Spring Classics Week - Ronde van Vlaanderen

I've had a bit of a break from cyclosportives for the last few months, as I caught the end of the road race season and then had a go at cyclocross (great fun!) over the winter. Now Spring is here I'll be doing some cyclosportives to get the miles in.

Sportive - Sat 4th April
Last year's Tour of Flanders sportive was such great fun I had to do it again this year. I hadn't ridden a ride of more than 100km until last weekend so I decided not to do the stupidly long 260+km version again this year, settling for the 140km option which includes all the climbs that the pro race does. This year we were blessed with atypically good weather: dry, overcast, little wind, unlike last year's sleet and rain. I found it more enjoyable than last year - arriving at the climbs fresh after just a 30km warm-up was a pleasant change. I actually found the cobbles quite a bit easier this year, possibly from being a bit stronger and knowing what to expect, but certainly a carbon frame and 28mm tyres absorbed the shocks better this time. Ed, Christian and I started very late at 11:15 as we had a bit of drama in getting to the start. Christian and I managed to crash into each other in amazement that cars on the dual carriageway actually stopped to let cyclists cross! Luckily we weren't far from a bike shop for some necessary emergency repairs. There were still a few riders setting off that late, but without crowds to follow we did get lost (twice) after about 1km in Ninove and ended up on the MTB course. Thankfully we got back on track before ending up in a field. At that late time it wasn't terribly crowded on the climbs and I reckon I would have got up the Koppenberg in one go if someone hadn't fallen off right in front of me. Isn't that always the way? It was great to have some company this time round, and I struggled to keep up with Ed and Christian on the climbs and flat cobbled sections. Ed eventually faded, paying the price for setting a blistering price for the first hour, and Christian seemed to get stronger as I got weaker: I had to work hard on the flat and descents to catch him after every climb. By around 100km I was feeling very tired and getting cramp on the climbs: when I stopped on the Koppenberg I couldnt bend my left leg to walk, and had to limp with a dead straight left leg! My lack of winter base miles was evident, but this was all great training. After the 2nd feed stop I recovered and felt a lot stronger. The feed stations were well stocked, but I think not drinking enough caused my cramp. In the run in to Ninove with the hills out of the way, the pace picked up as many riders wanted to finish in a good time, but although the event was very well marshalled we did have to stop for traffic clearance and to single file into a cycle lane a couple of times.

Saturday evening we stayed in Aalst, a pleasant and surprisingly lively little city near the start/finish in Ninove, and got to sample some of the local beers.

Pro Race - 5th April
Next day after a leisurely breakfast we set off to watch the pro race. We made things slightly hard for ourselves by not having a map, petrol, or even a means of paying for petrol. Driving around Aalst burning our last few drops of petrol in search of a pump that would accept our credit cards, we nearly didn't get to the race at all, but having eventually found an Esso we drove west in the general direction of Oudenaarde. We resorted to google maps - sparingly, not just because of the extortionate data roaming charges but also because the phone battery was about to die! We had a vague plan to watch the race at Oude Kwaremont where we watched it last year, then head to Gerardsbergen for the finish. Outside Oudenaarde we took a shortcut cross country and found ourselves on the course at Eikenberg. It was a bit early so we pressed on in the direction (we hoped) of Oude Kwaremont, but very soon passed Koppenberg and decided to watch there. We parked up behind the Quick Step and Columbia team cars on the dual carriageway and strolled up the Koppenberg in - unbelievably - warm sunshine. There were lots of people atop the Koppenberg but not huge crowds. The police had limited the numbers and fenced off sections and weren't allowing us to descend to the steep cobbled bit, so we watched from the very top where the cobbles gave way to tarmac. Looking across the fields about a mile away I could just make out through the heat haze a group of 4 riders about 20s ahead of the peloton. At the top of Koppenberg Boonen led the chase with Pozzato glued to his wheel, followed by Devolder who would go on to win. Further back there were some really quite tired looking riders.
Next we drove to Gerardsbergen, took the last parking space, and positioned ourselves on the railway bridge coming into town before the ascent of Kapelmuur. It is quite remarkable that in the time it took us to walk to our car, drive fast to Gerardsbergen and wait only 20 minutes, the riders covered 56km and 9 climbs. By this point the race had taken a different shape - a lead group of Devolder, Chavanel, Quinziato and Van Hecke had a substantial lead, enough for Devolder to win. We watched the rest of the race in a bar where the atmosphere was fantastic.