Monthly Archives: August 2013
The Koppenberg & Centrum Ronde van Vlaanderen
Another famous Belgian cobblestone climb is the Koppenberg. The name comes from kinderkoppen, or children's heads, as cobblestones are known in Flemish. That's a nice piece of imagery. The iconic hill has been used in Ronde van Vlaanderen over 20 times since the mid 1970s, though it was excluded for 15 years after the … Continue reading
Eneco Tour stage 7
It felt strange to be absent from the sign on this morning but that was the plan all along. We were headed to the Muur, a famous cobblestone hill with an average gradient of 9.3% and a maximum gradient of 19.8%. In other words, it’s steep! The Muur is a fabled climb in the world … Continue reading
Eneco Tour stage 6 La Redoute
After that first lap in Riemst, we jumped in the car and drove to Aywaille so we could see the riders climb La Redoute 3 times. To put it mildly, this is Philippe Gilbert territory. He’s originally from here, his fan club is based here and the climb itself which was recently repaved, thereby covering … Continue reading
Eneco Tour stage 6 sign on & departure
What a tremendous day of cycling! Stage 6 began back in Belgium which meant Fien and I got up early to leave the Netherlands via train and bus before we walked down a residential street that was the official border of Belgium and the Netherlands. All the cars parked in driveways on the right had … Continue reading
Eneco Tour stage 5
I love watching a time trial because it’s several hours of exciting racing on top of watching the riders warm up. Philippe Gilbert rode the course twice in the morning, each time smiling and waving to Fien and I who were of course the only ones there and cheering for him. We yelled … Continue reading
Eneco Tour stage 4
Today’s crowd put yesterday’s to shame in terms of size but definitely not with enthusiasm. It seemed like all of Essen showed up since it was a holiday and yesterday’s stage winner, Zdenek Stybar, lives in town with his girlfriend. Despite the numbers, the crowd only showed signs of life for Stybar, chanting, “Go, Styby, … Continue reading
Eneco Tour stage 3
Today's stage start in Oosterhout saw the biggest crowds yet. The town had organized local cyclists from a few different clubs to ride the first part of the stage so the entire town turned up to support their neighbors. We had a fantastic time collecting autographs today. By now, all 5 Canadians keep their … Continue reading
Eneco Tour stage 2
After yesterday's excitement, I woke up an hour before my alarm in anticipation of today's stage. The logistics of reality insisted that we only catch the sign on and not the race itself but I'm happy to take what I can get. We returned to Ardooie, the town where stage 1 finished, and we … Continue reading
Eneco Tour stage 1
So what do I do when I get to the sign on well before the cyclists (and the rest of the fans)? Today I used the time to finish a new sign for Garmin I started late last night while watching Tom Danielson win the Tour of Utah. Eventually, more fans showed up and … Continue reading
Eneco Tour team presentation
Before the week long Eneco Tour travels through Belgium and the Netherlands, it got started tonight with the team presentation in Koksijde. To get the crowd excited, the emcees had children throw hats into the crowd. One of them nailed me right in the eyeball, but it was just a temporary injury and shouldn’t … Continue reading