Belgian Affirmations: Kapelmuur
There isn’t a lot about a climb several kilometers long ending in a sustained 20% cobbled gradient that communicates ‘Attack’ and/or ‘Respond’. Certainly not when it comes after 240 kilometers with only 20 left to race. Nope, I’ve double-checked the calibration and used a control-case: the only reading I’m getting on the Pain Gauge is the needle dropping all the way over to and past ‘Survival’.
Here we have Roger De Vlaeminck containing a vicious attack from Freddy Maertens on the hardest bit of the climb, giving more than a little bit of insight into why we refer to these guys as Hardmen. On an unrelated note, I find it to be a crime beyond articulation that the Kapelmuur won’t feature in this year’s Ronde van Vlaanderen; but that won’t stop us from riding it during the Keepers’ Tour; we’re all about history and tradition. I want to keep seeing this scene repeat itself over and over. After all, if a joke is funny once, it should be funny a thousand times.
Just READING that hurts my legs, never mind riding it. I’m jealous. Pearhaps it should be spelled KapelmVVr instead? It would certainly require a double dose fo the V to attack on that climb …
Pedant alert. Don’t you mean “vicious” attack from Freddy rather than viscous? Last time I checked viscous meant sticky or thick. Mind you, I’m sure the cobbles felt like they were covered in a sticky substance or that RdV was trying to stick like glue to Freddy’s wheel. So maybe I’m just talking a lot of viscous brown stuff!
Those are some pretty tall socks RdV’s wearing in that photo. An early trendsetter? Freddy’s are just right. Me? I’m thrilled I just found a style of Adidas sock that is almost entirely white (save a small grey three stripe triangle) and just the right length. Looks like I’ll have to stock up.
ps Thanks for doing the correction Frank!
“On an unrelated note, I find it to be a crime beyond articulation that the Kapelmuur won’t feature in this year’s Ronde van Vlaanderen”
Couldn’t agree more Frank… It’s a shame. We’ll have to set up a live video feed to watch you guys climb it during the Keepers tour!
Great photo, Frank. Never seen it before.
@Oli
I wish I could recall where I got it so I could credit the source. At this point, its just been sitting in my archive, waiting for a good reason to come to the fore. Such great action!
@wiscot
Thanks for pointing it out! I meant vicious, but misspelled it and grabbed the wrong word from the options. Viscous works, too!
@LA Dave
Awesome idea. Not sure about a live feed, but video for sure! I’ll make sure to edit it such that the video clearly shows me dumping Brett like last week’s newspaper!
@Mikel Pearce
Can’t imagine what its going to feel like…I’ll find out the hard way!
Wait… That link with Boonen and Cancellara.. they’re both on the lowest gear.
The Prophet’s rear tire is scribing a kerf in the stones as he goes. Badass.
@Marko
Marko, Number 11 is one of the disciples: aka Fast Freddy Maertens. The Prophet never rode for Velda Flandria. I think it’s the 77 Ronde which Roger won and Freddy was disqualified for an illegal bike change. Hard to believe that Freddy never won one of the monuments!
@Netraam
The article has them both in lowest gear as well, or I’m blind.
@DerHoggz
Yeah, you’re right. My bad. It looked like these hardmen where both in the big ring.
@wiscot
I’m pretty amazed by that fact actually. Ever since I watched A Sunday in Hell I figured he was a decent classics rider, and looking at his wiki page for results shows the guy was a great cyclist. But he has so many good results without a monument win.
Top 5 performances in the monuments:
Milan san Remo:
5th – 1977
Giro di Lombardia:
5th – 1975
Ronde van Vlaanderen:
2nd – 1973
5th – 1976
Paris Roubaix:
5th – 1973
3rd – 1972
4th – 1978
Leige:
2nd – 1976
5th – 1973
Major One Day Race Wins:
Gent Wevelgem – 1975,1976
Paris Brussels – 1975
Paris Tours – 1975
Amstel Gold Race – 1976
Rund um den Heneninger Term – 1976
Züri-Metzgete – 1976
Omloop “Het Volk” – 1977,1978
Grote Scheldeprijs – 1973
World Championship Road Race – 1976,1981
Belgium National Amateur Road Race Championship – 1971
National Road Race Championship – 1976
Belgium National Derny Championship – 1977
Satges in all 3 Grand Tours – Various Years
Important Stage Race Classification Wins:
Vuelta a Espa̱a Overall Р1977
Paris Nice Overall – 1977
Tour de France Points – 1976,1978,1981
@wiscot
No kidding? I did not realize that he never won a “Monument”. Won a WC or two and some green jerseys, but non monuments. Hell, I’d take it!
@King Clydesdale
Hey man, simu-posting! Your post is a much better post than mine!
Getting ready for the 200-on-100??? :)
@Marko
My bad, Freddy not Eddy. I know there’s no excuse as I did read the post but I’ve been up all night and called in sick today for baby duty, my wife is sick and I’m out of it. When mom goes down we all go down. Thanks for pointing that out.
@wiscot
Fuck, I can’t even hit the “reply” function of the correct poster.
@Buck Rogers
Yup, it’s really unfortunate when your career coincides with the likes of Merckx, de Vlaeminck, Kuiper, de Meyer, Raas, and Moser. Those guys didn’t leave a lot of crumbs!
When Freddy was on (and remember, long before Cav had the HTC train, Freddy had the red train of Flandria, inc Kelly for a few years) he won the following:
75 Dauphine 7 stages inc prologue
76 Paris-Nice 6 stages inc prologue
76 Tour 8 stages inc prologue
77 Vuelta 13 stages inc prologue
77 Giro 7 stages inc prologue
Can you imagine that kind of record today? Cav’s good, but not that good!
@Netraam
I think you’re allowed to be in the lowest gear on the Kapelmuur, right?
@wiscot
I love it, you’ve got these guys who have such bad luck – or are they just not quite good enough? Zoetemelk first overlapped with Merckx, then with Hinault…bad luck. Poulidor first with Anquetil, then Merckx. Yikes. Then, of course, theres Ole Ritter who held the second, third, and I think fourth fasted Hours for a while, while Merckx sat on top.
Fronk- you suck. Stop torturing me with these images of roads that I dream about, but can’t ride! Well, I guess I could miss the kids spring break and Easter…
@Buck Rogers
I had the best ride of my short time on the bike the other day. An 80 km group ride in which I pushed the pace multiple times. I even took the lead on the climbs, my riding partners were highly perplexed. I on the other hand, was in bliss.
I think in my attempts to loose weight I had cut back to much on food. The ride was post thanksgiving, and being such I had indulged. So now I know that if I’m well fed for the ride, I stand a better chance. However in the meantime I’ll be continuing to cut down enough to keep bringing the weight down. I’m approaching the 90 kg mark (I started the summer well over 110 kg). My goal by spring is to reach 85 kg. Working hard since I really want to join you guys.
Of course I’m supplementing the bike time with some classroom study. I recently found out that many of the film versions of the works can be found on youtube. I’d seen A Sunday in Hell before, but not some of the others. (I would go and pay for them but after paying the bills this week I have 20 bucks and an empty fridge, and I need to go to the laundromat).
@frank I think you’re allowed to be in the lowest gear on the Kapelmuur, right?
I certainly fucking hope so, ‘cos that’s what I’ll be in!
I’m picking that we’ll spend an hour or two on the Kapelmuur, recreating this photo over and over again with different participants and spectators. If any locals are watching us, they can have free tickets to the gun show…
@King Clydesdale
Well done. You’ll soon have to drop “Clydesdale” from your title.
@Bianchi Denti
I was also thinking about doing a hill ITT up the Muur. Agonizing, but fucking cool as shit. CAN. NOT. WAIT.
@King Clydesdale
NICE!!
for the classics don’t some riders use larger inner rings? 42 tooth and up (If possible?) Boonen and Cancellara’s lowest gear might be a lot larger than standard.
@minion
@minion
I think most pros use a 42 inner on Roubaix. My old Mino Denti steel bike sports a 42/52 combo on Superbe cranks. Great on the flat, I’m sure, but not the Wellington hills.
My secret Cobbled Classics fear is that I’ll be presented with a hire Cyfac sporting a 42:21 smallest ratio…
@minion
Back in the Dark Ages, we all ran 42×52’s or 53’s. The front derailleurs weren’t happy running bigger spreads.
Having seen the modern pros on YouTube, they look like they’re spinning 39s on the hillier classics. Some of those guys spin like they’re at the velodrome. Cancellara being one of them.
@King Clydesdale
On a lark I google’d the aforementioned movie and it’s available in its entirety on YouTube. See you in 1hr 32min.
@Bianchi Denti
Definitely what I will be in, I’m just hoping that I’m also still riding instead of laying on my side in the cobbles with glazed eyes.
@wiscot
Not to mention that he won that 1977 Vuelta! Not bad for a “sprinter”…
@minion
They often use 46 inner rings, or similar.
That’s it. I remember seeing a cyclingnews photo of Boonen’s drive train and thinking what’s the point of that? Might have even been running a 54.
Yeah, that’s common too.
A Sunday In Hell was amazing. Music was great. Commentary too: “Only a Merckx would attack at this late hour.”
If you liked that, have a look for Stars and Watercarriers. Also by Jorgen Leth – about the Giro I think 73 or 74.
Not as sparingly elegant a documentary as Sunday in Hell but nevertheless some interesting scenes.
There’s one great shot of a rider after a bad day – an outside favourite, might be Ole Ritter or Petterson – with the thousand-yard stare to end them all.
Stars and Watercarries is up there in 9 parts. Thanks!
@Jeff in PetroMetro
My first racing bike in ’86 came with 42/52 up front. Not sure when I switched to 39/53.
This photo could have been as easily posted in “Anatomy of a Photo”. My take on the kid with the chubby cheeks and serious face (the only tifosi who is serious here) is really the only one who fully grasps the magnitude of the V being displayed by the 2 combatants.
If I am not mistaken the kid is Philippe Gilbert. I am quite sure his young mind was plotting something to the effect of: “Damn,I need to start applying Rule V and colorng my hair now in kindergarten if I want to win the Fleche Brabanconne, Amstel Gold , Fleche Wallonne and Liege-Bastogne-Liege in 2011.”
@King Clydesdale
STRONG WORK! You’ve dropped over 20 kilos??? Holy Shite, man, that’s amazing! I am pretty obsessed with watching what I eat except the morning before a big ride. Still try to eat healthy, just a lot of it, and also after a big ride. While on a ride of over two hours I will take in some food on the bike as well.
Sounds like you had a tickling of La Volupte the other day on your group ride. Watch out for that, it is addicting. I had the sensation of La Volupte once this year in May and have been chasing it ever since all season, without quite catching her. Beautiful spot in time, that.
“There’s another rider down and it’s…Freddy Maartens.”
Great photo, Frank! I have been busy with work lately and haven’t been riding daily. It’s crazy how just a few days off can make me feel completely out of rhythm, since typically I’m lucky enough to ride daily. This photo, the snap of cold that has finally hit the east coast of the U.S., and a new winter steed have me vowing to get out there every day, even if I can only squeeze in one hour of saddle time.
20 kilos? Wow, that is great & I can’t imagine how much better you feel on and off the bike. If I gained 20 kilos I’d need arm extenders to reach my bars, even the flats! Nice work, very nice. Keep it up.
@Buck Rogers
I’ll see how good I feel again tomorrow, another 80 km ride with similar people. I’m hoping it was mostly hard work paying off. I’ve been putting in a lot of deposits in the V-bank this summer, hoping to get some more payoffs.
@Bianchi Denti
They go even bigger for Paris-Roubaix than 42, Boonen rides a 46T inner ring. I *think* this is partly to get the right gear ratio when riding through the sludge, but its also to keep down on chain slack for better shifting.
A great write-up on Boonen’s bike:
http://www.bikeradar.com/road/news/article/pro-bike-tom-boonens-specialized-s-works-roubaix-sl2-custom-21190/
@Oli
Oh, what he siad.
By the way, in addition to Nemesis rims and FMB tires, I’m obviously also bring over a 46T inner ring. I’m not a savage, after all.
@itburns
That actually sounds like a pretty good option. Or, at least, better than most. Shooting for 200k tomorrow, provided I have the (a) daylight for it and (b) don’t explode.
@ChrisO
My favorite cycling moving, along with the Impossible Hour. The Thousand Mile stare is indeed Ritter, and he’s just buggered up his position as #1 Bianchi Guy. But who was he kidding? No way he was ever going to beat Gimondi.
My favorite scene is from the time trial, when the mechanic is prepping Ritters bike, while he’s off having a steak for breakfast. Classic!
@Buck Rogers
Mine too, in 1989 (up until then I’d been riding my dad’s old 1972 Raleigh 535, wish I still had it). I had to buy a 39T. I think I bought it on the same day that I bought my Scott Drop-Ins. I was boss with those things on there.
@mblume
Alright, if I remember, you’re getting the +1 badge next week. Absolute solid gold!
@Buck Rogers
I did 160ks on a hilly circuit in the rain on no food because I was trying to lose weight. Not very smart. Better to eat right and keep the reserves up!
@King Clydesdale
Its awesome when it starts paying back! Good luck!
@drtyrm
I too just watched “A Sunday in Hell” last night as well. Simply outstanding.
I think that quote “Only a Merckx would attack at this late hour.” was my favorite as well, and gave me a bit of a chuckle at the wording.
And that damn Brooklyn kit is so full of awesome. I must procure more than the simple cap I have now.
@frank @King Clydesdale
Yeah, if you’re trying to lose weight I believe careful management of food off of the bike is important.
However, not eating on a ride could put the hurt on you for sure. If you think about the average American male consuming something like 2,500 calories a day, but when one cycles you could be burning 300-600 cal/hr depending on the intensity. Given a good ride of 3-4 hours (or more!), you could be possibly burning half a day or more of your normal intake, and I don’t think most people’s bodies are built to handle that.
Further, from what I understand you could wind up forcing your body to convert muscle to energy rather than fat reserves to energy, which is not what you want obviously.
I’m fully in the camp that believes trying to consume an average of 100-200 cal/hr in food of some sort during a hard effort on the bike is very beneficial to keeping energy up, and I don’t think it’ll impact weight-loss regimens if you continue to watch what you eat while not riding.
(someone please correct me if I’m wrong here! I’m not a doctor or nutritionist or anything, just trying to recall what I’ve read off of the top of my head! I’d rather be corrected if I’m wrong on such matters.)