Kat does Flanders

This weekend saw one of the Velo Schils girls Katherine, braving the cobbles on the 100^th edition of the Tour of Flanders along with 16,000 other riders. The challenge involved 129km distance, with 16 sections of cobbles, hills, and cobbles WITH hills.

Having completed the Paris-Roubaix a couple of years ago, I had the heads up on the pain/exhilaration of cobble riding. I was not so prepared for the difficulty I would face riding cobbles with a 22% incline…the Koppenberg! Here’s how the weekend panned out...

I arrived late on the Friday night, to our beautiful B&B – Lozer Kasteel It was approximately 6 miles out to the start, but well worth the ride. Especially for fresh eggs! (get your booking in early if you fancy it next year)

The event was well organised. We were able to collect race numbers in the morning from the start in Oudenaarde. Thankfully I was able to get my squeaky disc brakes fixed at the Shimano tent, and we set off at 8am.

Hitting the first set of cobbles at around 10km… it felt surprising okay! I got myself in a heavy gear, had my hands on top of my bars and tried to ‘glide’ over the cobbles as recommended. This was all very well, until you reach the next sets of cobbles, which are on a hill!

Generally, the short sections (between 400 and 2300m) of cobbles made them somewhat manageable. The famous Koppenberg climb was brilliant, although it got a little busy and I had to jump off my bike... (well that’s my excuse anyway!)

I finished the ride in 4hours 54, feeling surprisingly good at the end. A recovery beer & frites with friends was well received in the town centre…until we realised none of us had actually crossed the finish line!! Ooops!

The ride home, on cobbles was not so well received!!

Watching the professionals on Sunday was brilliant. Sunshine, 20 degrees’ heat, and 6.6% beer (brewed to the same % as the Kwaremont climb), made the day even better.

We cycled out to see the start of the women’s race in Oudenaarde, and then to Kwaremont to watch the pro’s come through 4 times. Watching the racing on big screens then hopping over to the cobbles when they were coming through made it a great spot for spectators! It was exciting to see the drops cycling team in the women’s race, and pretty cool that I was racing with them only a couple of weeks ago!

The next trip to Belgium for the Velo Schils girls team is in May, but this time for some racing! We also have the Cinelli Road Race, Bikerstaffe and Essex Road Races in the next 3 weeks…. watch this space!