THE CHELTENHAM OF PRO BIKE RACING

Post date: Mar 11, 2010 11:55:48 AM

Every March horse racing fans head for Cheltenham to soak up the atmosphere and enjoy all that goes with a top sporting occasion.It is the jewel in the crown of the jump season featuring several prestigious races during the festival,with spectators travelling from around the world to witness history beign made by names that will live forever in racing circles.

For the Pro bike racing fan the months of March and April signal the start of the Spring classics campaign.

The 2010 Spring Classics season kicks off on Saturday March 20 with Milan-San Remo in Italy, then it's north to Belgium on March 28 to open the cobbled classics with the revitalised Ghent-Wevelgem followed by the Tour of Flanders (April 4) and off to France for Paris-Roubaix (April 11).

The following week, the Ardennes Classics commence in Holland with the Amstel Gold Race (April 18), then back to Belgium for La Fleche Wallonne (April 24) and Liege-Bastogne-Liege (April 25) bringing the curtain down on the month's action.

One country that embraces bike racing like no other is Belgium, holding four of the one day classics,two which make up the the five monuments of the sport on its tough roads along with the weather conditions that this time of year produce in northern europe.

If the Gold Cup is the Highlight of Cheltenham,the Tour Of Flanders is arguably the highlight of the one day races and is one of the toughest Classics of the year. Belgium is completely mad for cycling, with the most exciting and knowledgeable spectators you’ll find anywhere.The whole of Belgium comes to a grinding halt on race day,much like All-Ireland final day in Ireland with proud Flandrians cheering on their national heroes as well as the Belgian trade teams of Lotto and Quickstep.On the second last climb the Muur van Geraardsbergen or "the Wall" upwards of 40,000 bike fans converge in the square before the climb, watching the race unfold on large t.v. screens,before the madness starts when the first riders approach the climb and all hell brakes loose with spectaors lining the 20% gradient up to the church at the top.

Showing how the bike is so important to the Belgian and especially Flandrian culture,every year the race organisers hold the Tour of Flanders cyclo sportif a mass particaption event that allows amateurs to ride the course covering 3 distances, 255km,150km and 75km taking in the tough hills and becoming a Flandrian for a day!! The event attracts approx 20,000 cyclists with the Belgian and Dutch cycling clubs along with overseas visitors giving it loads on the race course.

CLIMBING THE MUUR

The 94^th Tour of Flanders is 255 kilometers and includes 15 climbs, 9 of which are cobbled and an additional 13.6 kilometers of kasseien- Flemish for cobbles. Flanders is not won on the pave, victory comes on the hills, and the ability to conquer them in rapid succession.

The Climbs of the 2010 Tour of Flanders

Climb Length Avg. Max Surface

1. Den Ast 450 meters 5% 11% paved

2. Kluisberg 925 meters 7% 14% paved

3. Knokteberg 1260 meters 7% 13% paved

4. Oude Kwaremont 2500 meters 3% 11% cobbles

5. Paterberg 361 meters 12% 20% cobbles

6. Koppenberg 682 meters 9% 22% cobbles

7. Steenbeekdries 700 meters 5% 9% cobbles

8. Taaienberg 530 meters 6% 15% cobbles

9. Eikenberg 1252 meters 5% 9% cobbles

10. Molenberg 462 meters 7% 14% cobbles

11. Leberg 1130 meters 3% 13% paved

12. Berendries 936 meters 7% 12% paved

13. Tenbosse 453 meters 6% 8% paved

14. Muur van Geraardsbergen 1075 meters 9% 20% cobbles

15. Bosberg 986 meters 5% 10% cobbles

The Koppenberg was the only climb that the great Eddy Merckx was reduced to walking with its 22% gradient and cobbled surface.Their is also a fantastic Tour Of Flanders musuem which traces the history of the race featuring bikes, jerseys etc of past champions run by legendary Freddy Maertens (16 stage TDF winner,multiple world champion). In fact Sean Kelly used to lead him out in the sprints for his first professional team Flandria and is credited with having nurtured Kellys sprinting ability in his early career.

Freddy Maertens

EVERY PRO BELGIAN CYCLISTS DREAM

STIJN DEVOLDER WINNING "DE RONDE" 2008 AS BELGIAN NATIONAL CHAMPION

Club Chairman Gerry Geary and his son made the pilgrimage back in 2006 to witness "the lion of flanders"

Tom Boonen take a fantastic victory as world champion in front of his fellow Flandrians.Gerry stayed at the Sean Kelly Cycling academy in Belgium and was given the true Belgian bike racing experience heading for the square in Geraardsbergen to watch the exciting conclusion of the race.They got their photograph taken,that featured in the local newspaper with Kurt Boogards(An Post Director Sportif) father on top of the Muur cheering on the hardmen of Pro bike racing.

If you have spotted club members Anthony Kenneally and Jonathan Flynn training on Flandrian like Climbs(Boreen Nora and Windmill Hill) in recent weeks,they are following in Gerrys footsteps and making the pilgrimage to the home of bike racing over the Easter weekend.They have taken the sensible option of entering the 75km course in the sportif which takes in the last 5 hills of the race,still a tough day on the bike and fingers crossed they dont get real Belgian weather i.e Crosswinds,cold and rain which produces what they call Belgian toothpaste.With a tough day of race spectating the following day, following the race from the start in Brugge to the finish in Ninove energy levels will have to be kept in reserve. As with any pilgrimage they hope to take in some more of the famous climbs that feature in the race route such as the Koppenberg and the Kwaremont.

THE KOPPENBERG

SEAN KELLY

The "Dinner plate" will be forced into action along with the inside ring of the triple to get over the climbs,maybe a Belgian beer or two will be sampled along the route.Belgian Ledgend Peter Van Petegem and double winner of the race, has a bar in the town of Brakel along the route so two Youghal CC members might be seen sampling a couple of Leffe's with frites and mayo making it an unoffical foodstop on the sportif route.