In 1980, Frenchman Gilbert Duclos-Lasalle finished 2nd to former World Champion Francesco Moser in Paris-Roubaix. The 25 year old Duclos-Lasalle withstood constant attacks from the Italian in the closing stages before finally conceding. Sometimes steely resolve alone cannot change the course of history. While Moser went on to win his third consecutive Queen of the Classics by nearly two minutes, Duclos-Lasalle would come up empty as a Paris-Roubaix favorite for another eleven years. While each year his target was victory, what he did not plan was how his destiny would be written, from being second best in his youth to the oldest winner in history. While one victory is enough for many, Duclos-Lasalle said he still felt the desire to race, and to win, and to prove his point, he defended his title in 1993. The man he beat that April Sunday was Franco Ballerini. Clearly the stronger rider, the 27 year old Ballerini was outwitted in the sprint by the more experienced Frenchman. The photo finish declared Duclos-Lasalle a winner by eight centimeters. After having raised his arms in triumph, Ballerini was inconsolable as second best. When asked by a reporter if he had made any errors, a distraught Ballerini replied “yes, I made the mistake of becoming a bike racer.”
In the 1990 Paris-Roubaix, Steve Bauer lost to Eddy Planckaert in a photo finish. He never came close to winning Paris-Roubaix again. Each year is a new opportunity for a rider to start with a clean slate, to change their history, to rewrite their fate in the record books. A rider can cement his legacy, or create one, with one historic ride across the stones that connect Compiegne to Roubaix. Paris-Roubaix does not need to rely on poetry to market itself. It lays dormant all but one day a year, rising up the second Sunday of every April to mock those riders who avoid it, and unleash a storm of brutality on those who dare tread on it. It is often said that to win Paris-Roubaix you need to rely on good luck and pray you don’t suffer from bad luck. But what of the man who is unsatisfied with his legacy? What if he consciously decides it is up to him to change his destiny, luck or not, and redefine his place in history?
After his narrow defeat, how many nights did Franco Ballerini lay in bed staring at the ceiling, wondering if he had what it took to face Roubaix again, and would he ever have another shot at victory. He could hear the demons whispering, asking him what he would do the next time he flats at a crucial moment, or finds himself in the winning break. What if you have to sprint for victory again, Franco? Is luck, good and bad, just a part of Roubaix, or do the real champions develop a mindful approach and create that winning scenario in their head, turning disaster into victory? How many times can tactics be second guessed, strength analyzed, and weaknesses criticized when missing out on what at the time may seem like your one chance at etching your name into history. Would the sport forever remember Franco Ballerini’s 2nd place photo finish as his almost moment?
In 1995, the Mapei-GB team had an all-star roster at the start of Paris-Roubaix that included Johan Museeuw, fresh off his second win in the Tour of Flanders and the undisputed captain; Andrea Tafi was beginning to show signs of strength that would net him victories in Paris-Roubaix, the Tour of Flanders, the Giro di Lombardia and Paris-Tours over the next eight seasons; Gianluca Bortolami was the defending World Cup champion and Wilfried Peeters was the ever faithful lieutenant. Ballerini had woken from his nightmare and managed to finish 3rd in the 1994 Paris-Roubaix, and was again looking for his shot at redemption. He seized his moment on this day, and rose above the mental blocks and the nightmares of two years earlier. He took control of the race, and his destiny. I remember receiving the first issue of VeloNews following his victory. A glorious photo of Ballerini graced the cover, alone in the dust and on the cobbles, on his way to cementing his legacy in a race he had dreamt of winning since he watched Francesco Moser on TV in 1980.
Perhaps there is some analogy to be taken from this, some higher meaning. Can riding this course that we know as l’Enfer du Nord be considered a redemptive pilgrimage, an annual penance through purgatory? Each sector methodically removes more sin, the suffering across the minefields slowly purifying the rider until reaching the holy waters of the Roubaix velodrome, the vestige of its winners glistening from the stalls where the finishers weep. After this symbolic cleansing, are we not now ready to face any challenge? Perhaps, but I don’t think so. Even the devil has a hard time glorifying hell.
When Ballerini rode his final race in 2001, it was fittingly Paris-Roubaix, and it was for Mapei. He finished 32nd, 8:13 behind winner Servais Knaven. As he crossed the finish line in the Roubaix velodrome, he unzipped his jersey to reveal his undershirt that read “Merci Roubaix”. This was his chance to say goodbye, to thank his supporters, those who never lost faith that he would return and win, to those who felt the heartbreak of those eight centimeters. He had been to hell and back, had felt the heartbreak of losing, and ultimately seized the chance at rewriting history in the race that would ultimately come to define his career as a rider. His untimely death has taken away the opportunity to say goodbye to him, to thank him and to let him know we never lost faith in him. For me, the legacy is Franco Ballerini, 2-time winner of Paris-Roubaix. And that is forever. Merci, Franco.
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While the region of Flanders is approximately 30,000 square kilometers, the heart of cycling in the Flemish Ardennes comprises a considerably smaller area. Inside the natural and man made borders- the E40 highway on the northern edge, the E429 on the southern edge, the Dender River to the East and the Schelde River to the West-one can draw a rectangle connecting the towns of Zottegem, Oudenaarde, Ronse and Geraardsbergen. This tiny area of 240 square kilometers is the beating heart of all things cycling in Belgium. If a bike race wants to amount to anything in Flanders, it will lead its riders on a chase across and over the most demanding terrain inside these boundaries, and the 2010 Omloop Het Nieuwsblad does exactly that. Partnered with Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne, the final weekend of February doesn’t as much ease into the classics racing season as it slams head first into it. Over the next five weeks, every race is in preparation for the biggest races in April, the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix. Very few riders have found success in the April monuments without having suffered through the cold, rain and snow of the E3 Prijs Vlaanderen, Dwars door Vlaanderen, de Vlaamse Pijl, Gent-Wevelgem and the 3 Days of de Panne. While there is no direct formula to predict what races provide the best preparation, what it does show is that in order to excel, one must be wholly committed to racing the northern spring classics.
When the Belgian daily newspaper Het Nieuwsblad assumed control of Het Volk in 2008, and hence the organization of the race, it brought the finish back to Gent, where it has started every year, and where it finished until 1995. From 1996-2007, the race finished in Lokeren, and typically created a less than exciting finish. With 12 climbs and six sections of cobbles packed into 110 of the final 129 kilometers, the race now dares those with aspirations in April to come to Gent prepared. Some will hold form, others will flame out. The best will animate the Classics looking to etch their names into the history books. The 65th Omloop is 204 kilometers with five of its 12 climbs on cobbles with an additional 12.3 kilometers of cobbled roads. With the most exciting part of the race coming over 110 kilometers, the final 60 kilometers will be explosive. The race also runs in a different sequence than the Ronde. While the typical procession in the Tour of Flanders that is the Haeghoek cobbles (2000 meters), Leberg, Berendries, Valkenberg (absent in the 2010 RVV) Tenbosse, Eikenmolen (also absent from the RVV) and the Muur van Geraardsbergen is its finale, for the Omloop this represents climbs 1-6 with the Muur coming with 95 kilometers remaining. Where the cobbled sections are spread throughout the Ronde, five of the seven sections in the Omloop come in the final 50 kilometers. The Taaienberg, Eikenberg, Wolvenberg and Molenberg come over 16 kilometers and also includes the Donderij (1100 meters) and Holleweg cobbles (2400 meters). The riders then have the Paddestraat (2400 m) and Lippenhoevenstraat (1300 m) in the slightly uphill, more difficult direction followed by the Lange Munte (2500 m) with 20 kilometers to go. While Flanders forces the strongest riders to explode on the final hills to make their decisive move stick, the Omloop is not all about the hills, and this is a pleasant change to the parcours. Another crucial factor is the weather. The race was cancelled in 1996 and 2004 due to bad weather. Wind, cold, wet and snow are always part of the race, and always a threat to dictate the outcome. The list of hard men who have won the Omloop is a testament to that notion. I asked Peter Van Petegem if it was difficult getting motivated to race such a difficult course so early in the season. “I’m Flemish, so no, it was not difficult. I dreamt of these races growing up in Brakel, and I am proud to have won it three times. But you’ve got to love the stones, eh?” While a race of 200 kilometers is considered a semi classic, the Omloop breaks down pretty simply- 75 kilometers to warm up and get into the heart of the Flemish Ardennes. 12 climbs and 11.5 kilometers of cobbles over 110 kilometers to wear down your opponents, reel in the break, then launch an attack. Then a final 20 kilometers to make it stick. It’s a wise to move to bet against a group hitting the Sint-Pietersplein together.
The Climbs of the 2010 Omloop Het Nieuwsblad Peter Easton has attended the Spring Classics every year since 2003. Catch up with him on the road with Velo Classic Tours and one of his ten itineraries to the Classics: www.veloclassic.com Photo Courtesy: Cor Vos ©2000 via Sabine Sunderland
Since that day, I have often wondered where these great cross brakes were made, and who made them. We are all familair with the usual cross brakes out there, Empella Frog legs, SRP Mr. Grumpy, and the newer TRP brakes. but for some mysterious reason, my curiosity for Spooky never waned. After I all this time, I decided to do a little research and contact Vladimir from Tufo North America, the distributor for Spooky in the States. Vladimir was garcious enough to give me the contact info for the man who came up with the brand. I fired off an email to Harrie and the result: a rare interview and some great insight into Harrie Van Der Burgt, the inventor of Spooky brand brakes. TK: Harrie, how did you come up with the name Spooky? Harrie: The name Spooky came up after I designed the logo. TK: Who were the founders of Spooky? What is the history of Spooky?
We contacted Richard Groenendaal and he used them from day one of Spooky brakes. We also worked together with Empella on the early frog leg brakes, which we also produced. After two seasons, Empella went to Taiwan without telling us. We decided not to put negative energy in fighting them, but put all positive energy in Spooky. In the first season of SPOOKY 1999/2000 Richard Groenendaal won the world championship here in the Netherlands. Many riders, shops, and pro teams used the brakes in the years after that victory. A few years ago more and more copies appeared on the market and we lost the market to cheap produced Asian brake sets. Still in the Netherlands, we are the guys that started up all brakes after the Mafacs. The carbon brakes were the last item they copied; now we only supply some teams and friends. Richard Groenendaal is our all time favorite in cyclo-cross and we see him often at the races.
TK: How are they made and where are they produced? Harrie: We make the brakes ourselves after getting the separate parts together from specific suppliers we work together with. TK: How did you come up with such a unique design for the straddle cable hangar? Harrie: The straddle carrier was a design from me, as there was a request from our distributor to include it in a set of brakes. It needed to be simple to make and give an own look to our brakes, I think that has worked, I called it LEA Light Eccentric Adaptor, but LEA is the name of my sister that died in 2000 of cancer and I took her name and tried to find logical words for the letters L E and A. She was always there when I was doing the cyclo-cross races and I still miss her. This way I see her name everywhere on the internet and other places where the Spooky brakes are. TK: What PRO teams are riding them? Harrie: At the moment, Rabobank and AA Drink teams use the brakes. Thanks to Vladimir and Harrie for taking the time to speak with BKW, and for the kind words and the photos! Spooky brakes are available through Vladimir at Tufo North America: Web: www.tufonorthamerica.com |
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 ________________________________ A Talk with Andy Hampsten 2006 Giro di Lombardia________________________________
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