1997 Tour of Flanders

The 81st running of the Tour of Flanders cycling race in Belgium was held on Sunday 6 April 1997. It was the second leg of the 1997 UCI Road World Cup. Rolf Sørensen won the race, becoming the first Danish winner of the monument classic.^[1][2] The race started in Sint-Niklaas and finished in Meerbeke (Ninove).

1997 UCI Road World Cup, race 2
Rolf Sørensen, first Danish winner of the Tour of Flanders
Race details
Dates	6 April 1997
Stages	1
Distance	256 km (159.1 mi)
Winning time	5h 57' 01"
Results
Winner  Rolf Sørensen (DEN) (Rabobank)   Second  Frédéric Moncassin (FRA) (Gan)   Third  Franco Ballerini (ITA) (Mapei-GB)
← 1996 1998 →

Race summary

Peter Van Petegem made the first significant move on Oude Kwaremont, but couldn't force a viable breakaway. On Taaienberg, 50 km from the finish, French star Laurent Jalabert broke away, followed by Dane Rolf Sørensen. Race favourite and world champion Johan Museeuw crashed at the foot of the Berendries climb and was unable to return to the front of the race. Meanwhile, Jalabert was left behind on the Berendries, as Van Petegem and Italians Ballerini and Casarotto joined Sørensen in the front. On the Muur van Geraardsbergen the four front riders were joined by seven others, including sprint specialist Frédéric Moncassin and Andrei Tchmil. In the last 10 km, Moncassin, Sørensen and Ballerini broke away and pushed on to the finish. Sørensen attacked under the one-kilometer banner and powered on to victory. Moncassin outsprinted Ballerini for second place.^[3]

Climbs

There were fifteen categorized climbs:

Den Ast Kattenberg Leberg Molenberg Kluisberg

Knokteberg Oude Kwaremont Paterberg Kortekeer Taaienberg

Steenberg Berendries Tenbosse Muur-Kapelmuur Bosberg

Results

	Cyclist	Team	Time
1	Rolf Sørensen (DEN)	Rabobank	5h 57' 01"
2	Frédéric Moncassin (FRA)	GAN	+ 7"
3	Franco Ballerini (ITA)	Mapei–GB	+ 8"
4	Andrei Tchmil (UKR)	Lotto–Mobistar–Isoglass	s.t.
5	Davide Casarotto (ITA)	Scrigno–Gaerne	+ 20"
6	Claudio Chiappucci (ITA)	ASICS	+ 21"
7	Michele Bartoli (ITA)	MG Maglificio–Technogym	+ 27"
8	Jo Planckaert (BEL)	Lotto–Mobistar–Isoglass	s.t.
9	Peter Van Petegem (BEL)	TVM–Farm Frites	s.t.
10	Viatcheslav Ekimov (RUS)	U.S. Postal Service	s.t.

External links

• Recap of the race (Flemish television)