Pedal Dancer®: Edvald Boasson Hagen

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01 March 2014

Omloop Het Nieuwsblad

Three of my favorites riders won

There is nothing better to warm the soul on yet another cold snowy morning in Colorado than watching the first big cobbled race in Belgium live online. Through the over-pixeled image obscured further with raindrops on the moto camera lens, I sat mesmerized as the Belgian scenery rushed by, the uninterpretable dutch language described the action, and some of my favorite riders fought to win a bike race.

Omloop Het Nieuwsblad

The race may be hard to pronounce: Pronunciation of in Dutch

Pronunciation by remak

Plus the route covers all those other bergs, not typically included in the Tour of Flanders (Ronde van Vlaanderen) in April. But cobbled racing is back, and it feels great to be watching racing in Europe again.

The race starts and ends in Ghent

Climbs in Omloop Het Nieuwsblad(locals call the race Gent-Gent):

Helling 1: Lieberg
Helling 2: Hostellerie
Helling 3: Muur (de Grammont!)
Helling 4: Valkenberg
Helling 5: Kruisberg
Helling 6: Taaienberg
Helling 7: Eikenberg
Helling 8: Wolvenberg
Helling 9: Leberg
Helling 10: Molenberg
And a bunch of other bumps to total 198.4 km in the rain.

Pedal Dancer Word of the Day: hellingen

Read more about each of these bergs in a series written by The Chain Stay cycling lodge and tour company in Oudenaarde: Monumental Bergs

2014 Omloop Het Nieuwsblad Winners

1. Ian Stannard (UK)
2. Greg Van Avermaet (BEL)
3. Edvald Boason Hagen (NOR)

Full Results
16 km to go: Winning Attack (01:07 Dutch) — sporza.be via Steephill.TV

The creme of the crop stood on the podium today after the race, although I couldn't help but comment out loud - "man what an ugly trophy for all that work they did." Still if I could form my own fantasy team - I would hire all three of these men, and Bernie Eisel of course.

Two years ago I spent a morning in Kortrijk, Belgium, hanging around the teams - BMC, Lampre, and SKY - as they prepared for a training ride. It was the day before the Tour of Flanders. No one was around but me and a couple others on the calm quiet morning near the team hotels. They were so kind to let me watch quietly and snap some photos as they came out to gather their bikes and gear and get ready to ride.

I have since seen many of them at more recent races, but these times in Belgium remain very fond memories. Read my stories: The Sky was blue and Hanging with the teams.

Ian Stannard ©Photo by Karen of PedalDancer®

Greg Van Avermaet ©Photo by Karen of PedalDancer®

Edvald Boasson Hagen ©Photo by Karen of PedalDancer®

Greg Van Avermaet is actually one of the most photogenic guys in the peloton, he and Joe Dombrowski never take a bad picture. And of course Bernhard Eisel (let's see how many more times I can mention Bernie - but heck, it is Classics season).

Bernie Eisel (AUT) ©Photo by Karen of PedalDancer®

Bernie shared this photo below on Facebook today, which reminded me of how awesome the Mur de Grammont (Muur van Geraardsbergen) really is. I wish I knew who took his photo for him.

Bernie on the Muur van Geraardsbergen

My own photos of the Muur on a non race day. And my story when I visited: The Mur de Grammont

The Muur ©Photo by Karen of PedalDancer®

More cobbles ahead

Belgian Semi-Classics (not on the UCI WorldTour):
Omloop Het Nieuwsblad - 01 March 2014
Kuurne-Bruxelles-Kuurne - 02 March 2014 (this was the race canceled due to snow in 2013)
Scheldeprijsf - 9 April 2014
De Brabantse Pijl - 16 April 2014

The Spring Classics - the biggies are coming up:
E3 Prijs Vlaanderen - Harelbeke - 28 March 2014
Gent-Wevelgem - 30 March 2014
Tour des Flandres - 06 April 2014
Paris-Roubaix -13 April 2014
Amstel Gold - 20 April 2014
La Fleche Wallonne - 23 April 2014
Liège–Bastogne–Liège - 27 April 2014

02 May 2013

Image of the Day: Edvald Boasson Hagen

This is a great picture

I just came across this fantastic picture I took of Edvald Boasson Hagen at the 2012 Tour de France last July in Annonay, France.

Edvald Boasson Hagen ©Photo by Karen at PedalDancer® (click image to enlarge)

Some riders just make me smile - Edvald is certainly one of them. He is also the current Norwegian Road Race Champion.

I am collecting some images of riders I took last year who will be riding in the Giro or in the Tour of California (for a post coming tomorrow ...). Edvald is not on the list of riders racing the Giro for Team Sky this year. Shucks, looks like we'll have to wait until the Tour de France.

Read Team Sky's Race Guide Giro d'Italia (excellent) to see who they will bring to the Giro under team captain Bradley Wiggins.

And check out the new Team Sky Pinarello time trial bike they will launch this weekend. Pinarello launch the Bolide

Team Skys new Pinaerllo Bolide Time Trial Bike. Photo from the Team Sky website

A bolide is a fireball, could be related to a meteor, which means this bike is FAST. Read more about the Pinarello Bolide

07 January 2013

Tip of the Day: Bruges and Brews

Continuing Education and photos from Belgium

For local Denver cyclists who enjoy travel, art and beer - I discovered this course titled Bruges and Brews at our local Denver University. It will be offered 4 nights - January 28, February 4th, 11th, 18th, including 3 in-class sessions, plus 1 session at a local restaurant for tasting. The class is presented by a associate professor of Art History through the University College at University of Denver (DU) non-credit enrichment program, $175 (including the beer and food tasting dinner at the last class). Thirty (or more) students total, with only 12 seats available as of tonight (Update: sold out). read more

I like Belgium, it is truly a cycling mecca with the best beer in the world. I think it enjoyable to continue learning about a place, even after visiting. There is much more to be learned beyond a 2-week fly-by vacation which seems to only wet the whistle. As much as I scour the internet, read guide books, learn maps and investigate before any trip, I never have a sense of a place until I have been there, until I have walked the streets. Very true about a trip to Belgium.

I was in Bruges last spring, it was my 3rd visit to Belgium, every visit being completely different. I was just 21-years old upon my first visit with my Mother, we took in the arts. I was 31 upon my next visit to Bruges with my husband, we took in the arts, food, beer, and visited friends. Last year I returned to chase bike races (Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix) and learn more about Belgian beer, bergs and countryside.

I completely missed the arts during my last visit, although I more than covered the bergs and brews. I thought this course could fill in some of the gaps and continue my education, prepping me for my next travel vacation to Belgium. At $44 a night for 2 hours of entertainment, it is a bit steep, but far cheaper than the thousands of dollars (for Americans, hundreds for Europeans and Brits) spent on airfare, car, hotel, and buying more guidebooks!

This course description caught my attention: "From its historic Trappist monastic breweries to its array of splendid art and architecture, Flanders boasts preeminence in many artistic fields, though perhaps none more divergent than the odd couple of fine brewing and oil painting. We invite you to explore the rich cultural heritage of this region by combining into one course Belgium’s artistic richness, beer-brewing superiority and tasty culinary traditions." That's university level lingo for Let's drink beer!

I'm in! Each night I can be reminded of my recent travels and relive the adventures, while learning even more about Belgium. Traveling in Belgium was the highlight of my year in 2012. I say why not travel cheap by searching for continuing education language, art and travel classes in your own city.

Read some Pedal Dancer posts from visiting Belgium in 2012:

More from 2012

Enjoy some photos of Bruges, Belgium - in search of friets, beer, and waffles (all photos by Karen at PedalDancer.com) click any image to enlarge :