The Muur van Geraardsbergen has decided countless Rondes. It is the epicenter of Belgium's biggest race, and it is the epicenter of the viewing experience. The climb seems almost designed for the race - it's tough, it's fairly long, and its slopes accommodate thousands of spectators. The chapel area at the top could not have been designed any better if someone tried! It's the closest to a stadium we'll ever get in bike racing. Let's take a look at the sights, smells, sounds, and feel of bike…

Updated! If you ask anyone worth their salt where the race will most likely be won on Sunday, they'll say the Muur or the Bosberg. That's just how it goes. Why though? Why do those climbs always decide the race? I think it has a little something to do with a seven-climb section early on in the hellingen sweepstakes. After these crucial monsters, only the toughest and baddest of the bad asses are left to settle De Ronde amongst themselves.

I got into Oudenaarde in the evening after twelve hours on the train and no sleep the night before. So of course, I checked into my room, jotted down some directions, and was out riding faster than you can read this first paragraph. Check out my first ride in the Vlaamse Ardennen!

If you find yourself in Belgium in the Spring, chances are you will have to do all of the regular tourist things like sample the handmade chocolates, put mayonnaise on your frites, buy mum a lovely piece of lace, and maybe even sample a beer or fifteen. If you are looking for something a little more exciting to do, get out the bike and hang onto your PEZ cycling caps, because the biggest two weeks of racing on the Belgian cycling calendar are just about to kick off.

I had the thrill of riding the official Tour of Flanders Cyclosportif ride back in 2004, while taking in the cobbled Classics with VeloCassic Tours. An amazing day, I’ve replayed the images, history and awe of cycling these most fabled roads in my mind many times since. It’s a must-do ride and here’s how it looked to me…

If I had a touch of the Divine about me, I’d walk across the North Sea for another experience like chasing the Ronde van Vlaanderen with the family of Predictor-Lotto’s Pez-fave, Bert Roesems. The most important day of the year for Flemish sports fanatics, became one of the most special of my life.

If you ever plan to head to Europe for a cycling related holiday and want something different from France in July, there is no better pace to be than Belgium at Easter. Along with the Vlaamse Wielerweek, taking a long weekend break around the time of the Tour of Flanders might just allow you to return home and hold court at the coffee shop, describing to your wide eyed friends about how you were riding the last section of the Koppenberg when Tom, Peter or Oscar whistled past you with their…

Like winning any 'monument', winning the Tour of Flanders is no easy task, and something never forgotten by the lucky few who have conquered the cobbled Belgian bergs. I was there to witness the action in 2004 when Steffen Wesemann killed it on the Muur and outsprinted his two breakaways, and when I talked to Steffen about the win a few months later, it was like the race had just finished - here's how he did it.