Simpson took to the beautiful countryside of South Yorkshire over the Easter weekend to sample some of the roads that the Tour de France will race on in just a few weeks’ time. Many of them have been resurfaced, which is just as well because some of those that haven’t are in a truly shocking state. But the new tarmac is silky smooth and some of the routes it follows truly take the breath away (as do some of the hills...this is most definitely not a flat part of the world).
We saw several potentially excellent vantage points for would-be Tour spectators but if you’re planning to catch the action we would recommend planning ahead – with more than a million people expected for the Grand Depart, this isn’t the kind of event you can expect to decide to attend on the day.
We joined Sheffield’s La Squadra (http://lasquadra.co.uk/) riders for our Yorkshire recce and a finer bunch of chaps you couldn’t hope to meet. We will be meeting up with some of them again for the Eroica Britannia at the end of June and we can’t wait.
Meanwhile, our best wishes go to Dan Kilby, one of the La Squadra team, who ended this weekend’s ride in the back of an ambulance after getting into a disagreement with some Sheffield tram lines while very generously escorting Simpson back to base. Get well soon Dan!
Cycling provides many adventures – whether you’re on or off the bike. As a spectator sport it has no equal. No other sport offers such close access to its stars, free on public roads. We travelled to Flanders to witness first hand a Spring Classic and fell in love again with the glory and beauty of Tour cycling.
The noise of the crowds cheering on their heroes, entire families all out together focused on their favourite riders. Kids scream out for the free race 'gifts' being handed out while parents and grandparents look on in anticipation of the race, remembering the classic races and legendary riders of their day.
We were fortunate enough to be in Flanders with a group of club riders taking part in the official sportive the day before the actual race. This year we were there to cover the event for the next issue of the magazine. Who knows? Next year we may even enter ourselves…
Apart from the race itself it was a full-on weekend of driving, navigating and avoiding the crowds to get the best vantage points. With the ‘Queen of the Classics', Paris-Roubaix, coming next we have another Monument of a weekend ahead!
