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FLANDERS RECON: SIX HOURS, A TARMAC SL3 AND LOTS OF COBBLES
Brad Roe
April 3, 2010
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It was the prototypical day in Belgium. Mid 40’s, raining hard, muddy, cold and really difficult. I had the chance to ride the 2010 Specialized Tarmac SL3 across some of the most hallowed ground in cycling. It was more than I imagined.
 The Paterberg humbled most.
The 15 climbs featured in Sunday’s Tour of Flanders are awesome. With 10,000 other cycling maniacs this morning we rolled into the amazing Flanders Sportive and got to preview the course that the likes of Fabian Cancellara and Tom Boonen will ride Sunday morning.
 The Muur-Kapelmuur is as tough and great as it looks.
 Hard not to smile at the top of the "Muur."
RBA Recon Notes
The Cobbles: I’d heard that the Flanders cobbles were not as vicious as the Paris-Roubaix variety and it’s true. They are however, still really difficult. Imagine a more polished (ready slippery) version of Roubaix cobbls with about 20-percent less on the top. There are two long flat sections that sneak up on you and bring back memories of Roubaix body pounding,
More Cobble Info: You could spend an entire month watching YouTube videos of Flanders, but the most important take-away is those climbs are steep and those rocks are really slippery. Once the rain starts falling, the gaps between the rocks fill up with mud, catch your tires and make even an experienced rider falter. If you lose momentum, it’s over (that happened to me more than once) and you can’t get started again. The speed the pros climb those cobbled climbs is amazing.
Belgian Cheers: At the top of the Muur-Kapelmuur, I slipped and unclipped. Instantly three Belgian men (all over 70) began yelling at me and pushing me and my bike forward so I would get back on and finish the climb. It was a matter of respect and I honored it. Without those nudges I would have been ankle deep in mud walking my bike up the climb.
The Bike: The Tarmac SL3 was a great companion on the cobbles and withstood the pounding, was nimble on the descents and fast enough to help me hang on during the flat sections which were invariably pointed straight into a headwind with rain (yes it’s true) falling sideways and strikingly cold. Look for a complete review of the bike in the July 2010 issue of RBA.
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