Dates 9 April 1972 Distance 250 km (155.3 mi) Winner Eric Leman (BEL) | Stages 1 Winning time 6h 05' Second André Dierickx (BEL) | |
The 56th running of the Tour of Flanders cycling race in Belgium was held on Sunday 9 April 1972. Belgian Eric Leman won ahead of André Dierickx and Frans Verbeeck, winning the classic for the second time. The race started in Ghent and finished in Gentbrugge. 80 out of 171 riders arrived.
Contents
Course
The race was run in bad weather, leading to a group of 30. Eddy Merckx and Eric Leman broke away from the group, but Felice Gimondi brought the rest back. Merckx, suffering severe back pain, was forced to walk up the Muur van Geraardsbergen, but returned afterwards. At 10 km from the finish, a group of seven was formed, sprinting for the win. Leman narrowly beat André Dierickx. Merckx finished seventh.
Climbs
There were six categorized climbs:
References
1972 Tour of Flanders Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA