|
Twelve
Days
in
Belgium:
The
Northern
Classics
2002
|
Story
and
Images
by
Tony
Szurly
Copyright
(c)
by
Tony
Szurly.
All
rights
reserved.
|
Editor's
Note:
DP
Reader
Tony
Szurly
spent
12
days
in
Belgium
watching
the
great
races
and
riding
the
courses.
Riding
Paris
Roubaix
|
|
Thursday
We
rode
120km
from
Gent
in
Belgium
to
Valenciennes
in
France,
our
new
home
for
the
next
four
days.
We
passed
a
bar
that
had
a
big
banner
supporting
Peter
Van
Petegem
and
another
one
that
was
the
official
fan
club
home
of
Hans
De
Clercq,
complete
with
giant
caricature
mounted
outside.
Along
the
way,
we
passed
through
Ronse,
home
of
the
1963
and
1988
World
Championships.
There
was
a
great
mural
depicting
the
1963
race
painted
on
the
side
of
a
building.
|
|
|
We
asked
about
bringing
our
passports
for
the
border
crossing
and
as
some
had
decided
not
to,
our
guide
was
nervous
that
we
would
be
stopped
at
the
border.
About
3km
from
the
border,
he
had
everyone
practicing
their
response
to
the
question
of
whether
we
had
brought
our
passports.
We
had
the
last
laugh
as
we
actually
crossed
into
France
on
a
narrow
farm
road
with
nothing
to
mark
the
occasion
except
a
small
sign
and
two
cows.
|
|
As
we
neared
Valenciennes,
we
detoured
through
roads
in
the
Arenberg
Forest.
The
road
was
really
more
of
a
dirt
path
but
after
riding
on
cobbles
all
week,
it
seemed
like
new
asphalt
to
me.
It
was
funny
how
what
my
idea
of
"rough
road"
was
had
changed
after
just
one
week.
We
came
up
to
entrance
to
the
Arenberg
trench
used
in
Paris-Roubaix.
There
were
some
people
clustered
around
and
a
small
boy
came
up
to
us
after
hearing
us
speak
English.
He
asked
us
in
French
where
we
were
from,
and
wanted
to
know
if
we
could
get
him
Lance
Armstrong’s
autograph.
|
|
The
Forest
Road
Arenberg
Forest
|
|
A
rider
from
our
group
wanted
to
try
out
the
cobbles
there
and
our
guide
said
to
him
"sure,
go
ahead,
after
100
meters
you’ll
wished
you
hadn’t".
We’d
be
back
the
next
day.
We
shared
a
hotel
with
the
Credit
Agricole
team
and
their
mechanic
was
busy
cleaning
bikes
and
washing
team
cars
when
we
arrived.
We
had
dinner
at
the
tables
next
to
the
team.
Jens
Voigt
spent
most
of
the
time
on
a
cell
phone.
You
could
quickly
tell
the
difference
between
the
rider’s
table
and
the
staff
table.
Guess
which
one
had
beer
and
wine!
The
head
man
was
elbow
deep
in
a
bucket
of
moules
and
a
beer.
|
|
The
hotel
was
completely
full
up
with
cyclists
and
I
don’t
think
the
owner
had
any
idea
of
how
much
food
we’d
eat
because
as
the
days
went
on
they
gradually
ran
out
of
food
and
beer.
The
owner
was
always
running
around
in
a
tizzy
and
we
took
to
calling
him
Basil
Fawlty.
|
|
Friday
The
good
weather
continued
as
we
readied
the
bikes
for
our
foray
onto
the
last
100-km
of
the
Paris-Roubaix
course.
The
Credit
Agricole
guys
had
already
left
the
hotel
for
training.
I
put
an
extra
inner
tube
in
the
jersey
pocket
as
a
good
luck
talisman.
Before
I
left,
I
told
a
friend
that
my
idea
of
the
perfect
trip
would
be
to
ride
the
cobbles
with
some
of
the
pros.
Well,
Friday
turned
out
to
be
the
day
for
that.
As
we
entered
the
Arenberg
Forest,
I
looked
up
from
the
road
to
see
none
other
than
Andrea
Tafi
heading
the
other
way.
Mapei
were
testing
tires
and
Tafi
went
up
and
down
the
Forest
trench
3
or
4
times,
gliding
along
in
a
big
gear
over
the
gnarly
stones.
In
contrast,
I
had
my
hands
full
keeping
the
bike
going
where
I
wanted
and
often
headed
off
to
the
side
of
the
path
onto
the
dirt
for
a
respite
from
the
battering.
There
was
a
crew
from
Italian
TV
filming
the
team
training
for
the
big
race
and
they
gathered
for
an
impromptu
picture.
We
talked
to
Robbie
Hunter
as
they
compared
notes
and
then
they
were
off
to
ride
the
Wallers
section.
The
desolation
of
this
area
was
striking,
mounds
of
earth
came
right
up
to
the
roads,
often
times
it
was
difficult
to
tell
the
difference
between
the
fields
and
the
road.
There
were
only
two
choices-
right
in
the
middle
over
the
crow
of
the
road
or
sometimes
there
was
a
strip
you
could
get
right
along
the
gutter.
Anything
else
was
misery.
The
headwinds
were
blowing
and
it
didn’t
take
long
to
figure
out
we
were
in
for
a
long
hard
ride.
After
each
hard
cobbled
section,
arriving
onto
pavement
was
a
welcome
relief.
|
|
Andrea
Tafi
The
Long
Hard
Road
Group
Photo
Tony
and
Andrea
Tafi
Tony
and
Robbie
Hunter
|
|
| We
passed
a
CSC-Tiscali
rider
taking
shelter
next
to
some
bashed-up
barn
midway
through
a
long
cobbled
section.
He
had
a
loose
crank
bolt
but
no
tools.
The
team
following
car
was
lost.
When
we
got
to
the
end
of
the
pave
section,
we
saw
Paul
Van
Hyfte
and
two
other
CSC
guys.
We
told
them
their
teammate
was
about
1
km
back
on
the
cobbles.
Paul
laughed
and
said
he
had
already
ridden
that
section
once
and
was
only
doing
it
once
more
-
tomorrow.
They
waited
there
for
the
car.
He
reminded
us
to
"put
it
in
a
big
gear"
and
laughed
as
we
rode
off.
|
|
One
of
the
riders
in
our
group
had
a
flat
and
as
we
all
stopped
to
change
it,
we
looked
up
and
saw
4
riders
approaching,
followed
by
a
car.
It
was
none
other
than
the
man
himself,
Johan
Museeuw,
with
Rodriguez,
Van
Heeswijk
and
another
team
rider.
Driving
the
car
was
Wilfred
Peeters.
We
screamed
at
our
man
to
hurry
up
with
his
tire
so
we
could
ride
with
the
Domo
guys
but
it
took
forever
for
him
to
finish
and
they
were
gone.
Someone
said,
"let’s
hurry
and
we
can
catch
them,"
but
we
only
laughed.
Better
riders
than
us
have
trouble
chasing
Museeuw
over
the
cobbles!
|
|
The
cobbles
at
Orchies
|
| Soon
after,
Van
Hyfte
and
the
CSC
guys
came
alongside
and
we
jumped
onto
the
back
of
their
train
for
a
few
miles.
There
was
a
TV
moto
and
we
were
cruising
along
at
25
mph,
out
of
the
wind,
all
feeling
very
Euro-pro.
This
lasted
until
the
next
cobble
section,
when
they
continued
along
at
25
mph
and
we
all
got
shelled
out
the
back.
Fantasy
over!
|
|
|
|
Hopping
on
the
CSC
Express
|
| We
headed
off
through
the
last
25
km
and
then
went
down
the
last
ceremonial
section
of
cobbles
outside
the
velodrome,
where
some
of
the
bricks
have
the
winner’s
names
on
them.
We
wheeled
onto
an
empty
track
and
did
our
obligatory
1
½
laps.
After
that,
it
was
into
the
VC
Roubaix
clubhouse,
where
we
chatted
with
the
locals
and
emptied
their
barrel
of
Septante
Cinq
beer.
A
most
memorable
afternoon!
|
|
In
the
Roubaix
Velodrome
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
