Lichtervelde

In Lichtervelde, there is a commemorative plaque for Henri Van Lerberghe, also known as ''Ritten'' Van Lerberghe. He was nicknamed the ''Death Rider'' because for every major race, he consistently warned his opponents that he would go on until they would drop dead. Ritten was responsible for juicy Ronde anecdotes. To this day, he is still the cyclist who won the Ronde van Vlaanderen with a record lead. That happened in 1919. With over 120 kilometers to go, he powered ahead alone with powerful pedal strokes. Between Ninove and Hekelgem, he found himself at a closed level crossing, with the train stopping right between the two barriers. No problem, however, Ritten took his bike on his shoulder, crawled through the train, went in one door, out the other, and continued on his way. The story goes that Vanlerberghe did not immediately ride to the finish at the velodrome in Gentbrugge, which was located at the Arsenal, but threw his bike against the wall of a café and first went to grab a pint. Perhaps a greatly exaggerated anecdote, but the fact is that the resident of Lichtervelde made his honor lap, tossed his flowers in the grandstand, and shouted to the people: Gao now but ollemoale to 'uus, 'k ben toch ne hoalven dag voor?

Dromos