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Ronde Van Vlaanderen Sportive
& Pro Race '07
Report by Mark
Every year in early April, Flanders in Belgium briefly becomes the epicentre of the cycling world. Matt and Mark were there again to ride the full 256 km course as part of the official sportive and to also watch the pros going hammer and tongs on the cobbled 'bergs' the next day. It was Easter bank holiday weekend, the sun was shining, bikes were in the car, ferry was booked : let's get involved !
Well, the ferry was booked, but we missed it by five minutes or so. This was doubly annoying as it involved a mad dash across country only to then spend the maximum amount of time possible waiting for the next one. Arghh !
Anyway, we got on another one and a quick call to the hotel confirmed that dinner could be had when we arrived, about 11pm.
Dinner involved spaghetti and a large beer to ensure maximum carb load and we put the bikes together. The hotel proprietress was friendly as ever and we confirmed a 4am breakfast the next morning, the hours time difference effectively making it 3am.
Riders half-heartedly munched breakfast the next morning and a couple even mustered the energy to ask a few questions about our experience last year. We set off in the dark, LED's blinking as we made our way the pick up point, about 15 mins ride away down deserted and silent Belgian roads.
The bus journey to Brugges involved the usual fall asleep to wake up at dawn and not really feel like cycling anywhere, let alone 160 miles. Our event cards were stamped and we set-off in a small group of around twenty riders.
The group settled down to a nice pace, not too fast and not too slow. You really don't have much choice but to ride at the same pace as everyone else anyway, a solo break to try and jump between bunches would have been suicidal this early in the ride, so it was nice to settle in and watch the miles slipping by.
The weather had promised to be sunny and this was in contrast to last year when wind and rain required bedraggled echelons to be formed, snaking across the road. This time it was much more pleasant.
The beauty of having upwards of 25,000 riders on the course is two-fold. Inevitably smaller bunches merge into mega bunches and this creates a fabulous feeling of pedal power as these enormo-groups fly through Belgian towns and across roundabouts, forcing traffic to give way. Everybody has to stop for the cyclists to go by and it is wonderful to be involved, the locals love to see the amateurs as much as the pros and there were a number of enthusiasts standing on their doorsteps cheering as we went by. Awesome.
The other bonus is that if you need to stop for any reason (call of nature etc) you can guarantee another group will come along that you can latch onto, there is no feeling that if you drop off a group you'll be in for a lonely and tiring ride, there are too many riders for that.
The first feed-stop came after 40 miles or so and I couldn't believe how good by legs were feeling. Waffles, bananas and energy drink were consumed, other participant's bling bikes were ogled and we then set-off again. I was impressed with Matt up to this point, hanging with the groups with ease.
The next feed stop came (about 10 mins halt again) and then we hit the first of the cobbles sections after about 70 miles. Now, to the uninitiated the cobbles can be a shock, but after the Ronde and Paris-Roubaix last year I knew exactly what to expect. If anything they seemed easier than I remembered, I got the feeling that after the Arenberg forest section of P-R, the Flandrian cobbles were considerably easier (riding at pace over the cobbles doesn't seem to work on the Arenberg).
There is a full review of the Ronde's bergs here, but most of them were not too hard. Of course we had the obligatory water-bottle strewn road in front of us and there was someone recovering 'Hincapie style' on the verge, his bike several feet away after a crash. I flew up the Molenberg, iritating another rider in the process as a gap suddenly reduced to nothing and I had to swerve. My compact chainset proved very effective at this point, powering me up pretty easily.
We got to the third feet stop after about 80 miles and I started to think the Tour of Flanders was easy. How hard could this be, especially with no Koppenberg this year. I was to find out soon enough.
The trick up the sleeve of the parcours is the fact that the first 100 miles softens the legs up and then the bergs start and keep coming to gradually wear you down. Of course this is what makes the Pro race so spectacular, each berg forces a selection and the weaker riders get whittled away. The Paterberg was the first cobbled climb that made the legs work their hardest, it's a steep one. I waited for Matt up the top to see a one legged rider climb up to the applause of the crowds - unbelieveable effort (one leg !!!!!)
There was something missing knowing the Koppenberg wasn't awaiting round the corner. After last year I knew that it was by far the hardest climb on the course, indeed it was so hard it had been ommitted for being dangerous - booo ! It would have probably been climable too, there had been no rain all week and the cobbles were bone dry.
The Oude Kwaremont was fun, serious cobbles and hands that failed to alter from the clench position after they are taken at full speed. The bike was handling it well, Titanium is much nicer to ride that aluminium on the rough stuff. I had also taped down my seat bag to ensure nothing was jettisoned.
Eventually, after the longer than ideal gap between the third and fourth feed-stops, came the Muur at Geraardsbergen. This was fantastic, an iconic cycling venue and there were considerable numbers of spectators lining the road to watch us lunatics winch our bikes up.
People were pressed in quite close to the road and although it was genuinely hard, I gave it an extra portion of dramatic face-grimace to thrill the crowd. I paused at the top to await Matt who arrived about fifteen minutes later still looking strong.
The Bosberg was the last climb and it is not too tough. Then it's basically 15 km's to then finish, mostly downhill. I caught Matt up and asked him if he wanted to bridge the gap to a faster bunch that had just whizzed by. To my surprise Matt responded with a yes and we both cycled at full power to try and jump on the rearmost wheel of the group.
This summed up the progress Matt has made recently, he was looking strong right to the end and the laborious winter training is obviously paying off. The difference in him between this year and last year was very noticeable - he had a great ride.
The finish was between the Grandstands and 160 miles came up on my GPS unit. We had done it again and I think surprised ourselves a little. I still felt I had some ammunition left in the legs which is a good feeling knowing the energy is not just about to run out. I think it was a combination of better weather, a better bike, knowing the course and more training miles in the legs. It took over ten hours to complete but was never a suffer fest which is encouraging I hope.
Sunday - The Pro Race
The weather was even better the next day as Matt and I rode into Geraardsbergen where we planned to watch the pros show us how to really ride the course (assuming they don't ride into ditches, crash etc which they often do).
We found a pretty good spot next to the Muur, a beer stand and a Braadwurst stall - nice.
First to come by was a kids race. Very minature children were putting their all into pedalling bikes that seemed far too big for them up the steepest sections. Enthustiastic parents ran next to them giving encouragement and the occasional push. For some it was too much but on the whole they were doing amazingly well. Who knows, we may well have been watching seen the next Belgian superstar.
An hour or so later police sirens signalled the arrival of the women's race. I dashed to the barriers to see GBR rider Nicole Cooke lead the field up the Muur. She went on the win the race making it four out of five already this season, an amazing record. I got some footage as she went past here.
The men's race was preceded by the spine tingler of watching helicopters swarm overhead, the crowd trying to find any vantage point as the expectation mounts. Then the first vehicles arrive, lights flashing.
The Lampre rider, Allesandro Ballan, led the field up the climb with local favourite Tom Boonen about 10 seconds back. That was as close as Boonen got to his wheel from then on, this attack on the Muur blew the legs off the rest and only Hoste stayed with him over the Bosberg afterwards. We ran over to a TV to watch the finish, hundreds of people standing on tables and chairs straining to catch a glimpse of the tv picture. We found out later that Boonen crashed quite heavily early on, seemed to have scuppered his chances this year. Some footage I took of the race from my vantage point.
The atmosphere was as good as any bike race I have been to and recommend the Muur for anyone weighing up venue options. Undoubtedly the weather made it extra pleasant and we sat in the sun drinking beer for the rest of the afternoon (got slightly burnt as a result ...in April, in Belgium !)
Eventually we decided to head back to Ninove and took the race route back over the Bosberg, stopping in a couple of small bars along the way (quite merry by now). A local decided to goad us into more drinking in one establishment and he piped down a little when I not only took him up on his leffe beer challenge, but also explained that I lived in brussels as a child (think he was anticipating slightly less local knowledge).
Monday - Going Home
Although we packed up and set off for the journey back the next morning, our trip wasn't quite over yet, we had unfinished business with the Koppenberg to attend to.
The big K beat us last year, my rear wheel slipped out on the slimy cobbles and we both wanted to give it another shot. We found the non descript little hill after a couple of wrong turns and parked at the bottom. Matt set off straight away in trainers and I followed soon after in my cycling shoes. I am pleased to say we both made it without putting a foot down, although it did also re-confirm what we kind of already knew, the Koppenberg is by far the hardest berg that the Ronde has to offer, it really is tough. Cycling back down was also painful, the cobbles reminding me of Paris - Roubaix more than ever. Some chaps from the Cyclosport website were also at the Koppenberg getting a climb in before heading back to the UK and we had a quick chat before we had to shoot off.
Our penultimate stop was at a sign we spotted highighting that the 2007 Tour de France was starting stage 3 in nearby Waregem, a town we cycled through the previous day. Of course we knew this already, but here was solid proof of what lies ahead and we knew we would be back in a few months time on a far bigger challenge. So we took a photo for the web-site.
Now extremely short on time, we sped towards the ferry port at Dunkirk and I am pleased to say we caught it this time, with all of fifteen minutes before sailing. It was close (I anticipate a deluge of French speeding tickets in the next few days).
All in all pretty much a perfect weekend really.