Frank Vandenbroucke, nicknamed VDB is a bicycle road racer from the Flemish area of Belgium. He was born on November 6, 1974. His father Luc Vandenbroucke was also a professional cyclist. This racing bicycle is built using lightweight, shaped aluminum tubing and carbon fiber stays and forks. ... Flanders (Flemish, Fleming) (Dutch: Vlaanderen (Vlaams, Vlaming), French: Flandre(s), flamand, German: Flandern, flämisch, Flame) has two main designations: a historical region, the County of Flanders, now in Belgium, France and the Netherlands an administrative region of Belgium: the Flemish Region and the Flemish Community. ... November 6 is the 310th day of the year (311th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 55 days remaining. ... 1974 is a common year starting on Tuesday (click on link for calendar). ...

Vandenbroucke was considered to be the best hope of Flemish cycling due to his tremendous talent and ability to win in a variety of races, from Liège-Bastogne-Liège to the Ronde van Vlaanderen. However, his often negative attitude has earned him the nickname "L'enfant terrible" from the press. Liège-Bastogne-Liège, often called La Doyenne (the oldest woman), is one of the five Monuments of the European professional road cycling calendar, and the oldest. ... The Tour of Flanders (Dutch: Ronde van Vlaanderen) is a road cycling race held in Flanders, Belgium. ...

He turned professional in 1993 with the Belgian team Lotto. He switched to the super-team Mapei under the direction of Patrick Lefevere in the middle of the 1995 season and stayed with the team until the end of the 1998 season. He was teammates with fellow Flemish cycling superstar Johan Museeuw. In 1998 he had a breakthrough year during which he won Gent-Wevelgem, two stages and the General classification of Paris-Nice, and two stages of the Tour des Régions Wallonnes. Johan Museeuw (born October 13, 1965) was a Belgian professional road bicycle racer. ... The Gent-Wevelgem is a professional cycle road race held in Belgium in early April each year. ... The General Classification (or GC) in bicycle racing is the category that tracks overall times for bicycle riders in multi-stage bicycle races. ... Paris-Nice, nicknamed the race to the sun, is an annual professional cycling stage race held annually each March. ...

In 1999 he switched to the French team Cofidis where he shared the leadership role with David Millar. His "non-communication" with Millar was widely publicized and criticized at the time. However, the 1999 season was probably even better than the previous one, with wins in Liège-Bastogne-Liège, Het Volk, and stages in Paris-Nice and the Vuelta a Espana. His win in Liège-Bastogne-Liège was in such dominant style that he was called a "genius of cycling". Cofidis is a French professional road bicycle racing team sponsored by the insurance company Cofidis. ... David Millar (born January 4, 1977 in Malta, and grew up in many places including Hong Kong, although claiming Scottish nationality) is, or until mid-2004 was, Britains finest road racing cyclist. ... Liège-Bastogne-Liège, often called La Doyenne (the oldest woman), is one of the five Monuments of the European professional road cycling calendar, and the oldest. ... The Vuelta a España bicycle race is one of the three Grand Tours of Europe and, after the Tour de France and the Giro dItalia, the third most important road cycling stage race in the world. ...

The 2001 season brought him to the Italian team Lampre, where he had a lacklustre year. He switched again to the Belgian team Domo-Farm Frites in 2002 where he was reunited with Lefevere and Museeuw. When Lefevere started a new team Quickstep-Davitamon in 2003 he came along and posted his most promising performance in years when he finished second to Peter van Petegem in the Ronde van Vlaanderen. Although he was happy with his performance, stating that he had done his best to beat van Petegem in the last climbs knowing that Petegem would beat him in the sprint, Lefevere strongly criticized what he considered to be Vandenbroucke's lack of effort. Vandenbroucke then quit the team. The Tour of Flanders (Dutch: Ronde van Vlaanderen) is a road cycling race held in Flanders, Belgium. ... Italian sprinter Alessandro Petacchi beating Oscar Freire at a stage of the 2005 Tirreno-Adtriatico. ...

In the 2004 season he joined the Italian team Fassa-Bortolo under the direction of strong-armed Giancarlo Ferretti, vowing to not get paid unless he can win races. Unfortunately he had a largely empty season, and was fired at the end of the season. After a few months off the bike, he is currently with the Continental team Mr. Bookmaker.com-Sportstech for the 2005 season trying to rebuild his career.

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