Velominati Super Prestige: Gent-Wevelgem

Riders hoof it up the Kemmelberg

Rain. Cobbles. Bergs. Professional cyclists reduced to mortals who clammer up steep, slick cobbled grades on shoes not made for walking. Gent-Wevelgem is the teaser for the month of April, when the hardmen come to play on the stones of Belgium and Northern France. Personally, I liked it better when it was sandwiched between the two greatest one-day races of the year, De Ronde and Roubaix. On the other hand, Gent has been the Classic’s bridesmaid for long enough and deserves its own weekend, even if that still makes it a warm-up race to be won by someone who’s not enough weeks away from peaking.

The Flemish word for “hill” is “berg”, and to ask any cyclist who doesn’t live there, they’ll tell you Flanders is rife with them. The truth is that most of Flanders is quite flat, save for a ridge which calls itself home to some of the most fearsome cobbled climbs in the world. Among these is de Kemmelberg, which features as the primary obstacle for Gent Wevelgem. Steep and cobbled, on a dry day it serves as the decisive climb on the finishing circuit of three laps; on a rainy day it will reap havoc on the field.

With that, we kick off the second edition of the 2011 Velominati Super Prestige for Gent-Wevelgem. Like La Primavera, Gent is enough of a wild-card that this is a tough race to call. It rarely ends in a bunch gallop, but it’s not difficult enough to eliminate sprinters from the finale. The riders targeting Flanders or Roubaix will not quite be peaking yet, but the race isn’t so difficult that a rider two weeks from peaking can’t win. Our advice? Go with the gut, and try to pick people who are actually starting.

The winner of this VSP edition will earn an “Obey the Rules” bumper sticker and all reader’s points qualify towards the final prize of the free personalized Velominati Shop Apron. This year we’ve enhanced the entry mechanism; if you are inclined to enter, simply post your predictions for the top five placings in the designated area above the posts section, bearing in mind that entry/modification of picks closes at 5am Pacific time on the day of the race. Check the Super-Prestige main page for rules and scoring information.

Good luck.

frank

The founder of Velominati and curator of The Rules, Frank was born in the Dutch colonies of Minnesota. His boundless physical talents are carefully canceled out by his equally boundless enthusiasm for drinking. Coffee, beer, wine, if it’s in a container, he will enjoy it, a lot of it. He currently lives in Seattle. He loves riding in the rain and scheduling visits with the Man with the Hammer just to be reminded of the privilege it is to feel completely depleted. He holds down a technology job the description of which no-one really understands and his interests outside of Cycling and drinking are Cycling and drinking. As devoted aesthete, the only thing more important to him than riding a bike well is looking good doing it. Frank is co-author along with the other Keepers of the Cog of the popular book, The Rules, The Way of the Cycling Disciple and also writes a monthly column for the magazine, Cyclist. He is also currently working on the first follow-up to The Rules, tentatively entitled The Hardmen. Email him directly at rouleur@velominati.com.

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View Comments

mcsqueak says:

Mar 30 2011 at 8:17 am

@Jeff in PetroMetro

I've been to Dallas/Ft Worth/Plano but never Houston, I can't believe there are places so pan flat for so far.

Any 10+ story parking garages you could climb? Ha...
Oli Brooke-White says:

Mar 30 2011 at 2:41 pm

frank:
@Jeff in PetroMetro
Pantani was dead-last in the Prologue of the '98 Tour. Then he attacked on the Galibier and blew the race open. The season is long; lots of opportunity to stop sucking so much.

Not dead last, 181st out of 189.
Jeff in PetroMetro says:

Mar 30 2011 at 3:10 pm

@frank
I burn for the sweet taste of victory.
Jeff in PetroMetro says:

Mar 30 2011 at 3:25 pm

@mcsqueak
Try Lubbock, TX. I think the musician, Joe Ely, said something about how you could look any direction in Lubbock and see for 25 miles. Then step up on a tuna can and see for 50 miles. I've been there, and it's true.

Parking garages are pretty good for longboarding, but not so much for cycling. There are a couple of overpasses that work. But if I want to get into some rollers, I have to drive out of town.
Buck Rogers says:

Mar 30 2011 at 4:02 pm

@frank
I've retained Howard Jacobs, Landis' lawyer from back in '06, as council and will be setting up a Defence Fund (cash only please--feel free to send it to my home address, or even gift certificates to Competetive Cyclist would work) to fight these egregious accusations!
Steampunk says:

Mar 30 2011 at 4:47 pm

@Jeff in PetroMetro @mcsqueak
I have a friend who described Brandon, Manitoba as so flat you can stand on a chair and watch your dog run away for three days.
G'phant says:

Mar 30 2011 at 5:19 pm

Jeff in PetroMetro :
@mcsqueak Try Lubbock, TX. I think the musician, Joe Ely, said something about how you could look any direction in Lubbock and see for 25 miles. Then step up on a tuna can and see for 50 miles. I've been there, and it's true.

And the musician Nancy Griffith (on "One Fair Summer's Evening" - one of my favourite country albums), relating how her great aunt Netty-Mae lived in Lockville, TX, explains that Lockville is near Lubbock "but not too close to Lubbock - nobody wants to get TOO close to Lubbock". Nanci then goes on to explain that it blew so hard in Lockville that Netty-Mae was sometimes afraid to go to sleep at night in case she woke up in the morning in Oklahoma "and she, by God, didn't want to live in Oklahoma". Now, I know from "Oklahoma" (the musical) that Oklahoma (the state) is a place where the wind comes whistling down the plains. And I know from Nanci Griffith that Texas has a similar issue. So those of you who chose to live and cycle there have both my sympathies and my respect. But I won't be coming to visit. Unless Nanci is there. And Lance isn't.
xyxax says:

Mar 30 2011 at 5:57 pm

@Jeff in PetroMetro
Don't worry JiPM, my VSP is certain to be like my climbing on a group ride. Near the front at the start followed by the inevitable fade to the back as the grade and kms mount. Wave when you pass by.

Anyway, we're all fucked because Scuba Steve has an apparatus and it's self-contained.
Jeff in PetroMetro says:

Mar 30 2011 at 6:16 pm

@Steampunk
That's hilarious. I'm stealing that one.
Jeff in PetroMetro says:

Mar 30 2011 at 6:24 pm

@G'phant
I had the most wicked crush on Nanci when I was at UT Austin in the late 80's.

Her grandmother's story about Oklahoma is pretty funny. The running joke about Oklahoma is, "How come Texas doesn't fall into the Gulf of Mexico? 'Cause Oklahoma sucks." In truth, parts of Oklahoma are absolutely stunning. Hilly, lush, just gorgeous. So's Arkansas. In fact, Competitive Cyclist is based out of Little Rock, Arkansas. Pretty excellent cycling communities in both states. But the drivers aren't too friendly--what's new?