One day Spring Classics

paul_crom

Hello

I was thinking of going over to see one of the Spring Classics in North Euope.

Eyeing up the Tour of Flanders.

I thought I read that one of the races has more than one circuit of a hilly part of the route. This would be tempting as the race would pass twice.

Anyone got any pratical advise on doing such a trip? e.g. is it realistic to see the depart and then drive to a climb.

Thanks

Paul

andyrr

Flanders doesn't do laps but a fair bit of it is close to Oudenaarde (sp) - Fleche goes up Muur de Huy 3 times I think.

FJS

Vlaanderen and the Amstel Gold Race, and to some degree Paris-Roubaix have the most important parts of their route zig-zagging through a relatively small area - with a bit of planning you can see the riders several times. There's a bit of a scene of cycling fan 'rally drivers' speeding from one spot to the other through tiny back lanes trying to see as many spots as possible.
Fleche Wallonne has something of a finish lap done twice; Fleche Brabanconne has a proper finish lap done several times. Gent-Wevelgem has a lap not at the finish but at the Kemmelberg.

andyp

I've been over to see Het Volk, the Tour of Flanders and Liege-Bastogne-Liege a number of times.

The normal routine would be to go to the start where you can wander around the team cars, chat to riders and check out equipment, then see the race depart. We'd normally grab a coffee then to allow the race traffic to die down, then head out to a spot around the 80 km mark and see the race there (normally the Muur at Geraardsbergen for Het Volk), then grab some lunch before trying to see the race a couple of more times before finding a bar and watching the last 50 kms or so on TV.

The Tour of Flanders is a bit more difficult to see often as the sheer number of spectators makes it hard to move quickly between different parts of the route. It can be done though, especially if you have a good quality map of the area, as the route criss crosses the Flemish Ardennes so is quite compact.

Monty Dog

As Andy P say, traffic for Flanders is pretty manic - half of Flanders appears to have official race vehicles stickers and the other half of trying to follow the race. If you Google www.rvv.be you should be able to find the detailed route book/map - my suggestion would be to get to the start in Bruges and then head out to one of the key points - Oude Kwaremont, Koppenberg or Geraardsbergen to watch the race and catch the finish on a big screen (Geraardsbergen) or friendly hostelries.

For Roubaix, you can head to the Velodrome - arrive early for places and watch the race from 1pm on the big screen or head to one of the critical sectors - Arenberg or Carrefour. Without good local knowledge and a motorbike it might be tricky to do both e.g. Arenberg and Roubaix.

L-B-L follows a big figure-8 so you can watch the both outbound and return - LaRedoute is popular on the return, or the Roche au Facons which is nearer the finish.

greasedscotsman

I would broadly agree with what's been said above, but would add the following.

Don't bother going to the start of Flanders. The crowds there are huge and you won't get much of a chance to get anywhere near the riders as they are behind barriers. I also wouldn't go to the Koppenberg as you can't get into the field adjacent to the steep bit of the climb without the right pass. The Kwaremont and Kapelmuur are much better as there are big TV screens nearby so you can watch the race before and after it passes by. Also remember there is a women's race on too, preceeds the men's by a few hours. Starts in Oudenaarde and covers a shorter route, might be of interest to get some more photos for the "girls in lycra shorts" thread.

Gent Wevelgem is also quite good, but again, don't bother going to the start, far too many people there. Head for the Kemmelberg and watch them over twice. Although the route may change this year as it's now the week before Flanders.

Paris Roubaix is probably the easiest for multiple sightings. I wouldn't bother going to the velodrome but head for the Carrefour instead. Not impossible to do that and Arenberg, I saw the race at Brillion (which is after Arenberg) before heading to the Carrefour this year and I wasn't riding pillion on the back of a Belgian's motorbike. The crowds are always big at Arenberg, but it is worth seeing at least once. Also the start is worth going to as well. The square in Compiègne is barried off, but alot of the teams park outside of this and the riders ride in to sign on.

Amstel is also quite easy. Not sure what the route is going to be for next year, but I went in 2003 when it started in Maastricht, then jumped on the train to Valkenburg and watch them up the Cauberg 3 times (I think).

Fleche is also another simple one to see. Just head for he Mur and watch the mens race up there 3 times (again, think it's 3). Also there is a women's race that starts and finishes on the Mur which like Flanders preceeds the men's by a couple of hours.

And finally Liege, it's an easy one to see several times as previously mentioned, but your not going to see much as the "real" race as it happens in the last 50km or so. Maybe head for the finish on Ans or the Côte de Saint-Nicolas?

Hope that's of help.

But does anyone have any tips on Milan San Remo? Haven't seen that one yet!