Cycling history in six items
Cyclist UK|September 2024 - Issue 155
In the first of a series on cyling's historical artefacts, Cyclist visits the KOERS Museum in Belgium to discover the pick of the exhibits.
Giles Belbin
Cycling history in six items

It has only been a few months since Dries Mombert landed his dream job at the KOERS Museum of Cycle Racing in the town of Roeselare in the heart of Flanders.

A former cycling journalist for Het Laatste Nieuws (the last story he filed was a report from the 2024 UAE Tour Women), when Mombert saw the advert for a publiekswerker at the museum he decided to do everything possible to get the job. And who can blame him? What cycle-sport fan wouldn’t want to spend their days among this fine collection of cycling memorabilia, sharing their knowledge with visitors from all over the world?

Set over multiple floors, KOERS is housed in Roeselare’s former arsenal. Opened in 1903, the building has been used variously over the years to accommodate the Civil Guard, fire service, administration offices, a school, a volleyball club and concert hall. In 1962 the city established a folklore and local history centre here and in the mid1980s bought a collection of historic bikes to exhibit. Interest in the cycling collection grew and in 1998 the city’s authorities decided to open a dedicated bike museum.

Over time the professional side of cycling became a bigger part of the collection and in 2018, following three years of renovations, the museum was renamed KOERS Museum of Cycle Racing. ‘Koers’ translates literally as ‘course’, but it has a wider context that is woven into the fabric of life here.

Denne historien er fra September 2024 - Issue 155-utgaven av Cyclist UK.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

Denne historien er fra September 2024 - Issue 155-utgaven av Cyclist UK.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

FLERE HISTORIER FRA CYCLIST UKSe alt
Best of both worlds
Cyclist UK

Best of both worlds

The new Trek Madone blends the speed of the brand's quickest superbike with the lightness of its mountain-crushing Émonda to become the ultimate race bike

time-read
3 mins  |
September 2024 - Issue 155
Eddy Merckx Pévèle Carbon
Cyclist UK

Eddy Merckx Pévèle Carbon

A versatile design that shows the pros and cons of flexible build options

time-read
5 mins  |
September 2024 - Issue 155
Gravel ride: Girona Welcome to Cycling Central
Cyclist UK

Gravel ride: Girona Welcome to Cycling Central

Girona in Catalonia has become one of Europe's most popular cycling venues thanks to its weather, roads and culture. But it's still possible to leave the hordes behind by going off-tarmac

time-read
6 mins  |
September 2024 - Issue 155
Revolutions and evolutions
Cyclist UK

Revolutions and evolutions

The wheel may be a 5,000-year-old invention but designers are still finding ways to make it lighter, faster, safer and more stable.

time-read
6 mins  |
September 2024 - Issue 155
Kitzbüheler Horn
Cyclist UK

Kitzbüheler Horn

The Austrian climb that dishes out pain

time-read
5 mins  |
September 2024 - Issue 155
Cycling history in six items
Cyclist UK

Cycling history in six items

In the first of a series on cyling's historical artefacts, Cyclist visits the KOERS Museum in Belgium to discover the pick of the exhibits.

time-read
10+ mins  |
September 2024 - Issue 155
Different times
Cyclist UK

Different times

What was the cycling world like 75 years ago? Now in his midnineties, Scottish former champion Ramsay Mackay remembers those times like they were yesterday

time-read
7 mins  |
September 2024 - Issue 155
Big Ride: Alpe d'Huez - Climb and a half
Cyclist UK

Big Ride: Alpe d'Huez - Climb and a half

No climb is as emblematic of the Tour de France as Alpe d'Huez. Ahead of its first appearance at the women's Tour, Cyclist takes a ride around it and up it. And then up it again

time-read
7 mins  |
September 2024 - Issue 155
This Olympic Road Race might actually be worth watching
Cyclist UK

This Olympic Road Race might actually be worth watching

A punchy finale around Paris's Butte de Montmartre will bring the excitement usually missing from the Olympic Road Race, says Felix Lowe

time-read
3 mins  |
September 2024 - Issue 155
Beryl Burton wins her first road Worlds
Cyclist UK

Beryl Burton wins her first road Worlds

Beryl Burton claimed the first of two World Championships Road Race titles in 1960, becoming the first rider to win pursuit and road world titles in the same year

time-read
4 mins  |
September 2024 - Issue 155