This is my third attempt at interviewing Tomas Van Den Spiegel. The first two times he cancelled at the last minute, and this time it required a curt message which barely disguised my impatience to get him to rearrange. But as I sit there waiting for him to appear on my laptop screen, he texts me that he’s running late. Not this again, I curse. 25 minutes pass, and still he hasn’t popped up. But I can’t give up – I really, really want to pin him down.

The media can rightfully be accused of hyperbole and overstating a person’s stock, but you cannot understate the importance and growing power of Tomas Van Den Spiegel within cycling. A professional basketball player for 18 years in six countries, Van Den Spiegel has been the CEO of Flanders Classics since 2018, turning it into the most modern, innovative and progressive race organiser in the sport, while simultaneously being unafraid of deviating from convention. With an instrumental role in the proposed One Cycling project, he is eyeing even more influence in the coming years.

“At Flanders Classics we’re allergic to the sentence: ‘we’ve always done it that way’. You’re not allowed to say that when you work with us or for us,” the 46-year-old tells me when he finally appears. His organisation’s marquee event, the Tour of Flanders, takes place this weekend, and at a crucial moment in the sport, with potentially transformative economic and calendar reforms set to be signed off in the coming months, he has positioned himself and the company he heads up as a central figure in discussions. “We always try to be in the middle of the bed, but we’re also always trying to poke people. We’re not as big as ASO or RCS, but we’re the guys with good ideas that try to get along with everyone but try to change things at the same time.”

This article was published by Rouleur during the 2025 Tour of Flanders. You can read the full article here.