In 1948 the Tour of Flanders was included in the first running of the Challenge Desgrange-Colombo,[n 12] cycling's first international season-long competition, which had spurred its status as an international event. Until the Second World War, the Tour of Flanders had been held on the same day as Milan–San Remo, Italy's biggest cycling classic. Prominent Italian and French riders preferred the latter which explains why there was only a single non-Belgian winner before the war.