Ronde Van Vlaanderen 2011

ugo.santalucia

Just entered the event online, the 150 Km option

Anyone doing it?

We will probably organise a few sunday rides with sections of dirt/gravel, to get used to the rough stuff again, some time in early 2011 (Jan-Mar) in the Oxfordshire/Chilterns area.
Anyone interested?

APIII

Hi,
Yeah, me and a mate have signed up. I'm doing the same route as you, but he's gone for the full version

I ride in the Chilterns so let me know if you organise something...

ugo.santalucia

APIII wrote:

Hi,
Yeah, me and a mate have signed up. I'm doing the same route as you, but he's gone for the full version

I ride in the Chilterns so let me know if you organise something...

if you PM me your e-mail address, I'll keep you in the loop

mroli

Am looking at this - looks great... May well be up for Chiltern riding too.

ugo.santalucia

mroli wrote:

Am looking at this - looks great... May well be up for Chiltern riding too.

Same as above, PM me your email address and I'll keep you in the loop

mroli

Cheers - PM sent....

John.T

few sunday rides with sections of dirt/gravel,

You won't need these. Just find some good cobbles. The surfaces are nearly all good but the 'parve' sections will shake your teeth out. 25mm tyres at 90psi recommended (unless you are a Clydesdale).

ScottieP

I'm seriously thinking about doing this too. Will keep watching this thread. I've had the 140km length recommended to me.

cjcp

Maybe, but would like to try the Het Volk or Amstel Gold, too, and there's only room for one.

oysterkite

Anyone done this before? Any idea how much of the route is pave/cobbles, how does it compare to the Amstel Gold?........Any info greatly appreciated

blim

@oysterkite

Don't know how Amstel compares, but I did the Ronde this year and there are about a dozen cobbled sectors (actual route varies every year, but most of the same stretches get used). Some of the kasseien like Lippenhovestraat and Paddestraat are over a mile long, and really tough. maybe 20k or so in total is cobbles, max. (based on the 150k route)

Aluminium bottle cages and good padded mitts are a must.

blim

On reflection, I should add that 20k would include the cobbled climbs

oysterkite

Thanks for that, very useful; so padded mits, ally bottle cage, should I swap my 23c tires to 25c?, any other suggestions?

adrianfitch

25mm tyres should be fine unless you're big. I'm 6'5" and 14 stone so I had a 25mm Conti 4 Season on the front at 90psi and a 28mm on the back at 80psi. Made for a very comfortable ride in both Flanders and Roubaix. I'd also suggest gel inserts or double bar tape to help dampen the vibration through your hands.

There's a technique to riding cobbles where you skip over rather than bounce off them. Have a browse around online as there's tons of useful advice. Rapha had a decent video a while ago plus there's a good piece on Cycling Tips by U23 Paris Roubaix winner Koen De Kort: http://www.cyclingtipsblog.com/2010/05/how-to-ride-cobbles/.

ugo.santalucia

oysterkite wrote:

Thanks for that, very useful; so padded mits, ally bottle cage, should I swap my 23c tires to 25c?, any other suggestions?

The Belgian pave' is not as bad as the Paris-Roubaix one, but still it is a challenge. Avoid carbon wheels, avoid light wheels in general and wheels with fewer spokes. If you ride 25, keep the tyre pressure down to 90 psi. Make sure your bottle is held firmly in the cage, use small bottles, the large 750 ml ones will fly off. Make sure you are geared up for the steep climbs: Paterberg, Koppenberg and the Muur reach 20% and you'll have to climb them whilst on the saddle to keep the traction (I use 34x25 or even 34x28). The Tajeneberg is also quite steep.
Try to ride aggressively on the cobbles, don't let them ride you... if your speed falls below 15 mph on the flat you will start bouncing all over the place, you need to find out which gear ratio works for you on the rough, to keep the speed high. Resist the temptation to brake on the downhill cobbled sections if it's wet, hammer them instead. Don't ride in the gutter, as it's ful lof dirt and you will punctutre, better to stay in the middle of the road

ugo.santalucia

adrianfitch wrote:

25mm tyres should be fine unless you're big. I'm 6'5" and 14 stone so I had a 25mm Conti 4 Season on the front at 90psi and a 28mm on the back at 80psi. Made for a very comfortable ride in both Flanders and Roubaix. I'd also suggest gel inserts or double bar tape to help dampen the vibration through your hands.

There's a technique to riding cobbles where you skip over rather than bounce off them. Have a browse around online as there's tons of useful advice. Rapha had a decent video a while ago plus there's a good piece on Cycling Tips by U23 Paris Roubaix winner Koen De Kort: http://www.cyclingtipsblog.com/2010/05/how-to-ride-cobbles/.

Koen's advice about using a 46 chain ring as a small one is valid for Paris Roubaix, but I don't think any cycling enthusiast would be able to tackle the "bergs" of the RVV with a 46. I've seen Tom Boonen's bike, the one he used for the RVV and he had a 46x21 as the smallest gear... but he's Tom Boonen

blim

I ran 23mm Bontrager Race Lite front and back at 90psi and survived, but there's little comfort to be had in the Ronde whatever you do :twisted:

Agree about putting it in a big gear and getting momentum up. The Kerkgate cobbles are maybe only a mile, and technically flat (though there is a slight rise the way we went this year), but it took me about 12 days to ride it.

The Muur, because the cobbles are in better condition than, say, the Molenberg or Koppenberg, was relatively easy, but extremely long. You'll be on such an adrenaline rush that you'll get up it no bother. I found the Paterberg much steeper than I expected, though the cobbles there are in superb condition.

No terrain i'd trained on was adequate preparation for the kasseien, but i wouldn't have had it any other way. Good luck to you all!

cjcp

I'm another who rode it on 23mm Conti 4000Ss at 90psi. Used double bar tape. No gloves first time round, but wore them the second time. Go with gloves.

Another vote for not letting your speed drop on the cobbles. I just rode them as hard as I could to get them over and done with!

Monty Dog

Flanders isn't too bad if you're prepared, tyres and pressure are key. Riding the stones requires you to say in the saddle with the power on - keep your biggest gear rolling. When training, keep seated on climbs and develop the ability to drive from the hips and quads - all climbs are easily rideable if you get a run-up - it's the other riders in your way that are the problem, particularly on the Koppenberg!

Fat Head

Can anyone who has done the Ronde advise on how busy the route gets and wether this might take some of the enjoyment away? I have ridden over there and know the roads can be narrow but does this lead to bottlenecks that can have you off the bike, or is it not too bad once you are into the ride?

John.T

You do have to use the cycle paths on the main roads and there were bottlenecks at the feeds and entering Geraadsbergen. The Mur was pretty bad as well. I am glad I went and rode it on the Thursday when it was empty. It is almost imposible to treat it like a race but it is a good ride.

craigenty

Fat Head wrote:

Can anyone who has done the Ronde advise on how busy the route gets and wether this might take some of the enjoyment away? I have ridden over there and know the roads can be narrow but does this lead to bottlenecks that can have you off the bike, or is it not too bad once you are into the ride?

I rode it in 2009 and I really wanted to try for a fast time.
I was lucky enough to get in with a big squad of Italians straight out of Brugges and we covered the first 125km in 3 hours with help from a north sea tail wind.
Then it kind of all went wrong when we met people doing the 144km and the randonee. The feeds were mayhem and I started avoiding them. I got knocked off on the Koppenberg and on The Muur but on The Muur a spectator jumped out and gave me a push off.
The last 10km was just like I'm used to in road racing and was great fun with a sprint up to the pro finishline.
All in all I would have done sub 8h but for the feeds.
Did the crowds spoil the enjoyment? - not one jot!!!
Eating chips and mayo and drinking Tongerlo in the massive beer tent at the finish rounded the day off nicely.

Fat Head

Hi Craig. Just as I expected, going for a time seems difficult and this would be one sportive I would be happy to go round in whatever time.

At the moment I'm probably favouring taking the bike over at the time of the pro Ronde and spending a couple of days riding about then watching the pro race.

craigenty

Fat Head wrote:

Hi Craig. Just as I expected, going for a time seems difficult and this would be one sportive I would be happy to go round in whatever time.

At the moment I'm probably favouring taking the bike over at the time of the pro Ronde and spending a couple of days riding about then watching the pro race.

That's the beauty of it - you can watch the pros the day after the sportive. We got the train from Brugges down to Gerardsbergen and watched them on the Muur.

cjcp

craigenty wrote:

Fat Head wrote:

Hi Craig. Just as I expected, going for a time seems difficult and this would be one sportive I would be happy to go round in whatever time.

At the moment I'm probably favouring taking the bike over at the time of the pro Ronde and spending a couple of days riding about then watching the pro race.

That's the beauty of it

+1.

cjcp

craigenty wrote:

Fat Head wrote:

Hi Craig. Just as I expected, going for a time seems difficult and this would be one sportive I would be happy to go round in whatever time.

At the moment I'm probably favouring taking the bike over at the time of the pro Ronde and spending a couple of days riding about then watching the pro race.

That's the beauty of it

+1.

ketsbaia

Tell you what. If you want some training for the cobbles and you're based in London, you could do a Hell of a lot worse than heading to Alleyn Road in Dulwich. A poorer road surface I'm yet to cycle on.

richcarter

You have to relax. The Ronde is an old fashion randonee. There's none of the stressy atmosphere that appears to be developing at some of the larger sportives. They've been riding it for years. Just rack up get on your bike and enjoy a lovely day over some of the most revered cycling terrain there is. Then get yourself some frittes and mayo and grab one of the 360+ varieties of beer that they do. Happy Days!

FJS

richcarter wrote:

You have to relax. The Ronde is an old fashion randonee. There's none of the stressy atmosphere that appears to be developing at some of the larger sportives. They've been riding it for years. Just rack up get on your bike and enjoy a lovely day over some of the most revered cycling terrain there is. Then get yourself some frittes and mayo and grab one of the 360+ varieties of beer that they do. Happy Days!

+1 . It's a 'toertocht' (= Audax). Really don't know how it has come to be seen as a sportive in the UK.

Red_Pooley

I am considering the Ronde for 2011. Anyone else from N Yorks area doing it or interested? John T or anyone else - do you know any good cobbled roads to practice on within N Yorks area. Got a few roads in Richmond, and a few rougher roads near Northallerton to use.

Thanks

Chris

Monty Dog

If you want a decent time, particularly from Bruges get away as soon as the start opens at 6am , if you can stay with the pace you'll save a lot of energy - some big groups form - as much as 200 riders and they stay on the main roads rather than getting forced onto the cyclepaths. A lot depends on the weather - if good, you get big turn-out from the Belgian clubs too. Rather than