THE FLANDERS CENTURION RIDE

Riding A Classic.

Por GripGrab Field Notes

05 de March de 2021

"In Flanders fields the poppies blow. Between the crosses, row on row…".

There is nowhere to hide from the cold northerly winds that blow today. Trees are newly leafless, the bright oranges and vivid greens of autumn fading into a more muted winter palette. Fields stretch away in every direction, neatly divided by hedges, recently relieved of their harvests. Pausing on the side of the road, the wind strips my body of any warmth I might have generated on the short steep climbs and leaves me grappling for feeling in my toes and fingertips, as well as for grip on the road surface. Head down. Battle on. Be more Flandrien.

Unscarred landscape

All the same, I feel a warmth of sorts; knowing that while my challenge is hard, it is incomparable to the hard winter suffered in the trenches in 1917. The Belgian region of Flanders is a land steeped in history. One hundred years ago, it was on these vast windswept fields that The Great War changed the course of European history. The landscape now seems unscarred, much due to the long post-war rebuilding and leveling effort by Chinese labourers and German prisoners, yet even nowadays archaeologists and farmers are still discovering relics from the war throughout the area. Lys, Zonnebeke, Passchendaele, all names loaded with history, a history that will be especially remembered in 2018, the centenary. For bike riders, the cobbled climbs and Flanders plains represent a battleground of another sort too — for more than a century, cyclists have battled it out on this iconic landscape in the Spring Classics races. Among them was iconic Flandrien Paul Deman, a pro cyclist who won the first-ever Tour of Flanders in 1913. When the war came, Deman became a cycling spy and smuggled documents from Belgium to the Netherlands. He was arrested by the Germans, jailed in Leuven, and narrowly avoided being executed when the Armistice came. He went on to win Paris-Roubaix in 1920 and Paris-Tours in 1923.

Riding the climbs of Flanders

To commemorate Armistice Day 100 and the legacy of locals like Paul Deman, and fuelled by my love of the Spring Classics, I made a pilgrimage of sorts on a cool November weekend — to ride the fields and climbs of Flanders. The intention was to ride one hundred miles — to recognize the century that has passed since The Great War; on a route tailor-made to link together the most iconic climbs of the Ronde van Vlaanderen (Tour of Flanders).

The pilgrimage began in the cemeteries of Ypres. The day before the ride I went to pay homage to the brave soldiers that gave their lives in the name of freedom; to see the wreaths of poppies laid on the graves — a crimson flower to commemorate the conflict. I have ancestors lying in these fields: this is not just history, it is a personal past.

Dawn breaks on a cold and misty morning in the town of Oudenaarde. Drinking coffee and surveying the vast library of books and maps about Ronde van Vlaanderen found in my hotel reception, I eagerly anticipate what is to come: this is a chance to see, to feel, and to challenge myself — to experience this historical region from the saddle of a bicycle.

Clip-in. Roll out. Let us go in search of Pavé…

The climbs come thick and fast: Kattenberg, Volkegemberg, Eikenberg, Taaienberg. Each cobbled road wakens the senses and mind — move your body back on the saddle; push hard on the gear; stay seated to regain traction.

I ride southeast towards an iconic landmark — the Muur van Geraardsbergen. This is a true 'Classic' Belgium climb. Weaving skywards from the market town, the narrow, cobbled road is a brutal but beautiful ascent. You skid and bump your way up under the thick trees lining the lower slope, before emerging onto the exposed hillside, as the road then sweeps upwards towards the hill-top chapel.

I feel the history.

These historic elements of the Flandrien world fuel emotions that are deep and diverse. Yet, they are all feelings of celebration: this has been a ride of commemoration — a salute to the soldiers of Flanders.