CS experts panel: The Tour of Flanders

published 30 March 2011

The Tour of Flanders is one of the most beautiful races of the year. Here, our team of writers give their impressions of the race and try to predict the outcome.

Last year, his Flanders performance was a real ambush. Until he went away on the Muur, I was still wondering what he was going to do about Boonen, who in my mind remained the favourite until that point. This year, in spite of the dominance he showed at E3, it would be foolish to assume that the rest of the field are just going to allow him to make them look silly. Here’s how they are going to stop him:

Look at last year’s result: Cancellara won, Boonen second, Gilbert third, Leukemans fourth, then a 31-strong bunch. The important thing is that of those riders, apart from Cancellara, none are riding for Leopard this year. O’Grady will be a strong support rider, but Leopard doesn’t have the strength in depth in Flanders that some other teams do. If I were the Garmin or Sky manager, for example, I’d send the equivalent of Stijn Devolder up the road once the race is in its final third. If Cancellara’s isolated, he won’t want to chase, because he’ll have a procession of his rivals on his back wheel. It’s going to be tricky, though, isn’t it?

Sportive: Apart from an annual soaking in freezing rain, it would be closing an impossible gap in the final 10 kilometres to Ninove last year to colleague Gregor Brown, who’d unsportingly attacked me on the Muur and then followed through on the Bosberg. I rode solo in a crosswind while Brown freewheeled irritatingly along on the back of a large group of riders about 400 metres in front. He’ll tell you he won by some distance, but he didn’t. He definitely didn’t.

WHEN DID YOU REALISE FLANDERS IS THE BEST ONE DAY RACE IN THE WORLD?
It was actually while I was riding the Ronde sportive for the first time in 2008. It was miserable, freezing cold and soaking wet, and while I rode along, I was punctuating each pedal stroke with some newly-acquired Flemish swear words. But the roads seemed alive with the history of the race; the cobbles were slick with mud that had washed down from the fields; the landscape was harsh, exposed and flat, and gave me no protection from the scouring wind. Belgium’s one of those places where the greyness of the sky seeps into the colourlessness of the soil, but it’s got a unique character. Belgium invites you, challenges you, to test yourself against it, and it doesn't give a shit if you’re not up to it. But it will reward you with steak, frites and beer if you are.

WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE FLANDERS CLIMB?
Perhaps a predictable answer but it has to be the Muur at Geraardsbergen. They swoop down a descent, over the bridge and through the town before beginning the climb. The first section is on smooth paving blocks, like a patio, and it rises up through the town square, which is absolutely buzzing on race day. There’s an unmistakable smell in the air. It’s a mix of beer and hot dogs and cigarette smoke and that strange smoked fish snack they like in Flanders. The excitement is tangible. Then it is up to the Kapelmuur, which provides a fantastic natural amphitheatre. At the top, people perch on the grass banks as if they are old-fashioned terraces at a football ground. And if you wait up there all afternoon, the sense of anticipation becomes heady. As the riders approach the roar of the supporters ripples towards you like toppling dominos. Because the Muur is often such a strategically important moment in the race, there’s a good chance of seeing The Move too. There isn’t a sight like it in sport.

HOW CAN CANCELLARA BE BEATEN?
Unfortunately, logic says that the way to beat Cancellara is to focus on him and race extremely negatively. [A reader has asked us to clarify what we mean by 'racing negatively' – basically, we mean that riders may prioritise following Cancellara over attacking for themselves. A team with several strong riders may assign one or two of them to simply mark Cancellara so he can't get away on his own.] It will require the other strong teams – Quick Step, Sky, Rabobank, Garmin – to gang up on him and mark his every move. They know they cannot let him get even a five-metre gap because it is so difficult to close. So, mark him, sit on his wheel and either outsprint him at the finish or hope it comes back together for a team-mate. Of course, concentrating on Cancellara could open the door for a surprise winner.

The sportive: Riding it for the first time in 2001 gave me a full appreciation of how difficult the course must be to race. Each climb poses a different challenge. Some are technical, some are steep, some have a challenging entry or exit, all sap the strength. You can be flying one minute, empty the next. I’ve seen people complain that the run-in from the Bosberg to the finish is ‘dull’ but this misses the point that it is the final test of strength. Flattish, dead roads that are difficult to get away on and very tough to chase on. A 12-second gap may as well be 12 minutes if you haven’t got the legs.

The culture: The first time I covered the Tour of Flanders in 1999, was a real eye-opener. We stayed in Bruges and the atmosphere in the town the night before the race was incredible. Bars and restaurants were full and there was a real holiday atmosphere. The crowd the following morning was enormous. You couldn't move. But it was standing in the finish straight afterwards that made me understand that the race truly crowns the king of Belgium. Van Petegem had just won the race for the first time and was already being fêted. On the other side of the road, Frank Vandenbroucke, the runner-up, was being subjected to an inquisition. It partly explained why the vast majority of people in Flanders don’t give two hoots about doping. They just want heroes. As someone who thinks the sport needs credible heroes, that is a difficult one to square.

WHEN DID YOU REALISE FLANDERS IS THE BEST ONE-DAY RACE IN THE WORLD?
Actually, I think a great edition of Paris-Roubaix is the finest one-day race in the world. But the Ronde has more going for it from a cultural point of view. The people of Flanders really live for the race and it is they who make the day. It’s notable that the most passionate supporters at Paris-Roubaix are in fact Flandrians who have popped across the border.

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Edward Pickering is a writer and journalist, editor of Pro Cycling and previous deputy editor of Cycle Sport. As well as contributing to Cycling Weekly, he has also written for the likes of the New York Times. His book, The Race Against Time, saw him shortlisted for Best New Writer at the British Sports Book Awards. A self-confessed 'fair weather cyclist', Pickering also enjoys running.

CS experts panel: The Tour of Flanders

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