Paris Roubaix Trip and Tour of Flanders Trip

We start today with our staff meeting you at Zaventem airport in Brussels at 11.30 am and transferring you to our first hotel in beautiful, lively Gent, our base for the next 6 nights where you can unpack and settle in.

The first job will be to assemble your bike and Bikestyle staff will be on hand if you have mechanical problems or need any other assistance. The rest of the day is yours.

Centrally located in Gent, it is ideal for visiting the historic city or to the other neighbouring Flemish Cities of Art (Bruges, Antwerp and Brussels are each within 30 minutes).

Each year there is a special Cycling Sportif event for cycling tourists on the day before the real boys come out to play.  On average 16,000 riders do this great event and you too will have the opportunity to do either the 170km, 130km or the 74km distance events – you choose. Our great location in Gent will be to our advantage this morning as the hotel will prepare an early breakfast for us. After breakfast, we will head off to the start line to start your Flander Sportif experience. The 130km is the pick of the events as it gives you a true feel of the race as it traditionally goes over all the final (13 or so) climbs including the famous Molenberg, Oude Kwaremont, Koppenberg, Berendries, Valkenberg, Paterberg. It’s a great day on the bike but a hard one as the growing popularity of the event now means that almost 16,000 people participate. You would think it might be chaotic and on the climbs, it can be a little like that but all in all the day goes smoothly and quickly considering the numbers. The Tour of Flanders for Cyclists is the second event on the Golden Bike calendar, an initiative of the UCI (Union Cycliste Internationale) to promote bike races worldwide. The Tour of Flanders (the race) is without a doubt one of the biggest sporting events in Belgium. Today we will have the chance to get a sneak preview of the atmosphere at this cycling event. Hopefully, it’s blue skies! Fingers crossed. Sportif entry is included. Merchandising not included. After the event, we will gather everyone and head back to Gent for a well-deserved shower and maybe some frites and mayo with a Belgian beer to wash it down along the way!

I don’t think there is anything quite like seeing a big Classic race live. The crowds are getting bigger every year. All of Flanders comes out to celebrate as if it is their National Day. To me, this is the real heart of cycling. If you are a cyclist you have to see this race once in your life.

In 2021, the route will finish for the ninght time in Oudenaarde. In 2019 Alberto Bettiol (EF Education First) has created one of the biggest surprises in the recent history of the Tour of Flanders. The 25-year-old Italian drove away from all the big names on the Oude Kwaremont, on his way to his first professional victory ever. Kasper Asgreen and Alexander Kristoff completed the unexpected podium

Today we will drive to Oudenaarde for a visit of the Tour of Flanders Centre and Museum in Oudenaarde, followed by lunch in the beautiful town square. After lunch we will do a loop on yesterday’s racecourse included the Oude Kwaremont, Patersberg and Koppenberg. This is our chance to take some pictures on the most famous climbs from the ronde van Vlaanderen.

The Tour of Flanders Centre is located in the historical heart of Oudenaarde near the Market Square. Oudenaarde is the gateway to the Flemish Ardennes, with the slopes and cobbled roads of the Tour of Flanders.

The interactive museum looks for the spirit and the heroes of the Tour. The museum has a multi-media approach with magnificent audiovisuals, projections and computer simulations. Every visitor gets the chance to experience the Tour himself. You can feel the excitement, the suffering, and the happiness. You can cycle next to Schotte, Merckx or Museeuw and you can feel the cobbled stones and hills.

This morning we will leave Gent for the day and travel to Brakel, the hometown of Eric your guide and the heartland of the Flemish Ardennes. Eric will take you to some of the famous cobbled climbs from earlier editions including the famous Muur van Geraardsbergen, the Kapelmuur, and the Bosberg.

After lunch, it is off to brouwerij Roman or Brewery Roman for a tour and tasting. The story of the Roman family brewery began back in 1545. The brewery had been located in Mater (on the route of the Tour of Flanders) east of the city of Oudenaarde for more than four centuries.

After our visit, we will stumble to the vans and return to Gent where you are free for the evening.

This morning we will see the second of the great races in our week at the Classics, the semi classic Grote Scheldeprijs. Being midweek between Tour of Flanders and Paris Roubaix it is expected that the top riders will come out to contest this, the oldest race in Belgium.

Previous years the start was in Antwerp. This year it’s the third time the race stays closer to the river Schelde the start of the race will be in Terneuzen, the Netherlands. After a tour of 129,8km between the Western Schelde and the Eastern Schelde trough islands Walcheren, North- and South Beveland in the state of Zeeland, the riders will reach the Belgium border and complete the remaning kilometres to the finish in Schoten. We will stay in Schoten until the finish and return to the hotel afterwards.

All the action today will centre around the famed Arenberg forest, The Wallers Forest and the section near Orchies. Today will be the last big day training for the teams, they will complete their final bike preparation and complete the reconnaissance of the important parts of the course and we usually see many of the teams out on the pave.

We will be heading down to Arenberg and see some of the teams pass through there before heading across to the Roubaix velodrome to see where we will be finishing Saturday's Cyclo Sportif ride and then go to the clubhouse for some retail therapy and possibly a beer in the bar.

First used in 1968 the Trouée d'Arenberg, Tranchée d'Arenberg, (Trench of Arenberg), Trouee de Wallers Arenberg, has become the symbol of Paris–Roubaix. The 2400m of cobbles were laid in the time of Napoleon I and the road were proposed for Paris–Roubaix by former professional Jean Stablinski, who had worked in the mine under the woods of Arenberg. Although almost 100 km from Roubaix, the sector usually proves decisive and as Stablinski said “Paris–Roubaix is not won in Arenberg, but from there the group with the winners is selected.”

To save our legs for tomorrows cyclo Sportif, we will offer an easy ride from Roubaix back to our hotel in Ypres.

All the action today will centre around the famed Arenberg forest, The Wallers Forest and the section near Orchies. Today will be the last big day training for the teams, they will complete their final bike preparation and complete the reconnaissance of the important parts of the course and we usually see many of the teams out on the pave.

We will be heading down to Arenberg and see some of the teams pass through there before heading across to the Roubaix velodrome to see where we will be finishing Saturday's Cyclo Sportif ride and then go to the clubhouse for some retail therapy and possibly a beer in the bar.

First used in 1968 the Trouée d'Arenberg, Tranchée d'Arenberg, (Trench of Arenberg), Trouee de Wallers Arenberg, has become the symbol of Paris–Roubaix. The 2400m of cobbles were laid in the time of Napoleon I and the road were proposed for Paris–Roubaix by former professional Jean Stablinski, who had worked in the mine under the woods of Arenberg. Although almost 100 km from Roubaix, the sector usually proves decisive and as Stablinski said “Paris–Roubaix is not won in Arenberg, but from there the group with the winners is selected.”

To save our legs for tomorrows cyclo Sportif, we will offer an easy ride from Roubaix back to our hotel in Ypres.

You will have the opportunity to ride the same route as the pros the day before the race.

Paris-Roubaix Cyclo Sportif gives every cyclist the opportunity to experience the magic of Paris-Roubaix! Just a day before the real Paris-Roubaix, the Paris-Roubaix Challenge is conducted under the same conditions with the same cobblestones and the finish on the Vélodrome… Does it get any better? Trouée d’Arenberg, Carrefour de l’Arbre, Roubaix velodrome.

The Paris-Roubaix Cyclo Sportif offers a ride to the heart of the legendary history of cycling. We will offer 2 distances 145km and 70km (TBC), regardless of what route you choose, you will finish on the track of the fabled Roubaix Velodrome. There will be refreshments and you can take a shower in the very same place where the winners of the pro race (from Eddy Merckx and Bernard Hinault to Tom Boonen) wrote some of the most beautiful chapters in their careers.

We will have an early breakfast and head down to Roubaix around 7.00am to the start and all going well we will be on the bike by 8.00am. You can start any time you like before 10.00am and sometimes it’s good to start a bit later to avoid the rush at the start.

This concept is unique and an exceptional challenge. It won’t be easy but if you take it steadily and stay safe you’ll see the velodrome soon enough.

Sportif entry is included. Merchandising not included.

There is no other race in the world like the Paris-Roubaix. The French race is known for its torturous pavé sectors and the many stories of pain and destruction that they hold.

Our own Stuart O’Grady has won this icon and dreams of riders like George Hincapie and Johan Museeuw have ended in tears along the roadside, but the risks make the victory in velodrome that much sweeter. After 260 kilometres and around 50 of pavé, the race ends with one and a half laps on Roubaix’s outdoor track.

Win in Roubaix, the third of cycling’s five Monuments, and you are considered a god. Riders like Roger De Vlaeminck, Fausto Coppi, Rik Van Looy, Eddy Merckx, Francesco Moser, Sean Kelly and Tom Boonen have tamed Paris-Roubaix’s pavé for the well-earned status.

After a hard day on the bike yesterday we take it easy this morning. We already have seen two starts this week, Flanders and the Scheldeprijs. After breakfast were going to the first cobblestone section of the day. Through the afternoon we will visit several sections of pavé along the route where we’ll see up close the difficult conditions that take their toll on the riders as the day wears on.

Sadly, our trip comes to an end today. We hope have enjoyed the Spring Classics experience and challenged yourself on some of the toughest roads in Europe. Most of all we hope you’ve created new friendships and great memories. The trip ends and we head our separate ways but we hope to see you again soon. We will have a bus available to shuttle people to the airport during the day.