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The Tour of Flanders
by Aodan Higgins
What is it about the Tour of Flanders?
Even though the name makes it sound like a
stage race, it's only a one day race. People say it has cobbles but there’re
nowhere near as many or as rough as Paris-Roubaix. People say it has the
"bergs", 18 of them but in reality most of the climbs in the
surrey hills are longer and higher. Sure, it has the famous Muur but even
that's a walk in the park compared to the likes of Tanhurst Lane at the
back of Leith Hill.
What the Tour of Flanders has though is
Belgians, Belgians everywhere, mad about the race, mad about their riders
and this alone makes the race stand out from everything else at this time
of year.
The day before the main race almost 20,000
of them took the course, most doing the 140km version which covered most
of those "bergs". There was a definite non-competitive spirit as
the weather was good and the course is not seriously tough. Some groups
blasted up each hill, then waited and regrouped before spinning over to
the next one. Others trundled along at a steady pace happy to mentally
tick that box at the top of each climb. More than a few were on normal
situpandbeg street bikes with a basket on the front and I even spotted two
families carrying young children in child seats. More of a festival than a
sportive then.
Race day itself came with all the usual
trappings, at least in Belgium. Crowds lining the streets, mobs lining the
climbs, but what really brought home what the race meant was the Belgian
television coverage after the race. So picture this, a Belgian gets beaten
by a half a wheel in a sprint for the line. Two minutes later the coverage
shows a close-up of the same rider sitting on the ground up against a
crash barrier trying to bury his head in his hands while half a dozen
microphones and cameras were stuck in his face. Cut to the studio where
his teammate had barely taken his helmet off but he had already been
nabbed for a sit-down interview. Hunched over the desk and speaking
through a bad case of helmet hair he was already giving his opinions on
the race. I didn’t understand a word he said but his pain was obvious
especially when he was asked to review a replay of the sprint. Wincing
continuously, he started shouting “turn, turn” and hitting his head
off the desk as his teammate’s cadence slowed 20 yards from the line and
the winner came past.
You couldn’t make it up, pure drama.
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