Binche-Tournai-Binche renamed in memory of late Belgian rider
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Frank Vandenbroucke (Mitsubishi-Jartazi) looks on(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Frank Vandenbroucke in 2004(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
After seeking psychiatric help in 2006, Frank Vandenbroucke looked to be heading in the right direction as he announced a return to cycling with Aqua & Sapone.(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
The Binche-Tournai-Binche race, one of the oldest races on the Belgian calendar, has been renamed the Memorial Frank Vandenbroucke. It will be held for the first time since 1996 on October 5 in remembrance of the former classics rider who died on October 12 last year during a holiday in Senegal.
Frank Vandenbroucke won the last edition of the race when he was at the beginning of his troubled career and riding for the Mapei team. Vandenbroucke beat Jean-Pierre Heyndrickx and Tom Steels.
The 200km race is being organised by Frank's uncle, Jean-Luc Vandenbroucke, and will start in the small village of Gille and cover a loop around the western area of Wallonie near Tournai.
The race will be held just two days after the world road race championships in Australia but at least 23 teams are set to ride, according to a report in La Derniere Heure newspaper, including 12 ProTour teams. Quick Step, Omega Pharma-Lotto, Garmin-Transitions, RadioShack and AG2R have agreed to ride the 1.1 ranked event.
The Memorial Frank Vandenbroucke comes just five days before Paris-Tours and so is a perfect warm-up race for the final classics of the season.
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Stephen is the most experienced member of the Cyclingnews team, having reported on professional cycling since 1994. He has been Head of News at Cyclingnews since 2022, before which he held the position of European editor since 2012 and previously worked for Reuters, Shift Active Media, and CyclingWeekly, among other publications.
