Lavaux-Sainte-Anne 1997 - 2004

The Lavaux-Sainte-Anne Cycling Museum 

      1997–2004

The history of the Lavaux-Sainte-Anne Cycling Museum is, above all, the story of a personal passion that grew into a genuine heritage project. As early as 1986, Noël Grégoire set about collecting memorabilia linked to the great figures of cycling. His collection began with a trophy donated by Jean Aerts, the 1935 road world champion. Through encounters and years of research, it grew to include autographs, jerseys, bicycles, trophies, medals, photographs and numerous personal items that had belonged to Belgian and international champions.

To showcase this heritage properly, Noël Grégoire built and fitted out a space near his home in Lavaux-Sainte-Anne, entirely dedicated to the history of the bicycle and competitive cycling. This work was largely achieved thanks to his carpentry skills and his personal dedication. Each display case and each item is arranged to trace the major eras of cycling and to commemorate the achievements of the riders with whom they are associated.

After more than ten years devoted to research and building up the collections, the Cycling Museum opened its doors to the public in July 1997. It quickly became a popular meeting place for cycling enthusiasts. Despite its private status and modest size, it stands out for the richness and authenticity of its exhibits, acquired mainly through the relationships of trust forged with the cyclists and their families. History of the Cycling Museum

Between 1997 and 2003, many former champions came to visit the museum. Some brought or donated new memorabilia, thereby helping to enrich the collection. Visitors included Ferdinand Bracke, Roger De Vlaeminck, Eddy Merckx and many other figures from the world of cycling. The museum also welcomed journalists, sports officials and politicians. It gradually became a recognised place of remembrance, where the exhibits served as a starting point for telling the story of cycling. KOERS – a portrait of Noël Grégoire

However, the building in Lavaux-Sainte-Anne became too small to accommodate an ever-growing collection. The issue of its long-term preservation and accessibility to a wider public became increasingly pressing. Against this backdrop, plans emerged to transfer the collections to Blegny-Mine, where the Province of Liège was planning to establish a major International Cycling Museum, known by the acronym M.I.C.

At the end of 2003, Noël Grégoire reached an agreement with the Province of Liège. The future museum at Blegny-Mine was to be built primarily around the Lavaux-Sainte-Anne collections, which were entrusted to it on a long-term loan basis. The aim was to provide this heritage with a larger, more professional setting capable of ensuring its national and international prominence.

The announcement of the collections’ departure took place at Lavaux-Sainte-Anne in early 2004, during a ceremony attended by Jean-Marie Leblanc, then director of the Tour de France, several former cycling champions and numerous journalists. Their presence underlined the importance the museum had come to hold and the exceptional value of the collection assembled by Noël Grégoire. This day symbolically marked the closure of the private museum, but it was presented at the time as the beginning of a far more ambitious venture.

The collections thus left Lavaux-Sainte-Anne in the hope that they would form the heart of the future International Cycling Museum in Blegny-Mine. Despite the announcements, studies and successive commitments, this major project was never realised. The M.I.C. ultimately never came to fruition, and for several years the collections remained without the permanent museum space they had been promised.

After several years of waiting, and in the face of the failure to establish the International Cycling Museum in Blegny-Mine, the collections finally returned to Lavaux-Sainte-Anne in 2012. Noël Grégoire then quickly set about finding a new solution to ensure their conservation, study and public display. Almost immediately, contacts were established with the cycling museum in Roeselare, now known as KOERS. Museum van de Wielersport. These efforts led, as early as 2013, to the conclusion of a new collaboration and loan agreement, marking a new chapter in the history of the collections.

The period from July 1997 to early 2004 nevertheless remains a defining phase. In just under seven years of operation, the Lavaux-Sainte-Anne Cycling Museum showcased an exceptional private collection to the public and welcomed numerous prominent figures from the world of cycling. Its closure was therefore not the result of abandonment, but of a desire to give its collections a new dimension. Whilst the Blegny-Mine project ultimately came to nothing, the Lavaux-Sainte-Anne experience established the historical and museological value of a heritage patiently built up over more than a decade