Omloop het Nieuwsblad sportive and Gent Wevelgem 2016

kirkee

Hello all, I am considering an early season Belgium trip to either the Omloop het Nieuwsblad sportive or the Gent Wevelgem. I have looked at last years routes and I see that the Omloop starts and finishes in Gent and the Gent Wevelgem starts and finishes in Kortrijk which makes them more user friendly compared to the coach trip to start req at the RVV. I have searched the posts and know that some of the forum members have rode the Gent Wevelgem, my main Q's are- Are the less well known events worth the trip as opposed to going over and doing the Ronde (which Ive previously ridden)? The Omloop as far as Im aware is a mini RVV- may as well do the RVV then? I think the Gent Wevelgem offers different route experience with the Kemmelberg etc so I'm leaning towards doing the latter for this reason. Any thoughts appreciated, thanks

cycleclinic

I have jot done the others but I have done the rvv. Half of belgium is lining the streets for the sportive it seems like all of belgium is out on the following day for the pro's. Worth while doing th rvv.

ugo.santalucia

Did the G-W last year... enjoyed it... deceivingly easy... lots of 90 degrees corners, constant accelerations, wind, it makes for tough day out. The Kemmelberg and the stretch through Ypres are the highlights

kirkee

Thanks for the reply's. Im still undecided between the GW or the obvious choice RVV. The unorthodox side of me says do the GW. Either will be great, no question.

ugo.santalucia

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19759255#p19759255]kirkee[/url] wrote:

Thanks for the reply's. Im still undecided between the GW or the obvious choice RVV. The unorthodox side of me says do the GW. Either will be great, no question.

Profoundly different events... one has 2000 entrants, the other 20,000. Personally I enjoyed the GW a lot more, because of the RVV overcrowding.
Of course if you like the cobbles, GW only has two cobbled climbs, one of them is not particularly hard, the other is probably the second hardest in the Flanders.

bigmat

Any views on the Omloop sportive? Looking at either that or Paris Roubaix again. Liked the look of Gent-Wevelgem but its Easter weekend so I'm likely to be otherwise engaged with family stuff.

blim

I've ridden the Ronde sportive twice and it's amazing, but I'd be keen to try the Omloop sometime: bleaker weather and the Lange Munte cobbles (which don't feature in the Ronde) appeal.

Did you know there's an unofficial Gent-Wevelgem sportive in June every year? It's been going much longer than the official one: I have my eye on it for the future: http://www.wevelgemcyclingclassic.be/

Alternatively, there's the Superklassieker - http://www.superklassieker.be - which I did last year: marketed as the best of the Ronde and Roubaix: Flemish hills, French cobbles and the velodrome! What's not to like? And much quieter than the Ronde sportive.

nicklong

blim wrote:

I've ridden the Ronde sportive twice and it's amazing, but I'd be keen to try the Omloop sometime: bleaker weather and the Lange Munte cobbles (which don't feature in the Ronde) appeal.

Did you know there's an unofficial Gent-Wevelgem sportive in June every year? It's been going much longer than the official one: I have my eye on it for the future: http://www.wevelgemcyclingclassic.be/

Alternatively, there's the Superklassieker - http://www.superklassieker.be - which I did last year: marketed as the best of the Ronde and Roubaix: Flemish hills, French cobbles and the velodrome! What's not to like? And much quieter than the Ronde sportive.

The Superklassieker looks great fun. How was the organisation, accommodation on offer at Oudenarde etc? Guessing the weather isn't as dreadful in May!

blim

nicklong wrote:

The Superklassieker looks great fun. How was the organisation, accommodation on offer at Oudenarde etc? Guessing the weather isn't as dreadful in May!

Accommodation in Oudenaarde is limited, but the Hotel Leopold is cycling-friendly, to the extent of having a lift that's specifically designed for taking a bike in, and the lobby and bar had massive B&W pictures of the likes of Tom Simpson and Briek Schotte. It was 17 degrees and (eventually) sunny during the ride - much better than the times I'd ridden the Ronde sportive!

Organisation was laid back: well signposted, and you can choose to do the route to Roubaix (where you can visit the showers) or the entirely-in-Flanders route, without having to notify anyone. Fill in the form, pay your 10 euros, attach your number, off you go.

There was a feed stop at Mont Saint Aubert (as seen in last year's Eurometropole tour) and the velodrome, though the only drink they had was Etixx (no water) which my stomach disagreed with.

As for the ride, I had the Paterberg almost to myself - maybe half a dozen other riders on it. Bliss!

It starts and ends across the road from the Ronde museum, which is 200 metres from the Hotel Leopold. I had a great little trip to Oudenaarde for it, and would recommend.

ugo.santalucia

We stayed here three years ago and we enjoyed it... cycling friendly as anywhere in Belgium

http://www.huizenorman.be/index.php?lang=en

dortmunder

I'm booked up for the Omloop. I'm looking forward to it