Ultimate Spring Classics
Amstel Gold - Paris Roubaix

More About Our Day:

Today is the day you’ve been waiting for and dreaming about. Today is all about the Amstel Gold Race Sportif.

Like many other European mass participation rides, this event can be started at anytime between 7am – 10am. This flexible start time helps to spread the 16,000 participants out over the course and reduces riders pre ride/race nerves.

We choose a generous start time to allow for our short morning vehicle transfer. The Loop rides of the length of your preferred distance start and finish in the town of Valkenburg, over a challenging hilly course. No matter the distance you choose you’ll love the Dutch cycling experience, it’s fantastic.

Non-cycling options:

Plenty of options today based on your personal interests, or preferences.

Visit Valkenburg with the riding group to see the Amstel Gold Race sportif, it’s a fun day with huge crowds in town to support the 16,000 riders.

Explore the town, it’s museums, shops, galleries, bars, restaurants, or additional options for active off-bike activities can include walks – hikes etc, ask us how.

Alternatively, discover neighbouring Belgium or Dutch towns and cities, ask us how.

Our Ride:

Ride Distances: 75km / 145km / 174km • Climbing: Plenty of small Dutch Bergs

Today is your chance to ride and experience the Amstel Gold Race Sportif.

Various course lengths are available to suit riders of all fitness and abilities, the route is achievable by anyone keen to participate, options of 50km, 74km, 139km, 160km Loop rides are available. Multiple feed and aid stations are set up on the course, support and stops are plentiful.

The event routes start and finish from the same point. Each course takes sections of the same iconic, hilly, challenging, Amstel Gold Race roads as the pro’s will race on the following day.

The Amstel Gold Race sportif is a beautiful day on the bike, it’s full of fantastic Dutch experiences, challenges and great people like yourself out on the roads of the Netherlands enjoying the day. The rewards of attending this event are great, we believe it’s one of the best sportifs in the world.

Après Bike:

Free program to explore our town, its restaurants, bars and eateries. We’ll be heading out for a social /informal dinner (non-inclusion).

We’ll make a plan for dinner – feel free to join us or Let us know your preferred food types, budget and dining style! We’ll point you in the right direction for great local places.

 Accommodation:

Our Team Hotel

More About Our Day:

Today is our VIP Amstel Gold Race experience. We’ll see the race a few times today including the start, midpoints and be at the finish enjoying VIP hospitality.

Former Australian professional Phil Anderson may not need much of an introduction to many of you, he focused the early part of each of his seasons to specialise in the Spring Classics, he had great success at the Classics, winning the Amstel Gold Race, placing 2nd twice at the Tour of Flanders, a long list of big results and podium places at nearly all of the Spring Classics Races.

Non-cycling options:

Join the group on a unique VIP Amstel Gold Race experience including Gourmet Lunch, drinks and a place at VIP enclosure.

Our Ride:

Active Recovery Day – VIP Spectating, Amstel Gold Race Day

Our Race Experience:

Amstel Gold Race

7.30am: Depart in our vehicles, transfer to the start location for the Amstel Gold Race.

8.30am: Arrive at the start town, Discover this wonderful city center, see the teams and riders prepare for the start of the Amstel Gold Race

approx 10.30am: Amstel Gold Race starts.

We’ll experience the build-up to the start, the local fans will flood in and we’ll be there to experience the incredible excitement of the Amstel Gold Race. The riders headout from the start on slightly flatter exposed roads to do battle on the small roads of the Dutch Ardennes region.

After the race start, we’ll quickly head back to our waiting vehicles to jump ahead of the race, we’ll pick up the race again as it loops past our VIP Area, we’ll have access to see the race live on TV today and as it passes by multiple times, we’ll step out the front of our VIP enclosure to see who wins the 2022 edition of the Amstel Gold Race.

Après Bike:

We’ll be heading out for a social /informal dinner (non-inclusion) and a refreshing cool drink, we invite you to join us.

Dinner: 

We’ll make a plan for dinner – feel free to join us, or let us know your preferred food types, budget and dining style! We’ll point you in the right direction for great local places.

 Accommodation:

Our Four Star Team Hotel, Ardennes, Amstel Gold Race Region.

More About Our Day:

Belgie Transfer Ride. Beautiful Brugge

A relaxed breakfast this morning after a few hectic days on the Tour of Flanders long weekend.

After breakfast, our vehicle heads to our new Team Hotel in Brugge, while the cyclist take a transfer ride designed by Phil on some of his old training roads to Brugge.

Late in the afternoon once we are checked into our new Team Hotel, we’ll head out on our Explore Brugge walk for around 90 minutes. Brugge is a beautiful town, it’s a nice time for a stroll and a great way to orientate yourself with this wonderful town.

Non-cycling options:

Morning vehicle transfer to our Brugge Team Hotel. 1 Hour 20 mins.

Once checked into our Brugge Team Hotel, there’s plenty of time to explore Brugge’s lovely old city area.

We have plenty of great recommendations for things to see and places to visit in Brugge. Let us know your personal interests, we’ll suggest plenty of great places to see and things to do in Brugge.

4.30pm: Discover Brugge walk, including the impressive Markt square. 90minutes.

Our Ride:

Ride Start: 9am • Distance: 40km – 85km • Climbing: 150m-400m

9am: Ride Starts from our Team Hotel, we’ll pass through Ghent, pause to admire the Ghent Velodrome, then stop for morning tea and a coffee, we know some great cycling cafes in Ghent. It’s a beautiful city to cycle through en route to our new base Brugge for the next few nights.

We’ll take a scenic ride through Brugge’s old center en route to our hotel, it’s a great way to orientate yourself with the old town center, its miniature waterways, shops and beautiful buildings.

Après Bike:

4.30pm: Discover Brugge cultural walk, including the impressive Markt square, miniature waterways, local bike stores, galleries and shops. 90-minute walk.

Suggested Post Ride rehydration: Belgium is the home of beer, let us know your preferred style and we’ll offer some suggestions, there are so many great options of Belgium beer that are only available locally.

Dinner: 

7.30pm: Informal Social Dinner, meet hotel lobby (non-inclusion). We’ll make a plan for dinner – feel free to join us, or Let us know your preferred food types, budget and dining style! We’ll point you in the right direction for great local places.

 Accommodation:

Historic, family owned and run hotel in Brugge. Walking distance to everything in Brugge Old Town 1 of 3 Nights

More About Our Day:

Belgie Training Camp Tempo Ride

Our morning Belgie Training Camp Rides are a great way to have an active morning.

We’ve designed 3 – 4 hour rides to explore more of the North West Flanders region of Belgium, but leave you with plenty of time and energy to explore for the balance of each day, plus you’ll be in great form for the upcoming Paris Roubaix challenge.

Non-cycling options:

Morning and afternoon. Let us know your personal interests, Brugge is a wonderfully diverse city, options include Chocolate museum, the canal boat tour is great way to see Brugge from another level, Belgium Beer tour, Museums and galleries aplenty, or we have options for active walks, ask us how.

Alternatively, we’ve based ourselves in Brugge, as it’s very well connected via local trains -approx 1 hour to Belgiums other great citys so you can easily visit Ghent, Brussels, Antwerp etc for the afternoon. There are so many great daily afternoon sightseeing options, let us know your interests so we can tailor experiences to your likes, interests and point you in the right direction.

Our Ride:

Ride Start: 8.45am • Distance: 45km-90km • Climbing: 400m

Morning Tempo Loop Ride, 3-4 hours. Designed by Phil, this loop ride is based on his old training ride routes and race routes from the North-Western Flanders region.

We have ride options available for everyone depending how much or how little you like to ride, we’ll pause for a Belgium Hot Chocolate or coffee apres ride.

Ride Extra’s: If you fancy riding more in the afternoon, we have plenty of ride options available, let us know how many Km’s you want to ride and what type of ride you want to do. Ask us how.

Après Bike:

Dinner 7.30pm: Free program to explore our town, it’s restuarants, bars and eateries. or join us for an Informal Social Dinner, we’ll be heading out to eat some local specialty dishes at a place close to our hotel. Meet hotel lobby (non inclusion)

Suggested Post Ride rehydration:

Jenever, also known as genièvre, genever, peket or Dutch gin, is the national spirit of Belgium from which gin evolved. While beer may be Belgium’s most famous alcoholic beverage, jenever has been the country’s traditional and national spirit for over 500 years.

Jenever is a “Protected Product of Origin”, having received eleven different appellations or AOCs from the European Union, and can only be crafted in Belgium, the Netherlands and a few areas in France and Germany. Most of the jenever AOC’s are exclusive to Belgium making Belgian jenever (Belgian genever) one of it’s best-kept secrets.

For centuries jenever has been bottled in jugs handcrafted from clay. Its iconic shape is recognizable and unique to jenever. Traditionally Belgians serve jenever in completely full shot glasses that have just been pulled from the freezer. The first step to drinking the jenever properly is to keep the glass on the table, bend down and take the first sip without holding the glass. Once this traditional first sip is completed one can drink the rest of the drink normally.

 Accommodation:

Historic, family owned and run hotel in Brugge. Walking distance to everything in Old Town 2 of 3 Nights

More About Our Day:

Our morning Best of Belgium ride designed by Phil takes us to the start of the Semi Classic Scheldeprijs race in the Netherlands. We’ll be there to see all of the pre-race excitement, mingle with the riders and teams (if appropriate), get some photo’s among the team buses and see the riders waved off for the 202km race.

After the race has started around midday, we’ll transfer in our vehicle back toward Brugge, enroute we stop off to do a Brewery Tour and tasting.

We’ve allowed plenty of time after the brewery tour to watch the excitement of the finish of the Scheldeprijs race live on TV.

Non-cycling options:

This morning we take a coastal drive through small towns and villages along Belgium’s north coast, we’ll stop for morning tea then arrive in the Netherlands.

We’ll arrive at the start of the Semi Classic Scheldeprijs race in the Netherlands. We’ll be able to get some selfies with the pro riders, wander among the team buses and be at the start line as the riders are waved off for the race.

Our afternoon is your chance to experience a Belgium Brewery Tour and tasting. We’ve allowed plenty of time after the brewery tour to discover the old town of Brugge or explore further afield.

Race:

Semi classic Scheldeprijs race

Today we see the start of the semi Classic Scheldeprijs race in the Netherlands. The Scheldeprijs race is a favourite race for the worlds best sprinters, it’s a flat course, often subjected to strong winds so it suits the strong sprinters teams. Past winners include: Tom Boonen, Marcel Kittel, Robbie McEwan and Mark Cavendish.

Après Bike:

Suggested Post Ride Dinner Dishes:

7.30pm: Maybe tonight is a good time to sample some of Belgiums famous dishes, we’ll be heading out for an informal “Social Dinner” to a local place close to our hotel. Meet hotel lobby (non inclusion)

Some of our favourite local Belgium dishes include:

Moules-frites: mussels cooked or steamed with onions and celery served with fries. The recipe has often been referred to as the country’s national dish but is also popular in the neighboring Nord region of France.

or Carbonade flamande: a Belgian beef stew, similar to the French Beef Bourguignon, but made with beer instead of red wine. Served with bread or fries and mustard. Usually accompanied by a local beer.

 Accommodation:

Historic, family owned and run hotel in Brugge. Walking distance to everything in Old Town 3 of 3 Nights

More About Our Day:

Our morning Belgie Training Camp Ride heads out for around 3 hours on a route specially designed by Phil to take in some of the regions finest small roads, bikeways and former training roads. or take a recovery day off the bike and head further afield to explore some of Belgiums great towns, cities or historical landmarks. After our ride we return to our hotel to freshen up. Afternoon vehicle transfer to the Amstel Gold Race region.

Non-cycling options:

Today is our last morning in the region, it’s a great chance to explore locally. In the afternoon we transfer in our vehicles to our new base in the Amstel Gold Race region.

Our Ride:

Ride Start: 8.45am • Distance: 45km – 65km (Extra’s available) • Climbing: 200m

Après Bike:

Once we arrive at our new base explore our new town, visit some areas of personal interest including arts & cultural places, artisan producers, local bike stores or simply sit back at a cafe or bar for a spot of people watching.

Suggested Post Ride rehydration:

Maes Pils, a true local Belgium Pilsner beer, light, refreshing and guaranteed to revive your legs.

Dinner: 

7.30pm: Informal Social Dinner, we’ll be heading out to eat at a local place close to our hotel, meet hotel lobby (non inclusion)

 Accommodation:

Hotel Amstel Gold Race region. 1 of 4 Nights

More About Our Day:

Transfer Day – Roubaix
After breakfast this morning we transfer from Brugge in Belgium, down to Lille in Northern France to prepare for our Paris Roubaix long weekend.

Mid morning upon arriving in Lille, we’ll meet up with guests arriving for the Paris Roubaix long weekend.

There’s some time in the days program to discover our new home for the next few days while the weekend guests ready themsleves to ride. Lille’s old town area with it’s many historic buildings is a lovely place explore on foot.

After lunch we head over to the town of Roubaix to visit the event area, while we are there we’ll see the famous Roubaix velodrome and take a look into the historic Roubaix shower block.

Non-cycling options:

Transfer with the group from Brugge in Belgium, down to Lille in Northern France, there’s some time in the mid morning program to explore the old town area of Lille prior to heading to Roubaix in the afternoon. Let us know your interests and we’ll point you in the right direction for things to see and do in Lille.

The town of Roubaix will be a buzz with the upcoming Roubaix Challenge ride and Sundays Paris – Roubaix race, it’s a nice time to visit the Roubaix Velodrome and historic shower block for some photos.

Our Ride:

Paris Roubaix Challenge Recce
Ride Start: 12.30pm • Distance: 36km-50km • Climbing: 100m• Cobbles: Yes

This afternoon we’ll ride a course designed by Phil Anderson that takes in some nice smaller roads, laneways and sections of the Paris Roubaix Challenge and race route. We are heading to the Roubaix Velodrome to collect our entries for tomorrow’s Paris Roubaix Challenge.

Enroute to Roubaix, we’ll do a “Pave bike-skills session”, Phil and Pat are masters of the cobbles they’ll have you relaxed, riding beautifully over the cobbles and well equiped to fly on the cobbles the following day.

After our visit to Roubaix’s famous cycling sites, we’ll mount up and ride an alternative route back to Lille to prepare for tomorrows Roubaix Challenge event.

Ride Extra’s: If you fancy riding some more, we have plenty of ride options available, let us know how many Km’s you want to ride and what type of ride you want to do. Ask us how.

Après Bike:

Suggested Post Ride rehydration:
Now that we are in France’s north, maybe it’s time to celebrate our arrival with a glass of local bubbly, the Champagne region is just two hours directly south of us in Lille.

Dinner: 

7.30pm: Dinner to welcome our new guests arriving on the Paris Roubaix 4 Day Longweekend. Meet Hotel Lobby for a short walk to dinner.

 Accommodation:

Lille Old Town Center Ville, elegant Beaux arts-style Four Star Hotel 1 of 3 Nights

More About Our Day:

Roubaix Challenge – Menon Gate WW 1 Memorial
Today is the day many of you will have been dreaming about for a long time – it’s your chance to ride the Paris Roubaix challenge over the same cobbles as tomorrows Paris Roubaix race. Within the stated 70km-145km routes, there’s an option available to riders of all fitness and abilities, let us know your preferred distance and we’ll work out a great option to suit you.

After the Roubaix Challenge ride we transfer back to our Hotel, we’ll shower and clean up after a superb day on course. Late today we drive across to the Menin Gate Memorial to discover the town of Ypres and it’s incredible world war history.

8pm: We attend the Menon Gate, Last Post ceremony, it’s extremly moving to visit this ceremony dedicated to the British and Commonwealth soldiers who were killed during World War 1 and whose graves are unknown.

The memorial is located at the eastern exit of the town Ypres and marks the starting point for one of the main roads out of the town that led Allied soldiers to the front line. Designed by Sir Reginald Blomfield and built by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, the Menin Gate Memorial was unveiled on 24 July 1927.

After we’ve visited The Menon Gate service, our return drive to our Hotel is approximately 45 minutes.

Non-cycling options:

Plenty of options today, based on your personal interests, you can travel with the group across to Roubaix in the morning, explore the town of Roubaix, or relax in Lille and discover more about this historic French City.

Alternatively Lille is only one hour away from Paris by TGV fast train, you could travel to the French capital to take in a spot of shopping and sightseeing.

Travel with the group to the Menon Gate to see the moving Last Post ceremony.

Our Ride:

Paris Roubaix Challenge
Ride Start: 8.30am • Distance: 70km – 145km • Climbing: 300-600m

The same roads, the same dreams, the same joy, the same pain: as a cyclists today you’ll experience the same emotions as Van Avermaet, Boonen and the other professionals on the Queen of the Classics, Paris-Roubaix!

Paris Roubaix Challenge is a ride you’ll never forget, it’s an incredible day every cyclist should experience once in their lifetime.

Après Bike:

Suggested Post Ride rehydration: Plenty of great local sparkling mineral water. The minerals will assist in you recovery.

Vehicles Depart: 5.30pm Depart Lille to the Town of Ypres.

Dinner: Informal Social Dinner, we’ll take a quick dinner while we are in the town of Ypres pre the Last Post Ceremony (non inclusion).

The Last Post: 8pm

 Accommodation:

Lille Old Town Center Ville, elegant Beaux arts-style Four Star Hotel 2 of 3 Nights

More About Our Day:

Paris Roubaix Race Day
The day we’ve all been waiting for, the 2022 Paris Roubaix race.

An exciting day of VIP Spectating with Phil Anderson as he guides us through the 2022 Paris Roubaix. We Depart our hotel early after breakfast to visit the Paris Roubaix start town.

Upon arrival we’ll have some time to discover the race start town, take some morning tea and watch the riders prepair for the big day ahead. At 11am we’ll be there to see the official race start, it’s an incredible experience to see the riders headout to do battle on the roads of the Hell of the North.

After the start we’ll head back quickly to our waiting vehicles to transfer ahead of the race. We’ll pick up the race mid-route and enjoy a gourmet roadside picnic lunch including Champagne, some nice Belgium beer and cool drinks of your choice.

Back on the road, we jump ahead of the race again to position ourselves at various points along the race route, then move quickly to see the exciting closing stages of the race from inside the Roubaix Velodrome.

The Paris Roubaix race and the finish into the Roubaix velodrome is a once in a life time experience, it’s a very unpredictable race and incredible to be a part of all the action. You’ll absolutely love it.

Non-cycling options:

Travel with the group to experience the Paris Roubaix, it’s an exciting day to be around one of the biggest cycling events in Europe.

Race:

Paris Roubaix 257km
The Paris Roubaix is one of cycling’s oldest races, it was first run in 1896 and is one of the ‘Monuments’ or classics of the European calendar, and contributes points towards the UCI World Ranking.

The race has stopped only for the two world wars and was created by two Roubaix textile manufacturers, Théodore Vienne and Maurice Perez. Both men had been behind the building of the velodrome on 46,000 square metres at the corner of the rue Verte and the route d’Hempempont in Roubaix which opened on 9 June 1895

The course is maintained by Les Amis de Paris–Roubaix, a group of fans of the race formed in 1983. The forçats du pavé seek to keep the course safe for riders while maintaining its difficulty.

The race starts in Compeigne, France and covers 29 cobbled sectors over the 257km course til it reaches Roubaix. The race course route changes slightly over the years, 2019 Roubaix Winner was Philippe Gilbert (Deceuninck-Quick Step).

Philippe Gilbert delivered a masterclass on the way to Roubaix to claim his fifth success in a Monument, after his victories in Lombardia (2009, 2010), Liège (2011) and Flanders (2017). The Belgian star is the first rider to dominate four different Monuments since Sean Kelly in the 1980s.

With the rise of young stars including Belgiums Wout van Aert and Dutch rider Mathieu van der poel, the 2021 edition of Paris Roubaix is going to be very exciting watching the establish riders do battle against the stars of the future.

History:
Seeking the challenge of racing on cobbles is relatively recent. It began at the same time in Paris–Roubaix and the Tour of Flanders, when widespread improvements to roads after the second world war brought realisation that the character of both races were changing. Until then the race had been over cobbles not because they were bad but because that was how roads were made.

André Mahé, who won in 1949 said, After the war, of course, the roads were all bad. There were cobbles from the moment you left Paris, there’d be stretches of surfaced roads and often there’d be a cycle path or a pavement and sometimes a thin stretch of something smoother.

You never knew where was best place to ride and you were for ever-switching about. You could jump your bike up on to a pavement but that got harder the more tired you got. Then you’d get your front wheel up but not your back wheel. That happened to me, then you’d go sprawling of course and you could bring other riders down. Or they’d fall off and bring you down with them.

The cycle paths were often just compressed cinders, which got soft in the rain and got churned up by so many riders using them and then you got stuck and you lost your balance. Come what may, you got covered in coal dust and other muck, it’s all changed and you can’t compare then and now.

Dinner: 

7pm, Farewell Dinner and Drinks. meet Hotel lobby for a short walk to our restaurant.

 Accommodation:

Lille Old Town Center Ville, elegant Beaux arts-style Four Star Hotel 3 of 3 Nights

More About Our Day:

Departure Day – Au revoir

This morning after the excitement of the Paris Roubaix weekend, we’ll gather again over a hearty breakfast. Today we offer two transfer options depending on your needs, we’ll transfer you and your luggage to either:

9am: Lille TGV Train station, it’s very well connected by superfast TGV trains to all of the major European centers including Paris, Amsterdam, London etc or

12pm: Brussels Airport for flights departing after 3pm