November 6, 2009
Hi Joe: My wife and I are traveling to France in April and thought taking in at least one of the Spring Classics would be a good thing to do. Which race is the most spectator friendly and/or the coolest to experience.
Dave Fahrner - Santa Rosa, California
That sounds like a great idea, Dave. I highly recommend it.
Personally, I think that for the real Classics experience you should try and check out at least one of the three races of what I like to call The Classics Week. It all starts with the Ronde van Vlaanderen on April 4th - Easter Sunday. If you can only take in one event and are looking for the crazed Euro-fan, knock-down, drag-out bike race experience, this is the one to take in. The Ronde van Vlaanderen is admittedly not as much on the radar of American fans as Paris-Roubaix is, but most of us consider it to be the harder of the two. Also, without too much difficulty, you can check out at least a couple different sweet cobbled climbs without having to break too many laws. In fact, I have often talked about bringing a small group over for the Ronde and riding bikes from one cool viewing spot to the next.
If you're free for the entire week you could then check out Gent-Wevelgem on Wednesday. This semi-classic is one the favorite races I rode - it is fast and has lots of side-wind. There isn't much in terms of interesting places to watch other than on and around the Kemmelberg, but the people I know who have checked it out always report having a great time on top of the Kemmelberg. If all you did was plant your flag in that one spot you'd get to see plenty of dudes suffering over the top of it ... twice.
Sunday the 11th of April is obviously Paris-Roubaix. It is an incredible event and pretty much a must-see for true cycling fans, because until you actually see it live, you cannot understand how gnarly it really is. However, Paris-Roubaix doesn't offer as much opportunity to see multiple places on the course without quite a bit of effort.
My vote ... do the whole week, but if that isn't a possibility hit one of the Sundays. I would say that Flanders is more spectator-friendly, but that is mostly based on the fact that I have seen the same faces at multiple points on that course, but didn't remember that same thing for Paris-Roubaix.
If you want an even more immersed experience, check out one of the various tour companies. I found this one just looking for next year's race dates.
Have fun!
That sounds like a great idea, Dave. I highly recommend it.
Personally, I think that for the real Classics experience you should try and check out at least one of the three races of what I like to call The Classics Week. It all starts with the Ronde van Vlaanderen on April 4th - Easter Sunday. If you can only take in one event and are looking for the crazed Euro-fan, knock-down, drag-out bike race experience, this is the one to take in. The Ronde van Vlaanderen is admittedly not as much on the radar of American fans as Paris-Roubaix is, but most of us consider it to be the harder of the two. Also, without too much difficulty, you can check out at least a couple different sweet cobbled climbs without having to break too many laws. In fact, I have often talked about bringing a small group over for the Ronde and riding bikes from one cool viewing spot to the next.
If you're free for the entire week you could then check out Gent-Wevelgem on Wednesday. This semi-classic is one the favorite races I rode - it is fast and has lots of side-wind. There isn't much in terms of interesting places to watch other than on and around the Kemmelberg, but the people I know who have checked it out always report having a great time on top of the Kemmelberg. If all you did was plant your flag in that one spot you'd get to see plenty of dudes suffering over the top of it ... twice.
Sunday the 11th of April is obviously Paris-Roubaix. It is an incredible event and pretty much a must-see for true cycling fans, because until you actually see it live, you cannot understand how gnarly it really is. However, Paris-Roubaix doesn't offer as much opportunity to see multiple places on the course without quite a bit of effort.
My vote ... do the whole week, but if that isn't a possibility hit one of the Sundays. I would say that Flanders is more spectator-friendly, but that is mostly based on the fact that I have seen the same faces at multiple points on that course, but didn't remember that same thing for Paris-Roubaix.
If you want an even more immersed experience, check out one of the various tour companies. I found this one just looking for next year's race dates.
Have fun!
Share this Page
7 Responses to “Hi Joe: My wife and I are traveling to France in April and thought taking in at least one of the Spring Classics would be a good thing to do. Which race is the most spectator friendly and/or the coolest to experience.”
The race schedule for 2010 has changed for the traditional Vlaamse Wielerweek. Gent – Wevelgem has been moved to the week before the Ronde, the Scheldeprijs has been moved between the Ronde & Paris – Roubaix (the slot previously occupied by Gent – Wevelgem). The Brabantse Pijl has been moved to the Wednesday after Paris – Roubaix.
We 3/24 Dwars door Vlaanderen
Sa 3/27 E3 Prijs Vlaanderen – Harelbeke
Su 3/28 Gent – Wevelgem
Tu 3/30 – Th 4/1 3 Days of De Panne
Su 4/4 Ronde von Vlaanderen
We 4/7 Scheldeprijs
Th 4/8 GP Pino Cerami
Su 4/11 Paris – Roubaix
4/14 Brabrantse Pijl
For more info about the changes see:
http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/gent-wevelgem-moved-to-sunday-before-tour-of-flanders and
http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/gent-wevelgem-to-grow-in-status
To view the UCI calendars see: http://www.uci.ch/templates/UCI/UCI2/layout.asp?MenuId=MTUyMjQ&LangId=1
Gent-Wevelegem is moving to the Sunday before the Ronde for 2010. All sorts of trampling on tradition by the UCI next year:
http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/gent-wevelgem-moved-to-sunday-before-tour-of-flanders
Joe, when you set up one of those tours, count me in!
You MUST see the Tour of Flanders (Ronde Van Vlaanderen) for the crazy crowds – incredible atmosphere and chance to see at several points. Have a beer in a bar on the Muur for instance and watch on TV with everyone else, then rush out as the race approaches. For the full experience ride the cyclosportive the day before too!
Joe, I say let’s do the Flanders trip. I’m sure you’d be an awesome guide to viewing Flanders the right way!
Absolutely Flanders.
You can get to many spots quickly, as it winds it;’s way around a small part of the country.
I remember friends of mine hitting 7 spots.
Roubaix would be much more difficult, although you could go just for the Arenberg experience.
Joe — Any interest in leading a trip? Great blog, enjoyed the book too.
Make a Comment