that year. 1993–1994: First classics victories In 1993 he moved to MG-GB, the team of manager Patrick Lefevere, with whom he developed a special friendship. With Lefevere, he converted from sprinter to classics specialist. He traded his powerful sprint for more endurance and stamina that allowed him to compete in the spring classics, specializing in the cobbled classics Paris–Roubaix and the Tour of Flanders. He had a strong spring campaign in 1993: after winning a stage in Paris–Nice and Dwars door Vlaanderen, he started as one of the favourites in the Tour of Flanders. Museeuw won the Tour of Flanders in a two-man sprint with Frans Maassen, taking his first win in a monument classic. In the 1993 Tour de France he wore the yellow jersey for two days after a strong prologue and team time trial, and he placed second in the final points classification a third time. At the end of 1993, he won Paris–Tours, taking his third World Cup win. In 1994 he won Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne and was a front-runner in all cobbled classics, but could win none. He narrowly missed his second victory in the Tour of Flanders, when he was beaten by Gianni Bugno in the sprint by 7 mm. One week later, in Paris–Roubaix, he was in a furious pursuit of Andrei Tchmil, but suffered a mechanical failure on the cobbles and finished 13th. He ended his spring campaign with a victory in the Amstel Gold Race after a two-man sprint with Italian Bruno Cenghialta, his fourth World Cup win. In the Tour de France, he wore the yellow jersey again for three days, before losing it to Miguel Induráin in the long time trial to Bergerac. He ended the year in sixth position of the UCI Road World Rankings. 1995–1997: World Cup and World Champion In 1995 his MG–GB team merged with Mapei–Clas, forming the strong Italian-Belgian Mapei team that dominated cycling's classic races in the 1990s. He won the 1995 Tour of Flanders, earning him the nickname The Lion of Flanders in the Flemish media. Later he won the Championship of Zürich and won the final standings of the 1995 World Cup, confirming his status as the best one-day classic rider of the year. In 1996 he won the Brabantse Pijl, but was third in the Tour of Flanders after suffering mechanical failure. The next week, he finally claimed his first victory in