at each other. They don’t give an inch to each other. Hennie looks back and sees that they are solely focused on each other. In a blink of an eye, he has fifty meters on them. He looks back again later. The gap is now a hundred meters. The international cycling elite should know that from that moment on it’s very difficult to catch Kuiper again. He leans over his handlebars and gives it everything he’s got. Behind him, Roger De Vlaeminck stifles every attack in its tracks. It seems simple but it’s anything but easy. Counterattacks from Sean Kelly, Jan Raas, and Jean-Luc Vandenbroucke force De Vlaeminck time and time again to give his all. ‘Team manager Fred De Bruyne was extremely nervous. I could feel from my pace that our competitors wouldn’t be able to catch up.’

Kuiper maintains a relentless pace. ‘I rode my soul out.’ He crosses the finish line ecstatically. For the first time in his cycling career, he wins a classic race. But my God, what pain in his chest, in his lungs.’I pushed everything: my airways, my lungs.’ That’s where that pain came from.’ Even the climb that organizers included in that year’s finale can’t disrupt Kuiper’s rhythm anymore. He rides in a big gear, covering an impressive number of meters with each pedal stroke and passes his first unofficial tests as a classic rider with flying colors thanks to Roger De Vlaeminck who shields off any attempts to catch them from behind excellently. Hennie understands that like no other person does; it’s also the first thing he says.’Thank you Roger but next Sunday in Paris-Roubaix I’ll ride for you.’

In the Tour of Flanders of 1981, Hennie Kuiper and the German champion Gregor Braun - almost inevitably - crash on the Koppenberg. Aad van den Hoek still has one foot on the ground, but tries to get going again. In the Koppenberg struggle, that is impossible.

Hennie Kuiper turns into a cyclocross rider on the Koppenberg, just like the rest of the group. Gregor Braun has also climbed out of the ditch again, but his frame gets tangled up with the frame of the Swiss rider Godi Schmutz.

Hennie Kuiper realizes it can happen: he can win his first Monument. His facial expression speaks volumes.

**Champion Determination puts the competition at a decisive disadvantage in the Tour of Flanders. 'I have ridden the soul out of my body'**

‘Riding, Hennie: riding’

Kuiper keeps his word. Roger De Vlaeminck, Francesco Moser, Bernard Hinault, Guido Van Calster, Marc Demeyer, and he form the ultimate breakaway group, tackling the rough cobblestones in Hell on their way to the liberating track in Roubaix. ‘Riding Hennie, riding,’ De Vlaeminck keeps urging his teammate. The fast Flemish rider wants to keep the pace so high that a breakaway becomes nearly impossible. Hennie is figuratively riding the cobblestones out of the northern French road surface, but it ultimately proves to be in vain. De Vlaeminck essentially makes a crucial mistake. He should have let Kuiper make a move. ‘When I attack, Hinault has to come after me. That takes strength and Roger could have taken advantage of that. But Roger was too nervous.’ Too nervous, at least, to make the right decisions. When the sextet turns onto the track for the final sprint, Kuiper lets them go. As a non-sprinter, he would only get in the way of the men.

De Vlaeminck is theoretically the best sprinter, but he makes mistakes again. Hinault confidently takes the lead and rides at a single, high, steady pace towards the finish line. De Vlaeminck cannot catch up anymore. Nevertheless, Hennie has redeemed himself to his teammate. He proves in two consecutive major races that he belongs to the absolute top in the classics. The metamorphosis is complete. The first Monument is secured!

Hennie Kuiper's victory gesture at the finish line in Meerbeke is accompanied by a great sense of satisfaction

The media frenzy is about to erupt for the winner of the Tour of Flanders 1981. But then there is always devil hunter André Meganck (to the right of Kuiper) to accompany the champion to the Flemish commentators.

The look in the eyes of Roger De Vlaeminck is almost identical to that on the World Championship podium of 1975: further than infinity. Louis De Pelsmaeker and Jean Nelissen have all the attention for winner Hennie Kuiper.