31st Ronde van Vlaanderen 1947 / Tour of Flanders (Belgium)

Faignaert Dominated a Fast Ronde

The 31st edition of the Tour of Flanders (Ronde van Vlaanderen) was held on Sunday, April 27, 1947.

SPECIAL NOTE: This edition of the Ronde was the second running since the end of WW2. The race’s return helped Belgium continue their economic recovery, as well as the renewal of their national cycling culture.

The 213 riders rolled off from Gent, progressing through a neutralized zone exiting the city before the starter’s flag officially dropped. Aggressive racing commenced on the flat roads of Flanders.

Race Status:

The opening kms featured a long breakaway by Marcel Rijckaert (Mercier). He was joined by Alois Delchambre (Dardenne), Fermo Carmellini (Ray), and Breuer (Individual) in the breakaway. The leaders were caught near the halfway point in Ledegem (117 km / 257 km).

Approaching Zottegem, a new breakaway formed, which set the stage for the upcoming climbs.

As the race entered the key climbs of the Oude Kwaremont and Kruisberg the peloton shattered. A new select group of four emerged from the climbs with 50 kms to the finish.

Driving the pace into the outskirts of Wetteren, the solitary leader Camiel Beeckman was caught by the 3-chasers with one km to go.

Faignaert, Beeckman, Desmet and Renders rode onto the final straight together.

Emiel Faignaert (Groene Leeuw) unleashed an explosive sprint and won a tight three-rider sprint in Wetteren. He edged out Roger Desmet (Alcyon) in second place and Rik Renders (Garin) in third.

Flanders April 27, 1947 257 Km, Gent to Wetteren 1. Emile FAIGNAERT (Bel) 7h05'00" 2. Roger Desmet (Bel) 3. Henri Renders (Bel) Starters: 213Finishers: 56Average Speed: 36.282 km/h

RVV 1946 RVV 1948

Return to the Timeline ToC

Return to the Race Snippets ToC