2024 Spring Classics – Cobbles and Bergs

Today we have the special Cycling Sportif event for cycling tourists on the day before the real boys come out to play.

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.

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.

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!

The Tour of Flanders is a living monument to cycling thanks to its past winners and demanding parcours. Hard men shine through this race typically hit with snow, wind and/or rain… Men like Rik Van Looy, Eddy Merckx, Roger De Vlaeminck, Tom Boonen and Johan Museeuw.

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.

The 2022 route is still to be confirmed but based off previous years the route should finish 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.

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. 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, suffering, and 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 we expect the race will stay 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 remaining kilometres to the finish in Schoten.

We will stay in Schoten until the finish and return to the hotel afterwards.

After lunch, we will visit the Flanders Fields which were the scene of some of the most fierce battles of World War 1. We’ll have our guide who will show us the famous and the more hidden war monuments. One of the most famous ones is the Tyne Cot Cemetery, where there is an interesting display of the battles fought in this area and the resting place of many Australians and British soldiers.

The cemetery grounds were assigned to the United Kingdom in perpetuity by King Albert I of Belgium in recognition of the sacrifices made by the British Empire in the defence and liberation of Belgium during the war. It is the largest cemetery for Commonwealth forces in the world, for any war.

The name “Tyne Cot” is said to come from the Northumberland Fusiliers seeing a resemblance between the German concrete pillboxes, which still stand in the middle of the cemetery, and typical Tyneside workers’ cottages – Tyne Cots.

To complete our day, on our return we will head to an early dinner (provided tonight) to be able to see the last post at the Menin Gate.

Every evening (at 8 pm) since 1928, the Last Post has been sounded under the imposing memorial arches of the Menin Gate. The Last Post is the traditional salute to the fallen and is played in honour of the memory of the soldiers of the then British Empire, who fought and died in the ‘Immortal Ypres Salient’ between 1914 and 1918.

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? 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 7.00 am to the start and all going well we will be on the bike by 8.00 am. You can start any time you like before 10.00 am 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. Australia’s 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 the 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. A 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, we’re 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. We will see the crowning of a new champion after a long day and enjoy our final night together with a farewell dinner.