Gent-Wevelgem sportive

Very interesting...

The infamous Kemmelberg... to do up and down.... :shock:

TheStone wrote:

Following on from this, anyone know if there's a Omloop Het Nieuwsblad (prev: Volk) sportive?

Did Flanders last year and looking for something a bit shorter that starts and ends in the same place?

I think there is, but in pure Continental style, it's nearly impossible to find the website

http://www.cyclosport.org/classics.aspx

Reviving an old thread.

Anyone has done this? I am looking at something a bit different for next spring

Nice... although... not sure... is it going to be like those pizzas with too many toppings?

blim wrote:

I'll let you know afterwards. I think if they'd squeezed in the Kemmelberg, then yes...

I had a look at the route and while the first half looks good, the second seems rather uneventful, which seems a bit of anticlimax

We are quite sold on the Gent-Wevelgem sportive, reason being the day before we can watch the E3 Prijs Harelbeke and the day after the PRO G-W for a proper weekend of flemmish cycling.
It's also got a perfect 200 Km loop if you feel strong and a 140 Km plan B if the weather is sour
Hotels in Kortrijk are reasonably priced with twin rooms for 60-80 quid a night... hard to beat!

Right,

really enjoyed the event. We signed up for the 215 Km full distance, but on the day the wind was quite strong and rain was on and off, so we went for the 140 Km distance, with the idea of taking it as a race, which we did... every 90 degrees corner was brake-bend-push like crazy to stay on the wheel of the guy in front.

Great event, as usual mega Belgian organisation, marshals at all the big junctions with right of way. Very full on, despite the almost flat profile (Baneberg-Kemmelberg and Monteberg the only climbs in the medio).

A bump for this thread after doing the sportive this weekend.

Lucky enough to have good weather, although very strong winds, so went for the full 220km (we agreed if the weather had been foul, then the 135km route would've been ideal). Absolutely loved it - riding through Ypres' cobbles and the Kemmelberg were the obvious highlights, plus having a sprint finish with your mates on the actual pro finish. Got given a masterclass in crosswind riding by the Belgians: turn a corner into a crosswind - sprint - fan out into an echelon and suddenly I'm in the gutter and spat out the back. Luckily there were plenty of friendly groups at a range of speeds.

Stayed in Kortrijk which was perfect - Ibis was cheap, let you keep bikes in the rooms, and was serving breakfast at 6am. Great food and beer options all round the small town. 10min ride east to catch the end of E3 on Friday, and the full G-W race on Sunday to watch makes it a great weekend in Flanders.

Oh, and only 3,500 riders, and beer and frites stand at the finish.

PoweredByIdris wrote:

A bump for this thread after doing the sportive this weekend.

Lucky enough to have good weather, although very strong winds, so went for the full 220km (we agreed if the weather had been foul, then the 135km route would've been ideal). Absolutely loved it - riding through Ypres' cobbles and the Kemmelberg were the obvious highlights, plus having a sprint finish with your mates on the actual pro finish. Got given a masterclass in crosswind riding by the Belgians: turn a corner into a crosswind - sprint - fan out into an echelon and suddenly I'm in the gutter and spat out the back. Luckily there were plenty of friendly groups at a range of speeds.

Stayed in Kortrijk which was perfect - Ibis was cheap, let you keep bikes in the rooms, and was serving breakfast at 6am. Great food and beer options all round the small town. 10min ride east to catch the end of E3 on Friday, and the full G-W race on Sunday to watch makes it a great weekend in Flanders.

Oh, and only 3,500 riders, and beer and frites stand at the finish.

We did exactly the same , same hotel - fabulous to see Phil Gil, Van Avermaet etc. on Friday at the E3. Kortrijk is a lovely up market town (as opposed to Liege etc) and there were lots of places to eat and drink.

Belgian riders are so good - the ‘momument’ Sportives attract many more people whereas this one was fast but so safe it was by far my favourite (and I’ve done them all now). Good advice about the sprinting out of every corner, sometimes hard work but you get used to it very quickly. Kemmelberg is horrible

We were so lucky with the weather as Fridays weather would have made it a bit unpleasant.

Fabulous weekend away !