Tour of Flanders 2010

that's not as bad as hippys trenchfoot…

Gutrot more like.. fucking smashed those beers.. thanks for picking the winners! :)

oohhh - we deffo need to be winning the sweepstake again this year

mmmmmmmsteakandbeerzzzzzzz

there's about 12 grupetto's going over chopsicle - keep an eye out for this kit

will do, and great shot; I have fond memories of being an innocent, fresh-faced thirteen year old at Calshot on an activities week, and seeing friends sliding down the beaten track, bikes skittering all over the banking. Oh, to be given the chance to hear their howls and the clatter of pedals again....

Most important question surely; what embrocation?

aye, there might be a need for the 'Belgian legwarmers' this weekend

Best embrocation would be the bottled tears of a young Axel Merckx from all those times daddy chose the bike over the swings.

"It burns!"

there's about 12 grupetto's going over chopsicle - keep an eye out for this kit

I think you captured my best side with that shot.

what you don't get from that shot is tha d.mac is nekkid from the waist down - apparently it's more 'aero'

cancellara was epic today, riding way from boonen at 'de muur van geraardsbergen'. last couple of km's he did 60 km/h whereas the rest did 55...

Jeebus - that was a brutal ride,

160 kms of hail, mud, cobbles and pain

good to see chopsicle and Mr Smyth on the ride and an old school forumgener [Yang] who we bumped into on the Muur

Loved the pave and the flandrain weather but the climbs destroyed me…

i don't do walking up hills it's for weak minded people but i guess numbers of ped-cyclists and traction if it's wet will mean i will have to join the weak.

only had to stop on the Koppenburg due to wheelspin, a lot of people seem to charge up the bottom of the climbs and stop half way, i just start slow, spin up and save a bit of energy if you need to accelerate past a wobbler or walker.

the Muur was the hardest, they don't show the big tarmac climb you do before you hit the cobbles.

only had to stop on the Koppenburg due to wheelspin, a lot of people seem to charge up the bottom of the climbs and stop half way, i just start slow, spin up and save a bit of energy if you need to accelerate past a wobbler or walker.

the Muur was the hardest, they don't show the big tarmac climb you do before you hit the cobbles.

the pros went along the cobbled high st while we went along the steep asphalt bit parallel to it. the one we did was steeper

what a ride! failed to climb koppenberg as well. got about a 3rd or halfway til old guy in front of me spun out and stacked it. i did exactly the same a second later. also walked the climb right after the second feedstop. i was eating, left foot unclipped and i slipped. easy climb too...pissd off that i had to walk up.

did alright in all other climbs. got up kapelmuur ok. lucky enough to find it clear, although i had to yell at a few folks blocking up the top section. the hardest climb wasnt steep, dont remember its name but i remember it being long, very roughly laid cobbles, 5x muddier than every other cobble climb and had 'slots' all throughout the section. surprised my old tyres (4k+kms gp4000s) managed to get some grip. no punctures too!

didnt enjoy the first 2+km flat section at the start. a lot rougher than i had expected.

That first flat section did the most damage to me last year.

Paterberg is the steep one I think.

you boys need to get a bit more ballast

the flat pave is deffo more suited to big lads, I really enjoyed the flat cobbled sections but then again theres a bit more of me pressing into the ground, the hills however…

Sounds pretty epic. What tyre pressures were you curating?

surprised my old tyres (4k+kms gp4000s) managed to get some grip. no punctures too!

Hippy, does this make you feel all warm inside?? ;0)

Well played all you Flanderians. Epic stuff. Anyone got any photos of their personal ride experience?

One report of some tyres lasting Flanders does not make me want to go out and buy Constantfailtal tyres. I used Vittoria Paves there and in fact they are still going.. after the Tour of Ireland.. and Tour du Pyrenees and riding TTs on them and commuting and..

..meh

Conti suck balls. Vittoria forever. hippy rocks.

ftfy :)

Wayne, good to see you and the Grupetto, great looking kit and great looking bike! I could see you were digging deep there, nice one for sticking at it.

Bit of a bonkers ride in all, but strangely not as tough as I'd made out in my head. Riding the cobbles was fun, as were the bergs, weather was pleasantly authentic despite the gorgeous start to the day. I wanted sideways hail and never-ending mud-caked walkalator climbs :-( hey-ho maybe next year.

My memories of the ride - after witnessing the worst drunk driving I've ever seen at 5am - are; A perfect morning in picturesque Bruge, then endless grey skies, rain, headwinds, punctures, grit and silt everywhere, spray, honey loaf and waffles, crosswinds, headwinds and more headwinds, cobbles and lost bottles, cobbled climbs and snapped derailiers, a huge perfect rainbow springing from the foot of the Muur, punctures, a storming run down into Ninove, and then chilling down very quickly at the finish to near freezing. oh, and frites.

Had a few beers and watched Boonen marking Cancellara up the Koppenberg the next day before dashing to the ferry. A great weekend definitely do it again.

a storming run down into Ninove

Just remembered the chemical tang of the Redbull shots station, 20k from the finish. That'll explain that then.