De
Ronde van Vlaanderen Sportive by Peter Duncan
So, while our summer is nearly done,
without really getting started, and many of the biggest races are behind us,
here are some thoughts about something to plan for early next year and how to
motivate yourself over the coming winter, maybe.
When it comes to the classics I think we
Scottish riders can relate better to the northern races and the consecutive weekends
of Flanders and Roubaix, probably because of the wind and rain that’s often
associated with them. Several of the Grand Tours and Classics now have sportive
rides associated with them and in 2009 I had the chance to meet up with some
Aussie mates and ride the Flanders version, which is held the day before the
professional Tour of Flanders. It made a major impression on me; the region,
the sportive and the pro race, and ever since then I ‘ve been thinking about
going back again.
The problem is mostly to find someone else
willing to make the trip, not least because I seem unable to organize myself sufficiently
in advance, so this year I decided to do it solo. Conveniently, there is a
flight from the Isle of Man, where I’m currently living, to Brussels, and
despite a change in Manchester, its not too difficult or expensive to get there.
The much bigger problem was the bike, since airlines nowadays seem to charge
per sector, and that meant £120 to get my bike there and back – not such a good
start. However, luckily for me a Belgian friend managed to rent me a bike from
a local shop, for only €50 for 4 days.
Booking a place on the Sportive is really
easy online, and only costs about €35, and it’s incredibly well organized, just
turn up on the day to collect your ‘race’ number and instructions. There are 3
options for roadies; the full bhoona (244km, which follows the pro route), the main
course only (138km, all the hills and cobbles, but not the flat bit from Brugge/Bruges)
and the light snack version (87 km, basically a post-coffee, Sunday morning leg
turner). For logistical, age and softness reasons, I’ve opted for the middle
options on both occasions, and have been quite happy with that.
Anyway, work commitments meant a late
arrival on the Friday evening, and I didn’t get to my B&B until 10pm, not
the best prep for a 140km slog through deepest, darkest Flanders. However, it’s
actually really easy to get by train from Brussels airport to Oudenaarde or Zottegem,
depending on where you’re staying. My place, a very nice home-stay, was just
outside Oudenaarde, in St Maria-Horebeke, handily placed for the starting point
the next day, and my hosts were good enough to collect me from the station.
I checked out my bike for the next day when
I arrived- the rental place had generously dropped it off for me- and it turned
out to be a Specialized Secteur, a basic,
but sturdy beast, and well built for cobbles and climbs, with a Shimano 105
groupset, triple chainset and bomb-proof wheels. I’d requested Look Keos, so my
shoes would fit and the only thing I had to do was change the saddle height.
I slept well, in the room that 2006 Tour de
France Champion Oscar Pereiro had previously slept in. Strange to say, but he
and his Astana team mate, Alberto Contador, had visited the region to work with
Peter Van Petegem and to learn how to ride the cobbles in preparation for stage
3 of the 2010 Tour de France. The whole region is steeped in cycling culture,
Van Petegem lives over the adjacent potato field, and De Ronde ran along the next street to the guest house this year-
come here to smell the world of cycling!
I am a big fan of the northern continental
breakfast in preparation for a big day on the bike; breads, croissants, meat,
cheese, coffee, then more meat and cheese (then you fill your pockets with
butter-filled croissants just in case).
All the carb and protein loading made me a bit late for the 8am opening
for registration, especially since I had a 12 km ride into Oudenaarde to reach
the départ. Once in
Oudenaarde, the place was filled with random cyclists wandering around trying to
find the registration and start centre. The first sense of being in a different
place; club jerseys with German and Italian writing, guys on bikes with suntans
in April, Ribble and Dolan replaced with strange Belgian and Dutch brands. De Ronde has a different, and controversial
route for 2012, finishing here in Oudenaarde, rather than Ninove, missing out
the Muur at Geraardsbergen, and no Bosberg, big news in Belgium!
However, the sportive started and finished
in Oudenaarde, and me and a Dutch guy finally found the start tucked behind the
railway station and the river Schelde. Once found it’s pretty faultless
organization though; pretty girls at registration, free energy bars and
isotonic drinks by the barrel, sales stands flaunting the latest vélo offerings from Museeuw and Flandria.
Leaving the ville de départ, automatic photo systems take your
image for posterity (offered to you at a price later of course), but a few 100m
on its you and a road of 138km ahead. A brief run along the River Schelde
(think of the Scheldeprijs race) then we’re into Flanders proper, not so
different from our South Lanarkshire roads, up and down, wiggle here and there,
agriculture and houses, thought they seem a bit more affluent here. The first
climb is the Molenberg after 16km, actually very close to my B&B, and a
short (463m) moderately rough-cobbled climb (14% max, average 7%), nice gentle intro. In between the climbs it’s concrete slab
roads, big blocks of cement, with tyre-sized gaps filled with tar, fine so long
as the tar is still there, clunk, clunk, clunk.
There are several more short, steep cobbled
climbs in between (Rekelberg (at 31km), Berendries (at 35km) and Valkenberg (at
40km), but everyone is thinking about the Koppenberg at 66km (600m long, 22% maximum,
11.6% average). Whether important for the pro race, or a major moment for the
tourists, you can see it in the distance, a row of trees marching up the
hillside marking the road. A few km of slab road leading up to it, then a sharp
left onto the cobbles. It’s a classic climb in world cycling, I could feel
myself getting nervous as we approached it. It’s steep, in a way that the
statistics don’t prepare you for, and cobbles, completely alien to most riders.
If you stop it’s really hard to restart because of the gradient and the other
people. Lots of riders all around, who you have no control over, it’s a matter
of luck to some extent, but best to pick a fairly low gear from the start
because you can’t climb it out of the saddle and the gradient is brutal. I
learned a bit about riding cobbles from last time, because we had a few extra
days to ride around. When climbing on cobbles you pretty much have to do it
sitting down, far back in the saddle to get maximum power, because out of the
saddle the bike bounces around too much, and slips off the smooth stones.
However, when it comes to the long stretches of flat cobbled streets which run
through some of the towns, like the Paddestraat (2.2km long) or
Mariaborrestraat (2km long), immediately after the Koppenberg, you also need to
sit down but push the biggest gear you can, as fast as you can. Strangely, if
you have the power to do that, the cobbles don’t seem too bad, you seem to
glide over them. But, ride it spinning a low gear and you feel every bump, and the
vibration in your hands and arms are horrendous, after 2 km of it you want to
weep. That’s why some guys ride in the dirt at the side of the road, and why
the tough pros really force things along here – it’s a place that makes a
selection.
There are regular climbs all along the
route, and everything is well signposted, so you know what’s coming up and when,
although everyone has a route map in their pocket. In sequence, the next series
of climbs went; Steenbeekdries (700m, 6.7% maximum, 5.3% average) at 68km,
Taaienberg (530m, 15.8% maximum, 6.6% average) at 71km, Eikenberg (1300m, 10%
maximum, 6.2% average) at 78km,
Kapelleberg (1100m, 14% maximum, 6.7% average) at 81km, Varent, (800m,
13% maximum, 7.4% average) at 84km,
Foreest (700m, 13% maximum, 7.3% average) at 89km, Berg Ten Houte (1100m,
21% maximum, 6% average) at 94km, Kruiseberg (1875m, 9% maximum, 4% average) at
105km and Karnemelkbeekstraat (1530m, 10% maximum, 4.9% average) 114km. Feeling
tired yet? I was. You can see why a good breakfast is important, but eventually
you need to eat more. The organization laid on two feeding stations where
fruit, syrup waffles, isotonic drinks, cake etc
are provided free. It’s a welcome relief to stop for a few minutes, but for me
the best part is buying food en route.
The locals seem to take the sportive as a dry run of the main event and cheer
you up the climbs almost as enthusiastically as if you were Boonen himself.
They also set up little stalls in their gardens or by the side of the street
where kids make a bit of pocket money selling rice cakes (my personal favourite
- imagine ambrosia creamed rice baked in a pastry), fruit tarts and other
sticky sweet carb-filled delights. At least you can eat with impunity.
The other highlight is the redbull station,
which seems to appear near the end, just when you need it. It might be the
tight-shorted girls, the caffeine, the sugars or all three, but it helps get
you over the Oude Kwaremont at 121km (2200m, 11.6% maximum, 4% average), a
little later in the race this year, and part of the controversial 3-lap
finishing circuit. While the pros have another two circuits of the final climbs
to do, we tourists only have to scale the last hill once. But since it’s the
Paterberg, and it’s 12.0% average gradient, with a maximum of 20.3% near the
top, I don’t feel like I’m missing out. Apart from being the last climb, this
one feels significant somehow. It’s really hard at the end and, like the
Koppenberg, the other one you really want to climb all the way, hoping you
don’t get baulked by another rider. But perhaps it’s something about the
summit, the sharp left at the top which runs along a flat ridge feels like
you’ve achieved something, there’s a chance to rest for a few minutes while
still up high, to enjoy the view, rather than having to descend again quickly.
Anyway, while its not quite as special as the old Muur van Geraardsbergen and
Bosberg finale, it’s certainly a relief to get over and there’s only about 10km
to the finish.
I was pretty cooked by the end, plodded around
fairly steadily, and been impressed by the fit chunky Belgian club guys who
look like they’re out having a quick spin, though going twice as fast as me. I
can’t catch them and even some of the serious mountain bikers pass me near the
end, but I tell myself they’ve only done the 87km, probably…….
It’s a relief to finish, and I collect my
medallion, before the last 12km out of town, uphill of course, to my B&B.
Cold beer never tasted so good, and I still had the pro race to look forward to
tomorrow, which as you know turned out pretty well for the Belgians again.
But, after my ride, I have no words to
describe the difference between us mere mortals and how the pros ride this
stuff. Despite the carbon bikes, and pro-level equipment and preparation, there
is a brutal reality of the gradients, surfaces, weather and distance involved
in riding a bike here. Ride the sportive, or around the Flanders region, then
buy yourself a copy of the 2008 Tour of Flanders DVD; watch and marvel. Stijn
Devolder – hard core!
That said, it’s a really great experience
as a touriste. So, get some mates
together, do a bit of hill training, soak up the atmosphere, and look forward
to your frietjes, mayonnaise and beer – you’ll have earned it!
http://sport.be.msn.com/cyclingtour/rondevanvlaanderen/2012/eng/
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