Classics Season in Flanders
The word “classics” gets thrown around a lot in pro cycling. The Spring “classics” season starts late February or beginning March with Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and ends with Liege-Bastonge-Liege at the end of April.
The classic cycle races are one-day professional cycling road races in the international calendar. The cornerstone of classics fandom is a region in Belgium referred to as “Flanders” and have been fixtures on the professional calendar for decades and the oldest, Paris-Roubaix, date back to 1896.
The people of Flanders, or “Vlaanderen” in flemish, have bike racing in their blood. That’s not just hyperbole, they really really love cycling. During classics season there are big races every weekend, and big races on random weekdays. Weekdays? Doesn’t matter if you’re a Flandrien cycling fan, you’re going to get outside and watch the bike race.
Omloop Het Nieuwsblad (Belgium)
Kuurne-Bruxelles-Kuurne (Belgium)
E3 Harelbeke (Belgium)
Dwars door Vlaanderen (Belgium)
Gent–Wevelgem (Belgium)
La Flèche Wallonne (Belgium)
The Five Monuments
The five most revered classic races are described as the ‘Monuments’. The Five Monuments of Cycling are generally considered to be the oldest and most-prestigious one-day events on the calendar, after the World Championship Road Race.
Milan – San Remo (Italy) – the first true Classic of the year, its Italian name is La Primavera (the spring), this race is held in late March. First run in 1907.
Tour of Flanders (Belgium) – also known as the Ronde of Flanders, the first of the ‘Spring Classics’, is raced in early April. First held in 1913.
Paris–Roubaix (France) – the “Queen of the Classics” or l’Enfer du Nord (“Hell of the North”) is traditionally one week after the Tour of Flanders, and was first raced in 1896.
Liège–Bastogne–Liège (Belgium) – late April. La Doyenne, the oldest Classic, was first held in 1892 as an amateur event; a professional edition followed in 1894.
Giro di Lombardia (Italy) – Initially called the Milano–Milano in 1905, it became the Giro di Lombardia in 1907 and Il Lombardia in 2012 along with a new, earlier date at the end of September.
Here’s a selection of photos from Jered and Ashley Gruber, @jeredgruber, from Dwars door Vlaanderen, March 26, 2014.
Steele Von Hoff at the team bus prior to the start.
This is how you check the weather in Flanders.
It’s a wednesday, but the fans don’t care. They’ll watch a bike race any day.
Big roads are few and far between.
When the bunch turns onto a big road, it’s a battle for position while they approach the next little road.
This is a “road” in Flanders.
Nick Nuyens choosing the “gutter” along the left side of the road. It is as narrow as it looks.
The cobbles of Flanders are less severe (better maintained) than those of northern France.
Tyler Farrar had a great race at Dwars door, winning the bunch sprint for 2nd behind Niki Terpstra.
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