1 year! - I'd like to thank the fans

Let's hear it for the fans!

The international cycling fan is a hardy breed. We gather from far distant locations to ascend on small roads, mountain tops, and cafes in a mix of languages and nationalities. We rise early in the morning to peer at tiny maps plotting our approach. We carry survival supplies for 4-10 hour days because this day is important to us, we need to be there. We hike for miles up pathways and roads to stand in sandals on 8% slopes for hours. We endure Mother Nature's best and worst weather conditions. We sit in gutters, sleep in fields, giggle over caravan trinkets, play and smile with our fellow fans, and we cheer like mad in our 15 minutes of glory. Those 15 minutes when the riders need our cheers of encouragement. Allez, courage, venga, dai, come on, go!

Do you ever watch music awards, when the artist wins they always says, "I want to thank the fans." We may not hear this line often in the sport of cycling, but I bet every rider could probably tell us a story when he remembers a fan giving him just the right word of encouragement (or at least a distraction) at the right moment in time. I swear I could see Johan Van Summeren's body physically lift with excitement as he entered the velodrome and heard the roar of the crowd greet him during last Sunday's Paris-Roubaix.

In pre-race interviews, several riders mentioned watching the race as a child, dreaming of one day racing the Paris-Roubaix themselves. Don't they know that is why we are all out there, young and old. We all wish we could race that race, ride with the best, be the best. We love the struggle, the underdog who overcomes the odds, the sure bet who loses out, the unexpected. This is sport, and we as fans are part of it; bare buttocks, large antlers, old ladies, small children, and those of use who ride the course at 1/2 the speed of the pros. We the Fans.

To the Sponsors who want our attention, to the media that want our viewing, to the towns that want our tourism, but mostly to the riders who need our enthusiasm - you can count on us being there through the ups and downs of this sport. A VIP package can never outdo the experience of being with our friends or family on a beautiful hillside waiting for hours for our 15 minutes of glory as a fan.

PedalDancer.com blog is now 1-year old, with 40,000 pageviews from cycling fans in 118 countries and 4600 cities around the world. This is my 334th blog post. I continue to be grateful and inspired every day, but mostly I'd like to thank the Fans!  All Photos by PedalDancer.com


click any image to enlarge

Riding and walking up the route on a day of the Tour de France in 2008

Fans at Chalet Reynard on Mont Ventoux, Dauphine 2007

ITT at Amgen Tour of California, Los Angeles 2010

Tour of California finish area in Westlake Village, 2010

Making sandwiches roadside Tour de France 2008

Even the Press are really just fans

With the Basque fans on Plat d'Adet 2005

Watching the race approach on the TV on Alpe'd'Huez 2003

A sea of fans and riders at the Finish of the Tour de France, Paris 2010

A field of fans, mountain top of Col d'Aspin 2008, Tour de France

Fans huddle in the cold on Col d'Aspin

The Caravan at the TDF 2005

Mark Cavendish saying hi to the fans Los Angeles 2010

A group of fans riding up the climb at the Tour de France

Lance rounds the corner inches from the fans at the ITT at Tour of California

The fans on Mount Palomar Tour of California 2009

San Luis Obispo, Tour of California 2007

Fan Apparel

Fans love the pageantry

Just hanging out with your friends for the day

Families enjoying the day

When else can you walk down the middle of the Champs Elysees, 2003

ah Paris

No better way to spend a day!

I'd like to thank you for visiting my blog. I'd also like to thank George Hincapie who in 2001 inspired me to become a road cyclist, when I was standing behind the barrier as a fan at my first Tour de France in Pau. Thanks George! And my fabulous parents, who for years, taped the Tour de France for me when I am over there so I can really watch it when I come home, and my family who wake up very early in the morning to watch the races in Europe live online, sending fun emails and comments back and forth.

All Photos above are by Karen at PedalDancer.com (and my two brothers and sister-in-laws and nephew). Thanks for the good times! My calves have never recovered from standing on the steep slopes all day on Plat d'Adet in 2005, but George won!

Big race tomorrow

aParis-Roubaix - Don't miss it!

Everyone is getting ready for the big day. 109th Queen of the Classics, 197 riders, 25 teams.

Be sure to tune in (race coverage times in the USA):

Live Coverage of 2011 Paris-Roubaix 

The race starts in Compiegne, France at 10:10am
Last year it took Fabian Cancellara 6:35:10 to ride the course
Approximate finish time will be 4:45pm in France, 10:45am EST (8:45am MST)

Coverage:
6:15am EST Eurosport Paris-Roubaix Live Coverage (other links on Steephill.TV)
Sporza Live Coverage (Flemish)
6:55-7:55am EST CyclingNew.TV free coverage (then it becomes subscription).
If you need to couple Eurosport Live Audio you may find the link on Steephill.TV
Read live race updates on CyclingNews.com 

Check other possible coverage on Steephill.TV (Sporza I hope!), or check possible links offered by Twitter fans (a very good source). I usually watch live coverage from at least 2 channels because the camera angles and coverage is quite different. Sometimes one camera footage will be 1km ahead of the other and will feature different parts of the peloton or break aways. The coverage is early morning in America! Strong coffee and waffles are recommended.

Delayed Coverage of 2011 Paris-Roubaix

7:00-10:00pm EST on Versus TV (real television). This is a better time of day to enjoy some Belgian beers while watching the coverage, even though this is a French race, it is totally acceptable.

Remember this name: this is the new climb in 2011. Just 4km after the Arenberg Forest, Millonfosse is a 3 star, 1400 meter long section of cobbles that has been added to the Paris-Roubaix route this year. The only new section added this year, the other 27 sections have been used before. It is hard to believe there remains sections of cobbles still to be discovered in the north of France. And there is a crew of organizers trying to make this a very hard race year after year by changing up the climbs.

The cobbles will take it out of a man! The time of a cobbles race / a climber's race / a sprinter's race in minutes ( I think the TDF needs more cobbles!):
262km 2010 Paris-Roubaix was won by Fabian Cancellara, 6:35:10 (39.2 km/h)
260km 2010 Liege-Bastogne-Liege was won by Alexandre Vinokourov, 6:37:49
298km 2011 Milan-SanRemo was won by Matt Goss, 6:51:10 

Who will win? What the bookies think.  But have they accounted for crashes, flats, mechanicals and bike racing! 

A picture gallery from today on CyclingNews.com for us fans. Boonen, Hincapie, and Quinziato! 

Link to Paris-Roubaix 2011 route map

riding a bike from Compiegne to Roubaix, France

"A lot of people think it’s going to be easier because it’s dry but actually it’s faster and that means the guys in top form can make a bigger difference. On the wet cobbles it’s hard but your heart rate is lower so the dry will make it harder for the weaker guys to stay," ~ Rolf Sorensen.

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Recommended Reading: Podium Cafe

Stone-by-Stone: Checking Out Paris-Roubaix

A great description of every sector of the course all in one amazingly impressive post by Chris Fontecchio on Apr 7, 2011

Some locals lend a hand on the Paris-Roubaix course - Secteur pavé de Mons-en-Pévèle in March 2008

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Paris-Roubaix

But it doesn't start in Paris 

This Sunday the Hell of the North swirls into the town of Compiegne and bounces right back out over the cobbles 258km north into the town of Roubaix. Forty million people reportedly watched the Tour of Flanders live on TV last Sunday, many more will be watching Paris-Roubaix this Sunday.

Paris-Roubaix - but the race doesn't start in Paris? The Paris-Roubaix ends in Roubaix, but it starts in Compiegne (as it has since 1977). Its a French race, the French do things their way. It is tradition! The race's nickname Hell of the North is interpreted as describing the effort exerted by the men, or more often the conditions on race day, but the real story behind the nickname is below.

This Sunday's weather in Compiegne, France, is predicted to be "Mild with brilliant sunshine 19C (real feel 24C)".  I'd say a little more like heaven, and a lot less like hell. 

Paris-Roubaix 2011 route map (link to larger map)

History of the Paris-Roubaix - it is much more than a name

Does any race actually begin in Paris? Not the Paris-Nice or the Paris-Roubaix. The first Paris-Roubaix race was organized in 1896, and did indeed depart form the city of Paris to the town of Roubaix, 280 km to the north. Théodore Vienne and Maurice Perez had built a velodrome in their town of Roubaix the previous year and wanted to attract people to marvel at their accomplishment. They needed fans to fill the stands. They needed local hype and national marketing. They convinced the editor of Le Velo, a daily sports paper in Paris, to organize the start of the race from Paris to their small town in the north.

This was a new race that required new parcours. The cycling editor of Le Velo, Victor Breyer set out to plot the route from Paris to Roubaix. The wind blew, the rain fell and the temperature dropped. Breyer reached Roubaix filthy and exhausted after a day of riding on disjointed cobbles. He swore he would send a telegram back to Paris urging Vienne and Perez to drop their idea, saying it was dangerous to send a race over the course he had just ridden. After the evening meal and drinks set in, Breyer soon downplayed the horrendous conditions of the day, changed his mind and a new race was born, but not the nickname yet, that came much later.

Sure the race usually leaves riders caked in mud and grit from the cobbled roads and rutted tracks of northern France's former coal-mining region. Some of our best cycling photographs to date depict the grueling expressions on rider's faces after completing the Paris-Roubaix. However, this is not how the race earned the name l'enfer du Nord, or Hell of the North. The term originated after World War I. In 1919, twenty-three years after the first race, organizers and journalists again set off from Paris to see how much of the route had survived four years of shelling and trench warfare. They were uncertain if there was still a road to Roubaix? Or if the town of Roubaix remained as it had been.

The car of organizers and journalists made its way along the route, at first all looked well. There was destruction and there was poverty and there was a noticeable shortage of men, but France had survived. Then the scenery changed. As they neared the north, the air began to reek of broken drains, raw sewage and the stench of rotting cattle. "Trees which had begun to look forward to spring became instead blackened, ragged stumps, their twisted branches pushed to the sky like the crippled arms of a dying man. Everywhere was mud. Nobody knows who first described it as hell, but there was no better word."  

The History of the Paris-Roubaix continued as the roads improved over the years and the race organizers sought  more difficult cobbles to add intensity to the race. The Paris-Roubaix is tradition, but the course is not, it has changed over time (2011 cobble sectors). The Arenberg Forest was added in 1968. Read more about the modern history of the Paris-Roubaix race: Roubaix and the hunt for cobbles by the InnerRing, Wednesday, 6 April 2011

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Recommended Reading: Guide to Climbing

The Complete Guide to Climbing (By Bike) in Colorado

I recently received a copy of this brand new book (published in 2011) by the author John Summerson. I have been diving into it's pages for nights in a row. For those of us who no longer panic when the road before us arches skyward, but instead simply raise our gaze to the horizon with determination, this is the book for you. A climber's manual to the climbs in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado!

I really like this book, the first thing you will notice is it's size (6"x4.5"). You can hold it in your hand like an old fashioned guide book. It is fun. The second thought you might entertain is, I have a lot more climbs to climb! The book lists out the greatest, the highest, the longest, the steepest, the most technical descents, and the most scenic. It makes me want to get out and ride my bike.

I am so impressed that John Summerson gathered such perfect and consistent detail about every climb in Colorado (he explains in the book exactly how he did it). As I turned page after page I thought he rode most of these climbs, I want to do that! He begins with a background and history about climbing in the sport, but quickly begins to lay out the details of each major climb in our glorious state of Colorado.

For years I have searched for this information online and only come up with a very partial list of maybe 12-20 climbs. This book is well done and complete, he even includes profiles with gradients. Buy it. You will read it and refer to it. The book is available through your local book store, or at Amazon.com now: Complete Guide to Climbing (By Bike) In Colorado [Paperback] John Summerson (Author) $12.89. Other Complete Guides to Climbing including California, the Southwest, and a condensed National version.



With the new USA Pro Cycling Challenge coming to town to motivate you, the Triple Bypass and the traditional Ride the Rockies and Bicycle Tour of Colorado events coming up this summer, this is the time to get out and ride some of these mountain passes yourself. This book might create an entirely new Bucket List for you. I recommend it.

USA Pro Cycling Challenge

Good news about changes to the race today

Just as folks figured out the race was not called the Tour of Colorado, but Quiznos Pro Challenge, the race organizers have changed the name again to USA Pro Cycling Challenge. This name better describes the race. It is in the US, it is for pros only, it is cycling, but it might not be too much of a challenge for the pros, although the altitude is the real challenge. They could have called it the Pro Altitude Challenge. The race dates are the same (August 22-28, 2011), the race place is the same Colorado. The race name, logo, url, FB and twitter name have changed. 

What is the USA Pro Cycling Challenge?

A 7-day stage race in the Colorado Rocky Mountains, in August 2011, 600 miles, 127 professional riders from 16 teams. There will be 1 prologue on the first day, followed by 6 stages. Who will be the first winner?

The new USA Pro Cycling Challenge logo:

The new Twitter username, will be: @USAProChallenge

The new Facebook page is: USA Pro Cycling Challenge 

The new website url is: http://www.usaprocyclingchallenge.com/

The change in name was explained (on the official website), "the change of its name to USA Pro Cycling Challenge in order to showcase the global scale of the event to a worldwide audience.  Quiznos will continue as a founding sponsor with the same level of participation in the event."

Just 138 days away, the website still has limited information, but some additional race sponsors are listed and include: Quiznos, Beyond the Edge, Icon Lasik, Pearl Izumi, Smash Burger, Colorado.com.

TV coverage was announced at the Press Conference this morning at 9:30am at the Colorado State Capital building. NBC sports and versus will be airing live coverage of the race on TV (25 hours of cycling coverage over seven days). NBC Sports will broadcast the final day of the inaugural seven-day professional cycling competition live on August 28, 2011.  VERSUS, a member of the NBC Sports Group, will extensively cover the event with 3.5 hour broadcasts each day from August 22-28.

In this photograph taken by AP Images for USA Pro Cycling Challenge, From left, Ken Gart, Bob Shaver, Shawn Hunter, former Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter (D), Paul Sherwen, Rick Schaden and Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper (D) pose for a photo following a news conference on April 5, 2011

Please visit the PedalDancer.com USA Pro Cycling Challenge Page for more information. 

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Cyclosportives - you can do it!

So you think you can race? 

Need to give some weight to your smack talk? Tired of talking about the athlete you were in High School and want to really see what you are made of in your 30s, 40s or even 50s? Maybe you just want to sign your friends up for a race to see them suffer (an equally good reason, I agree), well here is the challenge you and your riding buddies need. A cyclosportive.

Next time you find yourself out having beers and throwing out race recap comments about how Cancellara went too early or didn't have it in him - you might want to simulate those race conditions for yourself first. Underestimating the brutality of this sport at warp speeds up a climb is a sin. Or bad karma, whichever it is, you shouldn't do it. Climbs and cobbles come back to bite you. This occurrence is usually perfectly timed with the peak flow of your smack talk.

There are some lessons we all need to learn in cycling. Numero uno is that there is a huge difference between a pro and a desk jockey/weekend warrior (you being the lessor of the two). But that shouldn't stop you (and your suffering friends) from having an incredibly awesome experience on the road to learning lesson #1. 

Are you biting at the bit yet, ready for a real challenge? The perfect way to fill your winter and spring training calendar (and put all household chores on hold for the next 6 months) is to try one of the many cyclosportif, cyclosportive, corsa ciclistica, citizens race, grand fondo, etape, century, death march, or whatever you want to call it. These event races are a fantastic way to build your palmares, ruin your social life, and get in the best shape of your life (although registration is not a guarantee for that last part - you gotta actually train to ride, and ride the ride).

L'Etape du Tour village entrance 2005 Pau, France  Photo by PedalDancer.com

Links and dates for the 2011 cyclosportives (these links were incredibly difficult to nail down, so please click on at least one of them for me).

Cyclosportives in Belgium, France, Italy

The Classics Sportives
Omloop Passage Fitness 26/03/2011, Gent, Belgium 130km, 90km and 60km routes  
Tour of Flanders (De Ronde van Vlaanderen) 02/04/2011, Belgium 260km 140km 75km 
Paris-Roubaix Challenge 09/04/2011, France 162km  
Amstel Gold Tourversion 17/04/2011, Sint Geertruid, Netherlands 250, 200, 150, 125, 100, 60
Liege-Bastogne-Liege 23/04/2011, Liege, Belgium 245km 170km 130km
La Flèche de Wallonie 04/06/2011, Spa, Belgium 220km 160km 130km 
Milan SanRemo (Unione Ciclotouristica SanRemo) 05/06/2011, Milan, Italy 290 km 
Tilff-Bastogne-Tilff 12/06/2011, Tilf, Belgium 244km 136km 78km 

Others 
Gran Fondo Eddy Merckx 18/06/2011, Huy, Belgium  175km 121km 80km
l'Etape du Tour Mondovélo Acte I 18/07/11 (Tour de France stage 19), France 163km
l'Etape du Tour Mondovélo Acte II 17/07/11 (Tour de France stage 9), France 208km  
La Marmotte 02/07/11, Bourg d'Oisans, France 174km
Gran Fondo Internazionale Giordana, 26/06/11, Aprica, Italy 175km
Nove Colli 22/05/11, Cesenatico, Italy 200km
Maratona dles Dolomites 14/04/11, Dolmites, Italy 148km 106km 55km 

Other GS Alpi races and Grand Trophee Cycling Event link to various cyclosportives and grandosportives in France at Sports Communication. There are many many others as well. 

In the 2011 season, here in the United States, my brother will be riding the L'Etape du California and I will be riding Levi's Gran Fondo, we will let you know how it goes. A post about the Grand Fondos in the United States will be coming soon. We are finally catching on that there is much more to a Century ride than 100 miles on a bike.

Arrival in Pau 2005  Photo by PedalDancer.com

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You too can race the cobbles

If you are tough enough

Today in Belgium the race of all races was fought on Flandrian soil - the Ronde van Vlaanderen (Tour of Flanders). In what was a fantastic race with a surprise finish, the winner in Belgium today was a Belgian, Nick Nuyens. Yesterday April 2, 2011, 20,000 regular riders (cyclotourists) attempted their own personal Tour of Flanders by participating in the citizens race the day before the real pros took on the parcours. The event is called the Tour of Flanders cyclosportive. 

This ride has always captured my imagination, although I can guarantee you that this is one event I will likely never complete in full. It seems brutally difficult, mind pounding, body beating, exhaustively exhilarating and a lot of crazy. Those cyclotourists willing to go for it had a choice of 3 distances, the full 260km (the real race length), 140km covering 17 of the 18 'Bergs', or the shorter Flemish sampler of 75km.

This cyclosportif is very popular. Twenty thousand people of all nationalities gathered together to bounce along the cobbles through the narrow roads of Belgium on bikes. It can be one massive slip sliding movement of lycra. While road riders can opt for the full 260km starting from Bruges at 5am, the 140km mid-distance riders miss out on the opening flat section but tackle the classic climbs and pave. It is the favorite. 

Do you want to ride too? You too can ride the Paterberg, the Koppenberg, the Muur and 15 other cobbled climbs in Belgium. Here is the link for the registration for the Tour of Flanders for cycle tourists and mountain bikers: Ronde van Vlaandren Tour of Flanders Registration. Participants from Belgium and Holland will receive their package by post, one week before the event. All other participants, will need to allow time to pick up their number at the preregistration booth on the Friday night or Saturday morning before the event.

View the Home page for the Tour of Flanders citizens race or tremble at the sight of the parcours (route maps). Registration opens in October before the April race date (traditionally the first weekend in April, the day before the race). Registration is cheap at 25 Euro for the 140km event (considering that many US events are now commonly $100 to $140, or 70-98 Euro). Getting yourself and your bike to Belgium  by plane is not so cheap, but well worth the adventure.

Tour of Flanders Sportive parcour

"You can't blame the cobbles, you gotta know how to handle your bike" "Cobbles make things unpredictable and that’s what bike racing is supposed to be. " ~ Bob Roll 

I like reading the experiences of other riders who dare brave these events. They are my heroes as much as the pros. Some of these articles are from years past, but the route does change slightly every year. Read their personal accounts at:

Cyclo-Sportive: Tour of Flanders Sportive, (2009) "The cobbles on the Molenberg aren't exactly even and there is a gutter of mud which runs down the right hand side. Not wanting to lose my precious gel or litter the Belgium countryside. I locked my teeth around the wrapper and set my eyeballs to vibrate." "The more popular climbs, Muur, Koppenberg, Molenberg become a bit of a bun fight as the riders passed through due to riders of differing abilities snaking all over the shop trying to keep momentum and grind their way up." "The approach to the Muur isn't the same as in the race because organisers are setting up barriers and big screen TV's for the race the following day. Its tough and an epic. To add to the atmosphere huge crowds gathered to clap and greet everyone." "Go armed with a few choice Flemish words. Even if you don't intend to use them, at least you'll know what is being said around you."

Flamme Rouge Tour of Flanders (Flamme Rouge) "You hit it so fast that it's a good thirty seconds before you realise you're still on the big ring.  Clicking down the gears you find your climbing rhythm and just as you get to what you think is the top, and your physical limit, the cobbles start." "It appears from nowhere, without warning. You think you're heading down someone's twistydrive, you can't see more than 50 metres before the next bend then you turn right and in front of you going straight up, and I mean straight up, is the cobbled Koppenberg." "There's 100 metres to go and we can hear the crowds at the top cheering and shouting.  Then bang.  A rider, three in front of me, snaps his chain and is down on the floor.  I'm in the left hand gutter and stick my arm out on the bank with my front brake full on and sliding backwards.  I hit someone behind me who stops my slide.  I turn around to apologise and see that every single person on the hill has stopped." "You get past the first hideously steep part, on to the flat of the cafe area and then you see the cobbles.  You remember that this is where the attacks and the famous photos take place. So history dictates that you dig deeper." "The grandstands are full and you find someone to sprint against, although the energy rush soon disappears as you cross the line.  Totally exhausted and one of the best day's cycling you could ever imagine."

Cobbled Madness - Part 1 of 4 - The Flanders Cyclosportive (Cyclosport) "All sense of staying with my Flemish compatriots went straight out the window." "Having ridden several sportives, we are very pleased to report on how authentic and classic the Ronde is. The Flemish are an all-together different breed of cyclist, and this made for such a great experience of a true hard man's challenge with the cobbles and the meandering course through open countryside."

TRAVEL: Riding Cyclosportif Flanders (Pez Cycling) "You've seen it on TV, you've dreamed about it, but nothing prepares you for just how difficult this is." "Rainstorms came through with regular timing and a horrible intensity and we were battered by gale force head winds." "I really thought the bike would break up and the road was already littered with bike parts!"

Tour of Flanders Sportive (Ludlow Cycling Club) "we rolled out across the start line – unlike other sportives, you just start when ready, rather than at a specific time." "What a fantastic ride – it has everything (except good weather) – legendary climbs, great organisation, plenty of food, good company etc.  Would I do it again? You bet."

After you ride the course yourself, forever after when watching the coverage online, you will recognize the sections of cobble and truly know this is where is gets really hard. Cheering on your favorite riders will have a whole knew meaning. 600,000 - 800,000 fans turned out to watch the 2011 Tour of Flanders today April 3, 2011. Race highlights on Steephill.TV at:  Highlights of the Last 40 Km (32:57 Flemish) sporza, or just the last kilometer 2011 Last Km and Video Clips (5:42 Flemish) sporza.be. 

Read lots of other great information (with links) about riding the climbs of the Tour of Flanders in Belgium at Flanders Recon by PedalDancer.com.

View the Cyclosport Calendar for date of the citizen rides

Recommended Viewing: Fabian Cancellara speaks

Fabian reminds us that cycling is really pure fun, excitement and conquering "you guys".

Driven: Episode 2: Glory - Fabian Cancellara, LEOPARD TREK, and the Spring Classics 

Episode 1 is more of an advertisement for Trek Bikes and can be seen here: 

Driven: Episode 1. LEOPARD TREK, Fast Faster Fastest

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Word of the Day: hellingen

260 kilometers with flats and hellingen

Helligen is the plural form of helling (noun), a Dutch word meaning an inclination or a slope, or a dip (geology) (diminutive hellinkje, diminutive plural hellinkjes). Tomorrows Tour of Flanders race will have many hellingen.




Used in a sentence format: Today I had a hell of a ride over the hellingen of the Black Forest in Colorado in 30 mph winds for 3 hours. Ugh.

The French word for small hill or climb in a stage is cote, plural les cotes. The Flemish word is berg or mont.

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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

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Is it news or April Fools

Flanders route changed after cobbles 

Product Recall: Rapha recalls chamois cream

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