Flandrien of the Year

Greg Van Avermaet, Flandrien of the Year 2008, 2013, 2014 and 2015

The Flandrien of the Year (Dutch: Flandrien-Trofee) is an annual award presented by the Flemish newspaper Het Nieuwsblad to the best Belgian cyclist of the year. The prize has been awarded since 2003 and was originally awarded based on a vote by the public, and open to any nationality. Since 2008, people from within the world of cycling choose the winner from a jury's list of nominees, with only Belgian riders eligible to win the award. The first winner of the award was the Italian Paolo Bettini, and the current holder is Greg Van Avermaet. There are also separate awards for the best international cyclist, and best female cyclist.

The award is seen as prestigious in the world of cycling, especially since it is voted on by fellow cyclists. It is also seen as rewarding the cyclist who most embodies the tough and hard-working values of the Flandrien cyclists of years gone by, such as Briek Schotte.^[1] International Flandrien of the Year 2013 Chris Froome summed up these sentiments when he accepted the award, saying: "A Flandrien is to me someone, no matter how tough the conditions are, never gives up. Someone who has the character of a fighter."^[2]

Winners

Flandrien of the Year

		Rider	Team
2003		Bettini, PaoloPaolo Bettini (ITA)	Quick-Step–Davitamon
2004		Boonen, TomTom Boonen (BEL)	Quick-Step–Davitamon
2005		Boonen, TomTom Boonen (BEL)	Quick-Step–Innergetic
2006		Bettini, PaoloPaolo Bettini (ITA)	Quick-Step–Innergetic
2007		Bettini, PaoloPaolo Bettini (ITA)	Quick-Step–Innergetic
2008		Van Avermaet, GregGreg Van Avermaet (BEL)	Silence–Lotto
2009		Gilbert, PhilippePhilippe Gilbert (BEL)	Silence–Lotto
2010		Gilbert, PhilippePhilippe Gilbert (BEL)	Omega Pharma–Lotto
2011		Gilbert, PhilippePhilippe Gilbert (BEL)	Omega Pharma–Lotto
2012		Boonen, TomTom Boonen (BEL)	Omega Pharma–Quick-Step
2013		Van Avermaet, GregGreg Van Avermaet (BEL)	BMC Racing Team
2014		Van Avermaet, GregGreg Van Avermaet (BEL)	BMC Racing Team
2015		Van Avermaet, GregGreg Van Avermaet (BEL)	BMC Racing Team

International Flandrien of the Year

		Rider	Team
2008		Cancellara, FabianFabian Cancellara (SUI)	Team CSC Saxo Bank
2009		Cavendish, MarkMark Cavendish (GBR)	Team Columbia–High Road
2010		Cancellara, FabianFabian Cancellara (SUI)	Team Saxo Bank
2011		Cavendish, MarkMark Cavendish (GBR)	HTC–Highroad
2012		Wiggins, BradleyBradley Wiggins (GBR)	Team Sky
2013		Froome, ChrisChris Froome (GBR)	Team Sky
2014		Kwiatkowski, MichałMichał Kwiatkowski (POL)	Omega Pharma–Quick-Step
2015		Sagan, PeterPeter Sagan (SVK)	Tinkoff–Saxo

By country

Country	Number of wins	Winning years
Great Britain	4	2009, 2011, 2012, 2013
Switzerland	2	2008, 2010
Poland	1	2014
Slovakia	1	2015

Flandrienne of the Year

		Rider	Team
2008		Verbeke, GraceGrace Verbeke (BEL)	Lotto–Belisol Ladiesteam
2009		Verbeke, GraceGrace Verbeke (BEL)	Lotto–Belisol Ladiesteam
2010		De Vocht, LiesbetLiesbet De Vocht (BEL)	Nederland Bloeit
2011		Verbeke, GraceGrace Verbeke (BEL)	Topsport Vlaanderen-Ridley Team
2012		De Vocht, LiesbetLiesbet De Vocht (BEL)	Rabobank Women Cycling Team
2013		Daems, JessieJessie Daems (BEL)	Boels–Dolmans
2014		D'Hoore, JolienJolien D'Hoore (BEL)	Lotto–Belisol Ladies
2015		D'Hoore, JolienJolien D'Hoore (BEL)	Wiggle–Honda

Flandrien of the Field

		Rider	Team
2014		Nys, SvenSven Nys (BEL)	Crelan-AA Drink
2015		van der Poel, MathieuMathieu van der Poel (NED)	BKCP–Powerplus

References

1. "BikeRaceInfo: Briek Schotte, the Last Flandrian".
2. "Van Avermaet, Froome win Flandrien of the year prizes". Cyclingnews.com.