Exactly 75 professionals lined up yesterday for the 20th Grand Prix of Nokere. Only eight of them were mentioned in the race report afterwards. Rudy Matthijs, the first attacker, was also present when an eight-man express train left the group. Shortly before the finish, William Tackaert broke away with Ludo De Keulenaer. In the two-man sprint, the fast rider from Zelena had no trouble securing his second victory of the season.

A second victory in two days for Fred De Bruyne’s team, all things considered, of course. Tackaert was not there on Sunday when René Martens achieved a surprising Tour of Flanders victory. “After the international criterium in France, I was struggling with a cold in my muscles,” William explained, flowers in hand. “However, on Sunday I rode my own Tour of Flanders in the form of a six-hour training session. Mainly to get the power back in my legs. It immediately paid off. In a sprint, I didn’t have to fear fellow escapee De Keulenaer.”

De Keulenaer stood there resignedly watching. “My fourth race as a pro,” he began. “It’s going smoothly; the amateurs are riding fast these days too. So it wasn’t such a big shock. However, I had no illusions when I got ahead with Tackaert in the final here. After all, I always come second in the sprint, even with a rider who is slower than the man from Zelenaar.”

William Tackaert and Ludo De Keulenaer took home the top prizes in Nokere. However, the man who sprinted to third place shortly after this duo from a fragmented leading group received just as much appreciation from the numerous spectators.

After all, it was Rudy Matthijs who set the race alight immediately after the starting signal. He had no company on this early breakaway. On the contrary, the peloton watched in amazement as Matthijs was already half a minute ahead after two kilometers. Then it was decided not to leave it at that. After twenty kilometers, the West Flemish rider had to settle down.

Then Phil Anderson took the lead of the sweating pack on a cobbled section. His hellish pace broke the group into three pieces. Briefly, because once they reached the wide roads, things quickly settled down again.

There was a brief pause. A break in the race. After sixty kilometers, the eight attackers started the second part of the race: again Rudy Matthijs, Peter Winnen, Ad Wijnands, Ludo De Keulenaer, Jef Gijsemans, Jef De Schoenmaecker, William Tackaert, and Eddy Vanhaerens. The rest could forget about it right away, as this leading group quickly gained a two-minute lead over the others. After ninety kilometers, the gap was almost three minutes and there was no let-up at the front. Peter Winnen in particular put in a lot of effort. The Dutchman was poorly rewarded for his efforts, as he got a flat tire twenty kilometers from the finish, just as the peloton was closing in, and had to give up all hope. Shortly before that, Matthijs had also destroyed his rear wheel, but he was lucky enough to immediately find a willing cycling tourist to help him.

After attempts by De Keulenaer and Matthijs were thwarted, the former managed to outsmart the others with five kilometers to go, together with William Tackaert. While behind them the fast Vanhaerens suffered a flat tire, Tackaert sprinted to his second victory of the season on a steeply sloping final stretch.

Paul De Keyser

Result: 75 professional cyclists

1. William Tackaert (Zele) the 147 km. in 3 h 10 min
2. Ludo De Keulenaer on 50 meter
3. Rudy Matthijs op 30 sec
4. Ad Wijnands (nl)
5. Jos Deschoenmaeker
6. Jos Gijsemans
7. Eddy Vanhaerens
8. Alain De Roo
9. Jan Jonkers
10. Raoul Bruyndonckx
11. Peter Winnen (Nl)
12. Kim Anderson (Deen)
13. Piet Van Katwijk (Nl)
14. Theo De Rooy (Nl)
15. Fons Van Katwijk (Nl)
16. Johan Louwet
17. Willy Vigouroux
18. Marc Goossens
19. Eddy Schepers
20. Ludo Schurgers
21. Denis Ertveldt
22. Dirk De Mol
23. Andre Boonen
24. Eddy Van Hoof
25. Van Helvoirdt (Nl)
26. Willy Teirlinck
27. Sean Shutten (GB)
28. H. Mutsons (GB)
29. Patrick Wijffels
30. Patrick De Vos

William Tackaert (Zele, 9 augustus 1956) is een voormalig Belgisch wielrenner.

Major victories

1979: Stage 1 of the Three Days of De Panne

1982 : Nokere Koerse

1983 : E3-Prijs

1984: Stage 1 Tour of Luxembourg

1985: 4th stage of the Herald Sun Tour, Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne, and 1st stage of part A of the Three Days of De Panne