1972 E3 Harelbeke - Hubert Hutsebaut

Hubert Hutsebaut from Lendeleden scored his greatest victory just a stone's throw from home, winning the E3 Prijs in Harelbeke on 25 March 1972. It was certainly a splendid race, and even better when you realise whom Hubert left choking on his dust: Eddy Merckx and Walter Godefroot. The latter took off during the Vossenhol climb. Working together, Hutsebaut and Merckx managed to reach Godefroot. A sprint began in Harelbeke. Merckx opened the proceedings and Godefroot was unable to catch up with him. Hutsebaut moved up from third position to leave his breakaway companions behind. Eddy Merckx took his revenge the next day by winning the Brabantse Pijl (Brabant Arrow). Victim of persistent blood pressure problems, Hutsebaut bade farewell to professional cycling after the 1972 season, when he was only 25 years old, but he found a second calling as Don Umberto Hutsebolino the acrobat, whose act also included balancing bicycles on his chin.