2024 Tour of Flanders Weekend – Cycle Sportive
2 days of cycling including the bone-jarring but must do, Tour of Flanders Cycle Sportive event.
If you are a true Cycling Enthusiast then you have to see a Classic once in your life!
After all it is the race that stops the nation.
4 days
Brussels, Belgium
Popular
AT A GLANCE- 4 Days
- Intermediate to Experienced
- 2 Dinners, 1 Lunch
- Hotels
★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆ - Support Vehicle
- Mechanical Assistance
- Navigational Guidance
Tour Departs
TBC – Brussels, Belgium, March 29, 2024
Tour Finishes
TBC – Brussels, Belgium, April 1, 2024
Tour Style
Group Size: 15 guests – 3 staff
Rides: Sealed roads, some bikeways and Cobble Stones
Challenge Rating: Some small hills – Cobble Stones
Accommodation: 3 to 4 star hotels, twin share, optional single supplement when booking
Trip Suitability
Social Riding and Leisure: We understand that your cycling holiday is a HOLIDAY! We understand that you don’t normally ride everyday at home. Our ride routes cherry-pick the best areas.
Experienced Riders: Your cycling holiday is all actually about the bike! Our epic and challenge ride options seek more vertical metres and longer miles.
Meals Included
Buffet breakfast every day, 2 dinners and 1 lunch
Tour Inclusions
- All Transport.
- Services of experienced Tour Guides, including former Belgian pro cyclist, Eric de Clercq.
- Return transfers from Zaventem Airport on Friday and Monday
- Accommodation in a 3 star apartment (Gent)
- Buffet breakfast daily.
- 3 course evening meals on 2 nights.
- Lunch on 1 day.
- Mechanical assistance with your bike.
- Sightseeing as listed.
- Bikestyle Tours Itinerary.
- Bikestyle Tours Cycling Jersey & Bibs
- Entry to Tour of Flanders
Why we Love this Tour
- A true cycling enthusiast must make the pilgrimage to the Ronde once in their life!
- 2 days of cycling including the bone-jarring but must do, Tour of Flanders cycle sportive event
- 3 days in beautiful Gent
- Experience Belgian hospitality and share their passion for all things cycling
Pricing
Price: AUD $TBC (twin share)
Single Supplement: AUD $TBC
Note: All trip costs are per person, not including airfare and based on two persons per room. If travelling alone we will match you with a person to share. Alternatively, you may choose to have a room of your own by paying the single supplement.
Note: It is a requirement of Bikestyle Tours that you have Travel Insurance for your trip.
Ride Tour of Flanders cycle sportive
Your trip starts in Brussels and our staff help you prepare for the Tour of Flanders cyclo sportif.
Statistics surrounding this weekend are just astounding — some 16,000 riders participate in the cycle sportive and over 80% of the Belgium population tunes in to watch the race. This is the heartland of cycling! The sportif is extremely well organised and our guests always enjoy the tough day on the bike conquering the Flemish bergs — Koppenberg, Oude Kwaremont, Muur de Geraardsbergen, Paterberg just to name a few.
Our staff will also assist you with all of your preparations for the sportive. Our weekend guests even have the option to use one of our hire bikes for the weekend. Perfect for you to tie in some work travel around one of the worlds biggest cycling races!
Ride the Ronde course in a very well organised cycle sportive
VIP Experience – Ronde Van Vlaanderen
Soak up the atmosphere of one of the most exciting races on the cycling calendar – Tour of Flanders.
Sip champagne and see the race on the famous Oude Kwaremont
The final circuit has multiple passes of the Oude Kwaremont and often is where the winning rider breaks away from the field. Earlier in the day, the professional women battle out on the same course.
Hosted by local Belgian and former professional cyclist, Eric de Clercq
Share the local roads of Eric de Clercq, the Tour of Flanders typically passes his front door. He can certainly claim home ground advantage. He came very close one year almost being the sole survivor in the breakaway.
Eric’s career of 11 years saw him win 19 victories including a stage win in the Tour of Britain. He is one of the hard men of Belgium. Eric rode for:
- La William-Duvel from 1991-1993
- Collstrop from 1994-2002
You will find Eric a wonderful host as he shares his experiences with professional cycling teams. From racing, to sports director, professional soigneur to hosting team VIP’s during race-day. You will learn an incredible insight into the Spring Classics races, as well as meet some of the riders and managers.
Most of all, Eric is a great guide who cares for your experience and he is a pleasure to spend time with on and off the bike.
Tour of Flanders Weekend Itinerary - Dates TBC
Arrival at the Tour of Flanders
We start today with our staff meeting you at Zaventem airport in Brussels at 11.30 am and transfer you to our first hotel in beautiful, lively Gent, our base for the next 3 nights where you can unpack and settle in.
There will be someone to meet you at the airport and assist you to our vehicle. After we collect everyone we will be on our way to Gent and our self-contained apartment-hotel in the centre of town. 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.
Tonight a Welcome Dinner is provided at the Hotel Restaurant and there will be plenty of time to ask questions and meet the staff and of course, the people who you will be spending your holiday with and maybe a Belgian beer or two!
DAILY HIGHLIGHTS
- Arrive in Gent
- Warm-up ride
- Welcome dinner
On arrival at our, accommodation our Bikestyle Tours guides will assist your check-in and assemble your bike. Whatever help you may need, your caring guides will be on hand. We will head out for an easy warm-up ride and to check that our bikes are ready for tomorrows Gran Fondo.
Tour of Flanders Cycle Sportif
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!
DAILY HIGHLIGHTS
- Ride the the famous Molenberg, Oude Kwaremont, Koppenberg, Berendries, Valkenberg, Paterberg.
- Ride across the finish of Tour de Flanders
- Experience Flemish cobbles first hand
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.
The Tour of Flanders
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.
DAILY HIGHLIGHTS
- See the hard men shine on the cobbles
- Witness true Belgium cycling up close.
- See the Tour of Flanders as multiple locations
No ride today
Farewell from Flanders
Sadly, our trip comes to an end today. We hope have enjoyed the Tour of Flanders 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.
DAILY HIGHLIGHTS
No ride today
Why Pre-Book with Bikestyle Tours?
Pre-bookings are risk free and guarantees you a spot!
Our pre-booking system is risk free way to reserve your place. That means you have first right of refusal once we’ve released the official trip itinerary. You’ll have 10 days to decide from when you receive the itinerary to confirm or cancel the booking. If the itinerary doesn’t suit you, you can cancel your booking within the 10-day period and your pre-booking deposit is fully refunded to you.
Our Trips are Guaranteed Departures.
Guaranteed departures give you peace of mind that once you’ve booked your trip – you’re going! We do not cancel trips due to insufficient numbers leaving you stranded. Our customers come from all over the world, so no matter where you live we can help you with your cycling vacation.