What better way to kick off spring than to attend a professional cycle racing event?! The Liege Bastogne Liege is a one day race that takes place in Belgium and is considered to be one of the five "monuments" for the European professional cycle circuit.
Looking at the course we opted to find a nice hill stage where we would have a good vantage of the riders as they made their way up a hill that I'm sure you and I could never attempt....without losing our lunch anyway. So we made our way to the small village of Stavelot (coincidentally the same village we saw the Tour de France in 2010) and headed to the Cote de Stockeu, a nice 1 km climb with a pitch of around 12%. Ouch.
The lead riders making the final push to the top...you can appreciate the pitch by the way they are standing up and swinging their bikes side to side for momentum....
This unlucky guy, Simone Geschke, crashed at the hair-pin corner at the bottom of the hill. Note the huge gash above his right eye. He's having a rough day.....
I loved to see the look on the faces as they rounded the corner and saw the degree of pitch for the final push up the hill climb......
How appropriate: a bike designed by Eddy Merckx on the hill named after Eddy Merckx.
If you ever find yourself in or near the village of Stavelot, you will have to make your way up the Cote de Stockeu where you will find the statue paying tribute to the rider Eddy Merckx. Just who is Eddy Merckx? He is a Belgian cyclist who is considered to be the most accomplished rider that cycling has ever known. During the late 60's and 1970's, he won both the Tour de France and Liege Bastogne Liege 5 times....in addition to a number of other famous races.
A quick walk back down the hill and we were off. Seeing professional cycling events in Europe has become a favorite pastime for us. What other professional sport can you get close to the action without buying a ticket? It's addicting really. Our next race.....Tour of Luxembourg perhaps in June? For certain the Tour de France. One event I am sad to have missed was Carnival this past February in the village of Stavelot. Not only do you witness thousands of people dressing up in white robes with masks that display large, red noses.....but they go around the crowds and flog the attendees with pork bladders! Sounds like a hoot of a party......
Looking at the course we opted to find a nice hill stage where we would have a good vantage of the riders as they made their way up a hill that I'm sure you and I could never attempt....without losing our lunch anyway. So we made our way to the small village of Stavelot (coincidentally the same village we saw the Tour de France in 2010) and headed to the Cote de Stockeu, a nice 1 km climb with a pitch of around 12%. Ouch.
The view from half-way up the hill looking down upon the village of Stavelot.
The beginning of the Cote de Stockeu.
Near the top....
....looking back down.....
It was not a long wait before the lead group arrived.
The race official....what is he doing, making sure they don't cut the course or something?!?
The lead riders making the final push to the top...you can appreciate the pitch by the way they are standing up and swinging their bikes side to side for momentum....
This unlucky guy, Simone Geschke, crashed at the hair-pin corner at the bottom of the hill. Note the huge gash above his right eye. He's having a rough day.....
Shortly after and the Peloton arrived with the boys from Radio Shack Nissan in the lead (Andy Schleck 2nd from the right).
Andy's brother Frank Schleck looked to have no problems with the hill......
I loved to see the look on the faces as they rounded the corner and saw the degree of pitch for the final push up the hill climb......
Of course you can tell where the leaders are by the helicopters hovering above.....
Immediately following the Peloton is the long steady stream of team cars.......
How appropriate: a bike designed by Eddy Merckx on the hill named after Eddy Merckx.
After the caravan passed we ventured up the road a bit to see the official "top".
If you ever find yourself in or near the village of Stavelot, you will have to make your way up the Cote de Stockeu where you will find the statue paying tribute to the rider Eddy Merckx. Just who is Eddy Merckx? He is a Belgian cyclist who is considered to be the most accomplished rider that cycling has ever known. During the late 60's and 1970's, he won both the Tour de France and Liege Bastogne Liege 5 times....in addition to a number of other famous races.
A quick walk back down the hill and we were off. Seeing professional cycling events in Europe has become a favorite pastime for us. What other professional sport can you get close to the action without buying a ticket? It's addicting really. Our next race.....Tour of Luxembourg perhaps in June? For certain the Tour de France. One event I am sad to have missed was Carnival this past February in the village of Stavelot. Not only do you witness thousands of people dressing up in white robes with masks that display large, red noses.....but they go around the crowds and flog the attendees with pork bladders! Sounds like a hoot of a party......
No comments:
Post a Comment