The second monument of the season is one that has a reputation for the most passionate fans in all of cycling.
The Tour of Flanders will be entering it’s 99th edition in 2015 and the Belgians will have high hopes of winning again, as they have won 68 times in the race’s history.
In 2014 Fabian Cancellara joined the small club of riders who have won the race in successive years, and the seventh rider to win the race three times in their career.
The Tour of Flanders is the first monument that features cobbles, a feature that has propelled some of the climbs into cycling folklore. The Koppenburg being one of the most iconic climbs, with it’s 11.9% average gradient and a maximum of 22%.
Although the Koppenburg (literally meaning Heads Mountain) is iconic, it is too far away from the finish for it to really affect the result of the race. This doesn’t stop the thousands of Belgians and other cycling fans lining the slopes to see the riders struggle on the cobbles and with the gradient. Even with modern road cycling equipment like carbon bikes, this climb remains a painful one even for the pros.
Along with the Koppenbrg, another iconic climb is the Muur van Geraardsbergen – often referred to simply as ‘The Wall’. Although slightly longer than 1km long, this climb has an average gradient of 9.3% and a maximum of 19.8% which sees fans flock in their thousands to see the action.
The narrow road of The Wall often causes action, as riders often have to slow down to the point of losing balance as the peloton tries to funnel it’s way through. An attack on The Wall can be decisive, as the climb often features more than once in the race.
Fabian Cancellara is almost guaranteed to try and take his third successive victory in the race, although the Belgian classics riders like Tom Boonen, who will be chasing his fourth win to make him the rider with the most wins. Keep an eye of for Peter Sagan, who has never won a monument race but is suited for the kind of terrain seen in Flanders.
With the strain of riding over cobbles to bear, you can expect to see plenty of carbon fibre bikes with plenty of bartape to try and quiten the vibrations caused by the cobbles.
