| Edwig Van Hooydonck | |
| Fullname: | Edwig Van Hooydonck |
| Birth Date: | 1966 8, df=yes |
| Birth Place: | Ekeren, Belgium |
| Currentteam: | Retired |
| Discipline: | Road |
| Role: | Rider |
| Ridertype: | Classics specialist |
| Proyears1: | 1986–1996 |
| Majorwins: | Grand Tours
1 Individual stage (1992)One-day races and Classics Brabantse Pijl (1987, 1991, 1993, 1995) |
Edwig Van Hooydonck (born 4 August 1966 in Ekeren) is a former professional road racing cyclist from Belgium. He won the prestigious Tour of Flanders twice and Brabantse Pijl four times. Van Hooydonck retired from professional cycling because he felt he could no longer compete with other cyclists, who were at the time starting to dope themselves, without himself cheating too. At this time Erythropoietin (EPO) was becoming a widely used doping agent in the sport.[1] [2] He is the uncle of former professional cyclist Nathan Van Hooydonck.
One minor innovation in cycling credited to Van Hooydonk are three quarter length bibshorts. After he had aggravated a knee problem during the 1989 Tour of Flanders, he had cycling shorts made that stretched below the knee, as an alternative to bandaging the knee.[3] [4]