London Phoenix went on a european vacation this weekend, sending 15 riders to the cycling ‘monument’ that is the Tour of Flanders (the Ronde Van Vlaanderen).

We weren’t the only ones to be lured to the land of beer and chocolate though, and were joined on the Saturday by a record 20,000 others. Together we shared the joys of cycling with and on top of each other (literally, in some cases) as we ‘traversed’ Belgium’s fabled cobbled climbs. The epic route of 16 cols included the Muur, the Koppenberg, the Paterberg & the Bosberg. LP’ers Richard Lam, Richard Knight and Alex Christians felt that 6 hours in the saddle just wasn’t enough and rode the full 260km distance [respect - ed], while the rest of us made do with 140km and an extra portion of frites.

One of the joys of the Tour of Flanders is that the pros ride almost exactly the same route the very next day. So just 24 hours later and under clear blue skies we found ourselves “op de top van de Muur” once again, this time watching Stijn Devolder eat the opposition, and go on to win his 2nd Tour of Flanders. A fantastic weekend, and one that we’ll be sure to repeat in years to come…