PEDAL DANCER GUIDE PAGES

01 April 2011

Flanders recon

The Fans and the Pros love the cobbles just the same 
Recon on the Koppenberg today in Belgium
Carnage! This picture says it all as the pros weave around the fallen tourists who just had to go out with their buddies and try to ride the Koppenberg before Sundays big race of the Tour of Flanders (De Ronde Van Vlaanderen). I have greatly enjoyed reading the recent recon articles by CyclingNews.com and PezCycling.com and all the rest.
View the complete thumbnail gallery by CyclingNews including the picture above, or the full article here: Liquigas-Cannondale and Lampre-ISD recon Tour of Flanders By: Cycling News Published: April 1, 19:35.
Big News! - Velonews.com has put all the facts together about the 18 climbs featured in the Tour of Flanders for us fans: The 18 climbs of the Tour of Flanders By VeloNews.com, Published Mar 31st 2011 2:27 PM.  You may find route maps (parcours) and all the details about links to watch the race live online at Steephill.TV. CyclingTV starts to fight for position this time of year but hopefully EuroSport or JustinTV will come through for us Americans. For a list of team rosters and who is riding on the big day read the right column on this page: Tour of Flanders Roster and bib#

Live video feed from inside the team cars will be aired during the 2011 Tour of Flanders to promote race technology and communication. The step into the future (or statement) comes from Wouter Vandenhaute of Flanders Classics, the organiser of the Tour of Flanders race. CyclingNews reports, "The team cars will be equipped with two cameras and images and sound will be continuously registered and redirected via an airplane to the finish in Meerbeke. The images will be cut into the live broadcast on Belgium's S Television so that viewers are able to witness the very core of the race." Leopard Trek, Quick Step, Omega Pharma-Lotto and Garmin-Cervélo will transmit interactions between team cars and riders during the race. Hopefully we will see this part of the live feed in the USA, but there will likely be video after. 

Some other articles worth reading from 2011 (for the I wish I was there traveler):  
PEZ Classic: Flanders Shotgun With Bert Roesems Thursday, March 31, 2011  
A Closer Look At Flanders: The Koppenberg Monday, March 28, 2011  
PEZ Previews: De Ronde Van Vlaanderen Friday, April 01, 2011

I can't wait for Sunday! 
Oh the memories, the Koppenberg climb from 2009


And a totally different Fabian Cancellara in 2010!

What will be the story in 2011?

If you dream of traveling to Belgium and joining a bike tour and riding the cobbles yourself AND watching the races live (usually a week of Tour of Flanders and the Paris-Roubaix combined) these companies operate cycling tours in Belgium for the Spring Classics: Velo Classic Tours and Chain Ring Tours