Riding the Ronde Van Vlaanderen route

[fa63]

Well, at least part of it

I posted a couple pictures about this in the "Photos of your rides" thread as well", but I also wanted to do a separate post with a few more details.

I am based just outside of Paris, France this summer for work, and been trying to squeeze in as much riding as I can. This last Saturday, I drove from Paris to Antwerp to visit a friend there. I left early enough so I could take a slight detour to Oudenaarde so I could ride a small portion (50 km) of the Ronde van Vlaanderen; my favorite pro race by far.

Here is the Oudenaarde city center, where the race finishes (and where I started):



Welcome to Flanders:



First up: Oude Kwaremont. This climb is not bad at all, I was able to get over it pretty comfortably. Still, you start to get a sense that those cobbles are not as smooth as you thought they would be. I was on a bike with 32 mm tires at ~60 psi, and I was still getting a little beat up.



Then you take a ripping descent, make a hard right, and face the mighty Paterberg:



I frankly do not know how there aren't more crashes at the turn into the section. The climb itself is crazy as well; I was only able to make it a little past the middle where it gets really steep and I started to lose traction even though it was completely dry. This is when you really start to appreciate what the pros can do; you have to ride over these cobbles with a light touch while putting out 500+ Watts.

Then a little flat section to recover; saw this mural along the way:



Another ripping descent, another hard right turn, then you face the Koppenberg:



I was able to ride up this, albeit very slowly. I was fighting for traction, especially when standing up. Again, I have no idea how the pros make it look so easy, especially when these cobbles are wet. I guess that is why they get paid the big bucks.

After these three climbs, I went through some open fields with crops, goats and cows. Really lovely scenery. And some hard paved climbs, which didn’t seem so hard at all after the cobbles ones.







And then I made my way back in Oudenaarde It was amazing to ride some of the famed cobbles climbs, a cycling dream come true really. It also put things into perspective as far as how insane pros are, making all of this look relatively easy.

[Joel]

Very cool! Thanks for taking us along for the ride!

[MattTuck]

What tires were you using?

That is a pretty awesome thing to check off the list. Those are iconic climbs, and even if they're not too long, that is one epic 50km ride to get all those in.

I'm always curious about the descents of these bergs as they (generally) get short shrift during the broadcast, and sometimes aren't even shown because of the tight nature (thinking Kemmelberg in particular).

Thanks for sharing!

[fa63]

Panaracer GravelKing 32c tires; the smooth tread version. Pumped them to what I would estimate to be between 50 and 60 psi (I didn't bring a real pump with me, just a hand pump) for my 225 lbs frame. I cannot imagine riding these on 25 or even 28mm tires. But looking at this year's RvV gallery, it seems many were on 25c tires (but they are skinny so they can get away with running low pressures in skinnier tires).

The descents felt really fast, but what is crazy is how narrow the turns into the Paterberg and Koppenberg are. I wasn't paying attention and went really wide on the turn into the Paterberg. Can't imagine trying to do this surrounded by a peloton; I can see even clearer now why the favorites go full gas into these turns.

Originally Posted by MattTuck

What tires were you using?

That is a pretty awesome thing to check off the list. Those are iconic climbs, and even if they're not too long, that is one epic 50km ride to get all those in.

I'm always curious about the descents of these bergs as they (generally) get short shrift during the broadcast, and sometimes aren't even shown because of the tight nature (thinking Kemmelberg in particular).

Thanks for sharing!

[MattTuck]

Originally Posted by fa63

Panaracer GravelKing 32c tires; the smooth tread version. Pumped them to what I would estimate to be between 50 and 60 psi (I didn't bring a real pump with me, just a hand pump) for my 225 lbs frame.

I cannot imagine riding these on 25 or even 28mm tires. But looking at this year's RvV gallery, it seems many were on 25c tires.

Same tires I ride, and within 10 pounds of your weight

There aren't many pros that are 225 :P

so, maybe if we were both 50 pounds lighter, 28s wouldn't seem so crazy.

[fa63]

It seems I was revising my response as you were typing yours; you are right

Originally Posted by MattTuck

Same tires I ride, and within 10 pounds of your weight

There aren't many pros that are 225 :P

so, maybe if we were both 50 pounds lighter, 28s wouldn't seem so crazy.