2010 Spring Classics Trip

TRIP DETAILS:
Duration: 11 days, 10 nights
Dates: 2nd to 12th April, 2010
Start-Finish: Zaventem Airport
Accommodation: 3 nights Kortrijk, 1 night Ieper,  6 nights Gent
Group Size: Maximum 20 people (3 Staff)
Cost: $AUD4850 per person twin share. Single Supplement $900
Deposit: $1000 AUD- Reserve this Trip
Inclusions

Optional Extras:
-Bike Hire: AUD$600
-Pre or post tour accommodation to extend your stay
-Travel Insurance (with a 15% Discount for Australian Clients)
-Car Rental Email us for details

Highlights:
Belgium is the heart of cycling and the Spring Classics is its life-blood!
This trip will show you around all the famous sights of Belgian Cycling and immerse you in its Culture.
You will see two “Monuments of Cycling” Tour of Flanders and Paris Roubaix or Hell of the North as it is known and the new addition to the week the Grote Scheldeprijs.
There’s also lots of cycling including the bone jarring but must do, Tour of Flanders Cycle Sport event.
There will be visits to the Tour of Flanders Museum, a brewery (which no trip to Belgium would be complete without), a stay at a Team Hotel and trips to some famous climbs.
We will also visit the WW1 battlefields around Ieper, a night in Ieper to visit the Menin Gates and a lengthy stay in Gent to explore this beautiful and lively town and a walking tour – dinner tour of Gent.

Friday, 2 April: Arrival at Bikestyle Tours Spring Classics Trip

Today we collect you from Zaventem airport in Brussels and go to our accommodation at the team hotel of Quickstep. There will be someone to meet you at the Airport and assist you to our vehicle. After we collect everyone we will be on our way to Kortrijk. This will be our base for the next 3 days.This 3* hotel offers rooms with an en-suite bathroom, direct-dial telephone line, Wireless internet connection, a colour TV and radio alarm.

The hotel will also accomodate 2 professional cycling-teams: Quick Step and Liquigas. This will allow you to see first hand, the way of life, of a professional rider.
The first job will be to assemble your bike and Bikestyle staff will be on hand if you have mechanical problems or need any other assistance. The rest of the day is yours.

Depending on your arrival time there should be time for a shakedown ride.

Tonight a Welcome Dinner is provided at the Hotel Restaurant and there will be plenty of time to ask questions and meet the staff and of course the people who you will be spending your holiday with and maybe a Belgian beer or two!
The trip will be escorted by Eric Van Lancker, a famous Classics rider from the 1990’s and Eric de Clerc, a seasoned Belgian Pro from the late 1990’s and early 2000’s.

Eric Van Lancker
If you are in your 40’s you will know the name immediately! He was a great Classics rider around the same time as Allan Peiper (who recommended Eric to us) and as you will see below his results speak for themselves.
Eric was a Director Sportif for Davitomon Lotto last year and this year has been working the American Navigators team.
Eric’s palmares are:
1986: 2 stages, Giro d’Italia, 1 stage, Tour of Switzerland
1989: Amstel Gold Race
1990: Winner, Liege-Bastogne-Liege, 2nd, l’Escalade de Montjuich

Tour de France: 7 participations
1986 89th (Member of 3rd place team, PANASONIC, stage 2 Meudon-St Quentin en Yveline, 56 km TTT)
1987 56th (Member of 3rd place team, PANASONIC, stage 2, Berlin, 40.5 km TTT)
1988 74th (Member of winning team, PANASONIC, stage 2, La Haye Fouassière-Ancenis, 48 km TTT)
1990 100th (Member of winning team, PANASONIC, stage 2, Futuroscope, 44.5 km TTT)
1991 84th (Member of 3rd place team, PANASONIC, stage 2 Bron-Chassieu, 36.5 km TTT)
1992 nc (Member of winning team, PANASONIC, stage 4 Libourne-Libourne, 63.5 km TTT)
1994 nc

Eric de Clercq
Eric will be our resident pro for this trip.
This is Eric’s third year with Bikestyle Tours. He is a very capable guide and good guy to socialise with after a ride.
He is a native Belgian whose career spanned from 1991 to 2002 in which he had 19 victories. Eric rode for La William-Duvel from 1991-1993 and Collstrop from 1994-2002.
After he retired from racing he then became a Director Sportif from 2004-2007 for the Vlaanderen Women’s Pro Team. It was here that Eric learnt the organisational skills that make him such an asset to Bikestyle Tours.
Nationality: Belgian
Date of Birth: 03/12/1967
Pro carreer: From 1991 to 2002
Teams: La William-Duvel 1991-1993 / Collstrop 1994-2002
Directeur Sportif; 2004-2007 Vlaanderen Women’s Pro Team

Overnight: Kortrijk
Dinner: Will be provided

Saturday, 3 April: Tour of Flanders Cycle Sport

Each year there is a special event for cycle tourists on the day before the real boys come out to play. There are 3 rides, one covering the whole course, one covering the last 140km and finally a shorter 60km ride. About 15,000 riders do this great event and you will have the opportunity to do either the 140km or the 60km event.

The 140km is the pick of the events as it gives you a true feel of the race as it traditionally goes over all the final (15 or so) climbs including the famous Molenberg, Oude Kwaremont, Koppenberg, Berendries, Valkenberg, Tenbosse, Muur-Kapelmuur (Gerardsbergen), Bosberg.

The Tour of Flanders for cyclists is the second trial on the Golden Bike calendar, an initiative of the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) (International Cyclist Union) to promote bike races worldwide.
The Tour of Flanders is without a doubt one of the biggest sporting events in Belgium. On the day before, we will have the chance to get a sneak preview of the atmosphere at this biking event. Hopefully it’s a nice day! Fingers crossed.

Don’t forget to pack all the appropriate gear as it will be cold and could be wet.

Participation package for each participant includes:

• free insurance
• an exclusive certificate
• plenty of provisions at every checkpoint, including Isostar, fruit and snacks
• technical service
• an itinerary
• bike wash
• medical service, at every checkpoint and at the finish

After the event we will gather everyone and head back to Kortrijk for a well deserved shower and maybe some frites and mayo with a Belgian beer to wash it down along the way!

Overnight: Kortrijk
Dinner: Will be provided

Sunday, 4 April: Tour of Flanders

I don’t think there is anything quite like seeing a big Classic race live. The crowds are getting bigger every year. All of Flanders comes out to celebrate as if it is their National Day. To me this is the real heart of cycling. If you are a cyclist you have to see this race once in your life.

The Ronde van Vlaanderen is a sacred race in Belgium’s Flanders thanks to its past winners and demanding parcours. Hard men shine through this race typically hit with snow, wind and/or rain, men like Rik Van Looy, Eddy Merckx, Roger De Vlaeminck, Tom Boonen and Alessandro Ballan.

The race takes in a series of hellingen in its route through west Belgium. Climbs that usually feature are the Oude Kwaremont, Taaienberg, Kapelmuur and Bosberg. They are not the long ascents that you find in the Grand Tours, but short and steep buggers and often they are accompanied with pavé.

The Classic is the first of the true Northern classics and the second of cycling’s five Monuments.

It’s a busy day as our expert local guide takes us from spot to spot to see the riders smashing over cobbles and up steep climbs in the cool spring air. A lasting memory for me is seeing US Postal and Lance charging across the cobbles of the Mater to try and set up George for a win. The chaos they left in their wake was incredible.

We will follow them to the start in Bruges where you get a VIP-pass for the cyclist area. From the official start at the 0km mark we will follow a specific route which will enable us to see the professionals, live in action, on at least 8 occasions. In between the different stops we will follow the race on TV in the minibus. We will also be offering appetizers Berendries during the race, plus a starter and main dish for lunch. At our last stop we do have our own VIP-tent with dessert, coffee, soft-drinks, beer and sandwiches. From here we will watch the finish of the race on the big TV-screens inside the VIP-tent. With any luck the winner will come from one of the teams staying at our hotel, enabling us to join in the party.

Brief History of the Ronde Van Vlaanderen

The Ronde is one of the most prestigious of the Spring Classics, or of any cycle race. It’s an endurance race in the true sense. 270 kms with more than a dozen climbs it varies year to year. There are no Alpine or Pyrenean mountains, but most of the climbs are narrow and steep, and several are cobbled. Although they are tough in their own right, they also raise the tempo in between since everybody wants to be in a good position when they start.

Overnight: Kortrijk
Lunch and Dinner: Will be provided

Monday, 5 April: Ieper and the Flanders Fields

While we are down in this part of Flanders we can’t miss the opportunity to visit the Flanders Fields and beautiful Ieper which was the scene of some of the most fierce battles of World War 1 and then continue on to the Kemmelberg (a famous cobbled climb) which is about 12km from Ieper.

On our way we will stop to see the Tyne Cot Cemetery.
Tyne Cot Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery and Memorial to the Missing is a burial ground for the dead of World War I in the Ypres Salient on the Western Front.
The cemetery grounds were assigned to the United Kingdom in perpetuity by King Albert I of Belgium in recognition of the sacrifices made by the British Empire in the defence and liberation of Belgium during the war.
It is the largest cemetery for Commonwealth forces in the world, for any war. The cemetery and its surrounding memorial are located outside of Passendale, near Zonnebeke in Belgium.
The name “Tyne Cot” is said to come from the Northumberland Fusiliers seeing a resemblance between the German concrete pill boxes, which still stand in the middle of the cemetery, and typical Tyneside workers’ cottages – Tyne Cots.

After visiting the cemetery we will continue our ride through this beautiful part of Belgium to the Kemmelberg (a famous cobbled climb). This is the training ground of Eric van Lancker so expect a nice ride along quiet roads with the possibility of a quick visit to France.

Our ride will finish at our hotel in Ieper where we can shower and head out for the evening at our leisure. The very beautiful and grand Main Square is full of life with restaurants and cafes flanked by the museum and town hall on one side.

Every evening (at 8 pm) since 1928, the Last Post has been sounded under the imposing memorial arches of the Menin Gate. The Last Post is the traditional salute to the fallen and is played in honour of the memory of the soldiers of the then British Empire, who fought and died in the ‘Immortal Ypres Salient’ between 1914 and 1918.

Overnight: Ieper
Dinner: You are Free to Explore

Tuesday, 6 April: Tour of Flanders Museum

Today we will leave Ieper for Gent where we will spend the next week in apartments in the middle of this lively town. Gent is the real diamond of Flanders and Belgium. In a unique way, Gent has managed to preserve its medieval power while keeping up with the times. The city center alone is a showcase of medieval Flemish wealth and commercial success. Modern Gent certainly cannot be overlooked in Belgium.

Unlike the typical hotel it offers comfortable, furnished apartments with full hotel service. These apartments consist of a living-room with sitting-area, dining table and office-desk, a kitchenette with a refrigerator, two hot plates and all the necessary kitchen utensils, a separate bedroom and a bathroom. Wireless broadband internet is available in all apartments. There is also a bar and restaurant downstairs for people looking for the better traditional Belgian cuisine: healthy, delicious and good value.

During our ride to Gent we will take in a few more cobbled climbs as well as a stop to visit the Tour of Flanders Centre in Oudenaarde, where we will have lunch in the beautiful town square. After lunch we will continue to our hotel in Gent. This will be a ride of around 80km.

As you would expect Eric has a vast knowledge of the roads around Belgium and he can take for a ride of our choice.

The Tour of Flanders Centre is located in the historical heart of Oudenaarde near the Market Square. Oudenaarde is the gateway to the Flemish Ardennes, with the slopes and cobbled roads of the Tour of Flanders.

It is much more than an interactive museum. It also consists of an auditorium, an exhibition hall, a conference room, a lobby, a theme cafe and a great shop where they sell good quality clothing including original wool jerseys. The Tour plays an important role in the Flemish social life. That is why associations, companies, authorities, federations and other groups can organize press conferences, training days, seminars, meetings, exhibitions or festivities in the Centre. Discover the glorious moments of your heroes and feel the emotions of the most beautiful classic in Flanders.

The interactive museum looks for the spirit and the heroes of the Tour. The museum has a multi-media approach with magnificent audiovisuals, projections and computer simulations. Every visitor gets the chance to experience the Tour himself. You can feel the excitement, the suffering and the happiness. You can cycle next to Schotte, Merckx or Museeuw and you can feel the cobbled stones and hills.

A visit in the interactive museum consists of ten themes:

• The Start
• The Track
• The Hills
• The Cobbled Roads
• Heroes and Heroism
• Joy and Misery
• Nutrition and Cycling Techniques
• The Tour Weather
• The Press and the Media
• The Finish

Every theme has an installation with text, photographs, films, graphic creations, sounds and objects. Once again, you feel the atmosphere of Flanders’ finest classic. You learn everything about the evolution and the history. The computers show you additional and statistic information.

Overnight: Gent
Dinner: You are Free to Explore

Wednesday, 7 April: Grote Scheldeprijs

This morning we will see the second of the great races in our week at the Classics, the semi classic Grote Scheldeprijs. Being midweek between Tour of Flanders and Paris Roubaix it is expected that the top riders will come out to contest this, the oldest race in Belgium.

We will go to the start in beautiful Antwerp this morning with hopefully a little time to look around before we head off to see the race on one of the cobbled sections. This will be followed by lunch and a traditional Belgian Cafe, famous for it Trappist Beer. After lunch and a little beer tasting we will head across to see the race completion on the three circuits of 15 kilometres based in Schoten.

The Grote Scheldeprijs is a Belgian semi classic cycling race which starts in Antwerp and finishes in Schoten. The event is seen as a race for sprinters, held on flat roads over roughly 200 kilometres. The race is one circuit of 155 kilometres into the countryside of Antwerp province followed by three circuits of 15 kilometres based on Schoten. The route includes seven cobbled sections varying between 1300 and 3000 metres.
The race start is in the centre of Antwerp at the Grote Markt outside the City Hall. Racing begins in Schoten, a few kilometres north east and the finish is outside Schoten town hall.

The first Scheldeprijs was organised by the Antwerp branch of the Belgian cycling federation (BWB) on July 8 1907 making it the oldest cycle race in Flanders. In its early years it started and finished in Antwerp, concluding at the now demolished Zurenborg velodrome. The first race in 1907 was won by the Frenchman Maurice Leturgie. It would be 46 years before another non-Belgian (Dutchman Hans Dekkers in 1953) triumphed. Since 1978 the nationality of the race winner has become more diversified.
Only the World Wars interrupted the event. The Scheldeprijs celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2007.
Prominent winners include Eddy Merckx, Rik van Looy, Mario Cipollini, Freddy Maertens, Roger De Vlaeminck, Erik Zabel, Briek Schotte, Stan Ockers, Georges Ronsse and Tom Boonen. The Belgian Piet Oellibrandt holds a record three victories in the early 1960s. Johan Museeuw, who finished second in 1992 and 1997 chose the 2004 event as his final race, saying, “I could have retired after Paris-Roubaix but I felt it important that my last race should be in Belgium. The Scheldeprijs is a great race and I especially love the start in Antwerp market place.”

Overnight: Gent
Lunch: Will be Provided
Dinner: You are Free to Explore

Thursday, 8 April: Brewery Visit

Today we will leave Gent on the bikes for a visit to a nice bike shop in Aalst followed by a trip to a Brewery near Oudenaarde.
They have a huge range of stock so if there is anything you need they should have it for you.
PLEASE NOTE TO BRING CASH AS THEY DO NOT ACCEPT CREDIT CARD

After our visit and something to eat we will continue down to Oudenaarde to Liefmans brewery for a tour and some tasting of course!
Liefmans has been in existence since Jacob Liefmans established his brewery in Oudenaarde in 1770. The exact origins of what is now the Liefmans brewery is unclear, but the first known written reference to it is dated 1679. In 1770, Jacobus Liefmans took over the brewery and began a brewing dynasty which lasted over 120 years. During the Liefmans’ reign, the brewery prospered and demand for the product grew.

We will return to Gent and the evening is free for you to look around.

Overnight: Gent
Dinner: You are Free to Explore

Friday, 9 April: Our Paris Roubaix!

Today we will ride a number of the cobbled sections of the race including the famed Arenberg Forest. This is the toughest bit of pave known to man! We will do a loop in order to do it in the correct direction and return to our vehicles before returning home.

Friday is the traditional day for the teams to do a last reconnaissance of the important parts of the course. We usually see most of the teams out on the pave. Tom Boonen and Quickstep rode past us and said hello, Liquigas were doing their PR on the Arenberg forest. It’s great!

All the action today will centre round the Arenberg forest, The Wallers Forest and the section near Orchies. We’ll head down after breakfast and stop at Arenberg which is where the Arenberg Forest section starts and ride part of the course from there. Believe me, after an hour or so of pave you’ll be waving the white flag!

Overnight: Gent
Dinner: You are Free to Explore

Saturday, 10 April: Flemish Ardennes

Today we will visit the Flemish Ardennes for a ride and a visit to one of Belgium’s oldest Cafes.
Eric de Clerc knows this area well and it’s just near his home in Brakel. We will head across to meet him for a tour of this famous area known as the Flemish Ardennes.

Our ride will be followed a lunch before we go across for a beer at Eric’s local bar which was quite a treat last year and we look forward to going back again.
It will take in the beautiful area known as the Flemish Ardennes including a trip to Geraardsbergen for a stop at a cafe there for lunch and then we’ll tackle the Muur one last time but with fresher legs than last Saturday.

We will return to Brakel for a visit to the Cafe before we head back to Gent to freshen up for dinner this evening.

OR for those who would like a day off the bike there is the possibility of a trip to Brugge to see this great town and all it has to offer.

You can decide which is best closer to the time.

Tonight we will have a farewell dinner together and pack our bikes. We chose tonight as we will all be tired tomorrow after a big day of race watching so to ensure we enjoy the dinner we chose today.

Our dinner will be an AMUSE GUEULE – WALKING DINNER
A culinary and cultural exploration! During this tour we will be guided to four restaurants. In each restaurant a course of your four-course menu awaits you. While you walk from one restaurant to the other the guides will tell you the story of the numerous sights, the history and contemporary city life.

Overnight: Gent
Dinner: Walking Dinner of Gent

Sunday, 11 April: Paris Roubaix

This morning we will head off to Paris Roubaix, the Hell of the North or l’enfer du nord as the French say.

There is no other race in the world like the Paris-Roubaix. The French race is known for its torturous pavé sectors and the many stories of pain and destruction that they hold.

Dreams of riders like George Hincapie and Johan Museeuw have ended in tears along the roadside, but the risks make the victory in velodrome that much sweeter. After 260 kilometres, around 50 on pavé, the race ends with one and a half laps on Roubaix’s outdoor track.

Win in Roubaix, the third of cycling’s five Monuments, and you are considered a god. Riders like Fausto Coppi, Rik Van Looy, Eddy Merckx, Francesco Moser, Sean Kelly and Tom Boonen have tamed Paris-Roubaix’s pavé for the well-earned status.

We start at about 09.30am from our hotel and go to the first cobbled section where we will have a sit down lunch in a huge marquis set up for our group and a others. Once the cyclists have past we will go and see them another 4 or 5 occasions and finally at the Carrefour the l’Arbre where we have another VIP tent with big TV-screens to watch the last 16 km. The race is usually decided here so we will be in prime position.
The atmosphere on the Carrefour the l’Arbre is unbelievable. Thousands of people screaming and waving flags, it’s something you’ll never forget.

After the race we will go to our hotel in preparation for our departure tomorrow.

Overnight: Gent
Lunch: Will be Provided
Dinner: You are Free to Explore

Monday, 12 April: A Bientot

Trip ends and we head our separate ways but we hope to see you again soon.
We will have a bus available to shuttle people to the airport during the day.

Inclusions
Tour cost is per person twin share and includes:
* All Transport.
* Services of experienced Tour Guides, including 2 former Pro cyclists.
* Transfers from Zaventem Airport on the 2nd and 12th April.
* Accommodation in selected 3 star Hotels and Apartments (with private facilities).
* Buffet breakfast daily.
* 3 course evening meals on 4 nights including a Walking Dinner of Gent.
* Lunch on 3 days.
* VIP guided trips to see the Tour of Flanders and Paris Roubaix.
* Access to the start village at Tour of Flanders.
* Guided visit to a Brewery.
* Mechanical assistance with your bike.
* Sightseeing as listed.
* Maps and Bikestyle Tours Itinerary.
* Bikestyle Tours Cycling Jersey.

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