Sporting tours - tour of flanders

pipsqueak

Possibly organising a group trip for 2010.

Anyone any experiences of this company going to Flanders - dont know whether to organise a do it yourself trip, or leave the hassle to this company.

TheStone

It's worth searching for the Sports Tours Etape thread. There are plenty of people (including myself) that paid a lot for not a great service.

On the flip side I think there are a few people who had a good Flanders experience with them.

Personally, I'd do it myself. There's not much to sort out. Hotels and transport. Stay in Gent, it's great, then Eurostar or cars/minibus and ferry over the channel.

blim

I've just booked myself a place on their Flanders Tour for 2010. Haven't been with them before either.

I know people weren't happy with l'Etape, but that's a beast that changes every year with all that can go wrong; sounds like they've been doing Flanders and the other Classics for years and so it should be a fairly established trip.

ugo.santalucia

I think you can sort it out yourself... no big deal

I will probably go down, but likely to ride the course on friday with a couple of friends, saturday will be very busy and risk to get bottled up the best cobbled climbs: Paterberg, Koppenberg and the Kapelmuur at Gerardsbergen.
I've done those roads before and they're not suitable for thousands of riders... at the end of the day you go there for those climbs and if you have to walk them 'cause you're stuck it's not fun, is it?
Also, I think the course becomes interesting once you get into Oudenaarde, before there isn't much... so only the last 120 Km roughly are worth doing. Don't need refreshments or support to do that.

As for the PRO race on sunday, best spot to be is on top of the Kapelmuur where the race is decided... it'll be very busy, so get there early. Alternatively one can think of the Bosberg, it's the last climb, not a hard one but it could turn up to be decisive.
Many go and watch the race up the Koppenberg, I think it's pointless as it's not there the race is decided, it comes too early...

hammerite

I'm thinking of going for Flanders next year, probably by sort it all myself though. I noticed the Sports Tours trip doesn't allow you to do the full distance and only the two shorter distances.

Am I stupid to consider the full distance? I've heard that the early part of the course is pretty boring, and as Ugo says the interesting bits are in the last 120km. I've also never ridden anywhere near 260km, never ridden over cobbles (let alone at 25% gradient!) and would have to drag myself out for 8+ hour rides through the winter to train!

I just sort of have this feeling that if I've not completed the full distance that I've missed out on part of the challenge!

ugo.santalucia

hammerite wrote:

I'm thinking of going for Flanders next year, probably by sort it all myself though. I noticed the Sports Tours trip doesn't allow you to do the full distance and only the two shorter distances.

Am I stupid to consider the full distance? I've heard that the early part of the course is pretty boring, and as Ugo says the interesting bits are in the last 120km. I've also never ridden anywhere near 260km, never ridden over cobbles (let alone at 25% gradient!) and would have to drag myself out for 8+ hour rides through the winter to train!

I just sort of have this feeling that if I've not completed the full distance that I've missed out on part of the challenge!

What will take the toll are not the cobbled climbs, but the flat or even worse slightly downhill cobbled sections. I found them really wearing, to the point that occasionally I had to stop to catch my breath and rest my arms/shoulders/back. 260 Km is a very long distance, but if it was just tarmac, it wouldn't be that bad, as the climbs are nowhere near as hard as you think (with the exception of the three beasts: Paterberg, Koppenberg and Kapelmuur, but even those are very short). The flat cobbled sections make it into a very tough ride. I think the 140 Km option is the most sensible and it includes all the relevant climbs and a few flat cobbled sections. I think the 260 doesn't add much and all in all it's difficult to be in tip top shape to do 260 Km at the begginning of April. The risk is that you'll get to the interesting part already worn and won't enjoy it (i.e. having to walk up the Kapelmuur)

PS: I'm talking without having seen the route, so I don't know which climb will be included in the 2010 one, the Kapelmuur for sure, the others don't know...

hammerite

Mmmmm perhaps it'd be more sensible to do the 140km route, and maybe go back another year for the full distance, one I know what to expect.

What sort of bike/wheel/tyre set up would you go for to deal with the pave?

I have a Trek pilot (basic entry level) as a winter bike with Mavic Aksiums, 25c tyres (bontrager race light hardcase). Or a Wilier Izoard with Fulcrum Racing 5s and 23c Vittoria Rubino's (this bike will shortly be going into hibernation!). Wheels aren't interchangeable as one bike is shimano, the other is campag, obviosuly tyres I can change no probs.

ugo.santalucia

hammerite wrote:

Mmmmm perhaps it'd be more sensible to do the 140km route, and maybe go back another year for the full distance, one I know what to expect.

What sort of bike/wheel/tyre set up would you go for to deal with the pave?

I have a Trek pilot (basic entry level) as a winter bike with Mavic Aksiums, 25c tyres (bontrager race light hardcase). Or a Wilier Izoard with Fulcrum Racing 5s and 23c Vittoria Rubino's (this bike will shortly be going into hibernation!). Wheels aren't interchangeable as one bike is shimano, the other is campag, obviosuly tyres I can change no probs.

I think tyres is probably the main issue, get the 25s and don't put in more than 85-90 PSI max. Frame materials etc etc... are stuff for the geeks, in the real world you'll shake like a milkshake with any bike without suspensions

Go there with the cheaper one

Le Commentateur

Getting to this part of Northern Belgium is really easy, so I would say try and organise a DIY trip as you will have more flexibility to do what you want. Save Baxters for places further afield or where entry is otherwise impossible.

On the 140 you'll do plenty of riding prior to reaching the main sequence of bergs, the 260 is for completists only.

There will be a few lengthy flat sections of pave as well as on the climbs -- there was a hideous 2km section this year -- and all you can do is try and get across as smoothly and quickly as possible before your teeth fall out.

The climbs were fairly straightforward, rather like the kind one finds in the North Downs. Worst thing was having to spin up the big ones like the Paterberg at a frighteningly slow speed, jammed in a massive group of riders of unknown ability, who could suddenly stop and get off at any moment, wrecking the chance of a complete ascent. It was a bit like L-B on Ditchling Beacon for the Koppenberg, so I was forced to trudge in step with the masses up that steep middle section.

The other awkward moment was the first climb, the Molenberg, as the roads prior to it were wide and silky smooth, so we were just rolling along in a bunch, daydreaming, when after going round a parked car that was masking the approach, I was completely over-geared when confronted with it's steep and gnarly cobbles. Managed to get down to a low enough gear before coming a cropper and got up it feeling like I'd been punched in the guts, then had to chase back to the remnants of the group I'd been in. I think the next thing after that after that was when I suffered the horrible long cobbly flat section mentioned earlier. It's all a bit of a jumble of memories -- I need to buy the race DVD as a travelogue souvenir.

For tyres I invested in a set of those green 24mm Vittoria Paves -- great winter tyre -- and swapped my road pedals for MTB ones so that my MTB shoes could allowme the option of walking easily up the cobbled gradient if need be. Otherwise nothing specially prepared.

There's plenty of food/drink at the stops, so I wouldn't bother taking your own energy bars or whatever unless you want to be eating from the off. The pace is more sunday club run than race-like granfondo -- don't take it too seriously, just enjoy the landscape.

One memorable bit was riding out past the foot of the Paterberg (or was it the Koppenberg?) along the old railway line bike path after Oudenaarde and seeing the climb's steepness momentarily exagerrated by the forshortening effect of looking at it head on. You think, "f***, how am I going to get up that?", but by the time the route has swung round back to tackle it you will have done Oude Kwaremont and others, and you'll be in the mood to give it your best.


*edit*

I should add that I stayed in an ace bike-friendly hostel: secure storage facilities in a bike shed with those meat hook things you hang the front wheel on; comfortable dorm rooms; plenty of toilet/showering facilities; a huge new-build cafeteria breakfast room next to the original 19th century building, which I think It was a converted stables that was originally for barge-towing ponies, as it is located right on a canal -- the towpath led directly to the start at Ninove, 20 mins trundle away. Cost was, IIRC less than €20 for two nights, with a few Euros extra for the breakfast. I'll try and find the link, as it is the perfect location, being on the outskirts of Geraadsbergen, so it is easy to get to the Muur to watch the pro races the next day.

cjcp

Le Commentateur wrote:

One memorable bit was riding out past the foot of the Paterberg (or was it the Koppenberg?) along the old railway line bike path after Oudenaarde and seeing the climb's steepness momentarily exagerrated by the forshortening effect of looking at it head on. You think, "f***, how am I going to get up that?", but by the time the route has swung round back to tackle it you will have done Oude Kwaremont and others, and you'll be in the mood to give it your best.

+1. And there was a cracking headwind to deal with too, never mind watching out for those bollards.

+1 for the views that this is very do-able on your own. I think it was only just over two hours from Calais to Geraardsbergen.

Kléber

DIY.

Why pay someone to book a hotel for you? If you can register to use this forum, you'll be able to find a hotel in Belgium and arrange some transport. It's really easy.

These Tour companies do provide a service but you wouldn't pay a company to get you to London to see the Tour of Britain final stage or to help you see Man Utd at Old Trafford would you? Just because it's foreign, don't be scared. You can find loads of advice on how to watch the race on here and other places on the web, half the fun is learning about the race... and the beers.