CWGC unveils In Flanders Field 2022 cycling race trophy

We are proud to unveil the trophy for this year’s Gent-Wevelgem In Flanders Field cycling race.

The Australian Commemorative Trophy was designed by local artist and Commonwealth War Graves Commission craftsman Yves Deplace to fit the theme of this year’s race: Australia.

Each of the seven class winners of the Ghent-Wevelgem In Flanders Field cycle race will receive a trophy in recognition of their achievements and help them connect with the Australian soldiers that fought in Belgium during World War One.

Sculpted from modelling clay, the trophy blends the silhouette of an Australian infantryman with the iconic obelisk monument of the Commission’s 5th Australian Division Memorial at CWGC Buttes New British Cemetery.

The design took more than a month, during which time the Commission’s Ypres office opened its doors to showcase the creative process.

Yves Deplace, artist and CWGC craftsman, said:

"It is obvious that the theme 'WWI, Australia, Westhoek' suited me well. I followed the suggestion of our director, Mr Bekaert, to use the obelisk of the 5th Australian Division Memorial at CWGC Buttes New British Cemetery in my design.

After the necessary research to get started historically, I came to a refined silhouette of an Australian soldier. He stands somewhat hunched over and mourns for all the victims but also greets "Flanders Fields". The sparsely applied details refer to the characteristics of the uniform of the Australian soldiers such as their typical hat. I styled the shape of this soldier so that the figure passes into the shape of the monument.

“In this way, the soldier also becomes a monument."

Geert Bekaert, CWGC Central and Southern Europe Director, said:

"The CWGC is pleased to have been able to design and manufacture this trophy.

Gent-Wevelgem starts symbolically at the Menin Gate, where the names of almost 55,000 Commonwealth missing persons from the First World War are carved into the walls. The fact that all riders at this location will reflect on this, and that the winners will receive this trophy afterwards, is a unique way to pay extra tribute to the many fallen. 

“I would like to thank both the organisers of Gent-Wevelgem and the city of Ypres for their continued involvement."

Tomas Van Den Spiegel, CEO of Flanders Classics, added:

"Gent-Wevelgem in Flanders Fields is a race that, in addition to sporting history, also brings world history into living rooms.

“The narrative aspect that Flanders Fields adds to this spring classic has no equal in the international cycling world. The Great War and race go hand in hand for a unique cycling story."

Gent-Wevelgem is one of the six spring Flanders Classics cycling races, covering elite competitions for men and women, as well as youth races for under 23s, under 19s, and under 17s.

From its start point at the iconic Menin Gate in Ypres, the race passes through Flanders Fields past various Great War sites, cemeteries, and memorials, before finishing in Wevelgem.

The site of the 5th Australian Division Memorial was chosen by the division after the end of World War One. It sits in the Buttes New British Cemetery in Polygon Wood, an area with a strong Australian presence that saw heavy fighting in some of the war’s most important battles.

The obelisk at the top of the Butte, a pre-war Belgian army fortification, overlooks the cemetery.

There are now more than 2100 soldiers from the First World War buried in this cemetery, of whom more than 650 served in the Australian armed forces, most of them unknown.

The cemetery houses the New Zealand Memorial which commemorates more than 370 soldiers of the New Zealand Division who died between September 1917 and May 1918 in the Polygon Wood sector and whose grave is not known. The cemetery and memorial were designed by Charles Holden.