It would be a disservice to say that the diligent people of Nokere Sport were walking around with broad smiles on their faces. There were indeed 132 participants, but they wondered why it had to pour on the day of their 6th Grand Prix, after not having received a single drop of water on the fertile Nokere fields for five weeks. Fortunately, the heavens closed in time, allowing a large crowd to gather at the finish line.

And the race itself, you ask? Well, frankly, it was utterly boring, and after each round, a significant number of the large group of participants gave up, with the result that by halfway through the race, more than half of them had packed their bags! We did, of course, have a few tentative attempts by Frans Melckenbeek and Herman Flabat, then by Noël Van Clooster and Frans Brands, and finally by Georges Pintens and Eric Demunster, but they never really had much conviction behind them.

Finally, we finally got a breakaway that had a chance of success. It arrived on the eighth lap, after about 120 km of racing. That’s when Noël Van Clooster, Frans Vande Walle, Frans Brands, Jos Vandervleuten, Eric Demunster, and Herman De Can joined forces. We have to admit, the six of them meant business and were pushing hard, but despite how lax the riders in the main peloton had been until then, suddenly the majority seemed willing to seriously consider racing.

At one point, the six escapees managed to gain a 20-second advantage, but then the yellow men of Cois Cools pulled so decisively behind the car that the leaders’ lead slowly but surely eroded. Herman Van Springel, Jos Huysmans, and Roger Cooreman took on the heavy work of the chase, and by the start of the final lap, the attack had been neutralized.

To make matters worse, Noël Van Clooster crashed at that point, and Frans Brands apparently refused to give up. The little devil maintained a twenty-meter lead and continued to fight in his characteristic, agonizing way.

In the reformed group, one rider glanced at the other for a moment, which Roger Cooreman and Willy Maes gratefully took advantage of to close in on the leader. Then they squeezed everything they could to carve out a decent gap on the peloton, where there were too many hesitant responses to counter a final attack. It was a real shame for Willy Maes that he crashed, costing him a certain place of honor… and who knows?

Frans Brands and Roger Cooreman gave it their all, and with seven kilometers to go, they had a forty-second lead over the thirty-man peloton, which was then being strongly attacked. Too late, however, as the Antwerp duo was no longer troubled, and, contrary to expectations, it was Frans Brands who beat the less-pressing Roger Cooreman, who, as he told us after the finish, was hampered by cramps in the final kilometers.

Michel Jacquemin still managed to leave the gang behind and snatch a third place, while Romain Furnière also maintained a lead of a few lengths to finish fourth and the gang’s sprint for fifth place was won by Valeer Van Sweevelt ahead of Staf De Smet.

Quick

Result : 132 professional cyclists

1. Frans Brands (Zandvliet) 150 km in 3 h 40′
2. Roger Cooreman by 4 lengths
3. Michel Jacquemin on 1′
4. Romain Furnière on 1’30”
5. Valeer Van Sweevelt op 1’35”
6. Gustaaf De Smet
7. Frans Melckenbeek
8. Gerben Karsten (nl)
9. Hubert Harings (nl)
10. Albert Van Vlierberghe
11. Roger Verheyden
12. Daniel Van Ryckeghem
13. Eric Leman
14. André De Marteleire
15. Gilbert Notaerts
16. Jan Harings (nl)
17. Jos Huysmans
18. Herman Decan
19. Julien Verstrepen
20. Yvan Verbiest
21. Willy Donie
22. Andre Geirlandt
23. Em. Bodart
24. Willy Vanneste
25. Andre Poppe
26. Hubert Criel
27. Rik Wouters
28. Gilbert Wuytack
29. Eric Demunster
30. Jos Vander Vleuten (nl)