Thursday, March 28, 2024

An Italian with blonde curls wasn’t in the Het Volk script

-

HomeStoriesAn Italian with blonde curls wasn't in the Het Volk script

Friday, the evening before the Het Volk race, as we sat in the Viadukt, our fave local bar in Ghent, we caught sight of our pilot friend who flies Belgian Air Force C130s around the world whilst in an advanced state of enebriation. He was flying to Kabul on the morrow; but tonight in the Viadukt he couldn’t bite his thumb.

However, it transpires he’s only Danny Van Ryckeghem’s son. Who the f*** is Danny Van Ryckeghem? I hear you ask. In the late 60’s and early 70’s he was a highly successful member of the Mann Grundig team and notched-up 30-odd pro wins including two Tour stages and a Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne – a cult rider.

We didn’t go mad with the pils, but we had a few, and the head was a bit fuzzy.

The start was at Sint Pieters Plein, a big square in the middle of town. It used to start here but the square has been dug-up for years getting an under-ground car park built. It was blowing a gale, freezing cold and pouring with rain.

First to arrive were Milram then the flood gates opened and there was a mass arrival of cars, busses and vans. Teams like Agritubel were pretty-much left in peace whilst QuickStep were mobbed: Boonen and Van Petegem are hugely popular in Belgium.

Boonen pedalled past – headed for the signing-on. Tall, slim, be-stubbled, and with charisma radiating from him. So of course we had the our usual inspection of the hardware…

Unibet’s new Canyons are very light but they’ve got the decals horribly wrong.

Lotto strong-man, big Bert Roesems was sporting Campag electric gears, there’s a battery pack below the down-tube bottle cage and the whole thing looks pretty clumsy – maybe they will get it looking neater for production.

I chatted to Bert Roesems about the kit, he says it’s amazing.

At 11.30 on the nail, the gun fired and they were off. Unless you are a local it’s hard to catch the race more than a few times due to the traffic chaos.

Het Volk
Ex-Cofidis pro Chris Peers humours Dave and Viktor in his bar in Kruishoutem.

Over the years we’ve got our little routine perfected; watch it at Kluisbergen then the Eikenberg climb then head down to Peter Van Petegem’s supporters club bar at Brakel. However, EU anti-smoking legislation hasn’t reached Brakel yet and last year we were lucky to get out of the place alive – if the smoke didn’t get you then the heat from the huge wood-burning stove caused you to black-out.

This year we had a change of plan and decided to watch the finale in ex-Cofidis pro, Chris Peers’ bar in Kruishoutem. We caught the race at Kluisbergen where a break of eight, including Jez Hunt was clear. It was windy and damn cold up there with, the race already over for much of the field.

Het Volk
By the Eikenburg the break had consolidated it’s lead.

Boonen and ‘Rambo’ Eeckhout were at the head of the chasing bunch in the mad breenge over the steep and slippy cobbles. We arrived at Chris Peers’ just as the break was caught and the crowd was massing around the plasma screen; many having ridden expensive Treks and Ridleys to the caff.

You’ll have read the reports by now, but basically Flecha and O’Grady blew it – especially Stuey… The Aussie came-out of the Tour of California flying, he had the form and strength to lead Flecha out for the last K and still win, but instead they played games and Pozzato was up and past them in a blink.

Flecha held-on for second, but Stuey’s mind was on the win and fifth was all he could salvage. A wasted-looking Boonen took third.

Het Volk
The caff was completely underwhelmed by an Italian with blond curls winning Het Volk. Ah well, maybe tomorrow?

We consoled ourselves by imagining the kicking that Lefevre was, at that very moment inflicting upon his men — tomorrow, and the Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne, would be better we all agreed.

En route to Ghent, pizza, a couple of beers and an early night, we stopped-off at Kortrijk to talk to Discovery mechanic, Craig Geater.

Het Volk
Craig enjoys working in the cold and dark whilst everybody else is inside having dinner.

It was cold, the light was going and Stijn Devolder’s mud encrusted Trek needed a new STI lever after a crash. The interview and pics are on the site – it was dark and really cold when we left; Craig only had another hour or two in the car park before he called it a night.

Ed Hood
Ed Hood
Ed's been involved in cycling for over 50 years. In that time he's been a successful time triallist, a team manager and a sponsor of several teams and clubs. He's also a respected and successful coach and during the winter months was often working in the cabins at the Six Days for some of the world's top riders. Ed remains a massive fan of the sport and couples his extensive contacts with an inexhaustible enthusiasm for the minutiae and the history of our sport. In February 2023 however, our dear friend and beloved colleague Ed suffered a devastating stroke and faces an uncertain future; Ed has lost his ability to speak, to read, and has lost movement on the right side of his body. He's working with speech and physical therapists on rehabilitation, but all strokes are different and each patient responds differently, so unfortunately recovery is one day at a time. Ed ran his own business installing windows, and will probably not be able to work again. Please consider joining us to make a contribution to Ed's GoFundMe page to help stabilise and secure his future.

Related Articles

Looking back at the 75th Gent Six Day

Coming to Gent to watch the Six Day, as I have for 20 years, is like meeting up with an old friend, a friend you see just once a year but when you meet you are familiar and easy in each others company. Most familiar is the velodrome, Het Kuipke that hosts the Six Days which has, barring a few upgrades in the bar areas, changed very little during the time I’ve been coming.

The Fife Coastal Path: Part Three, East Wemyss to Lower Largo

With the sweet smell of ‘ganja’ wafting out of the windows of at least two of the Dysart High Street flats and into my nostrils, Barney Ribble and I set off for East Wemyss and the Fife Coastal Path once more.

Danilo Di Luca Scores Again at Montevergine and Reclaims Pink

The Giro's pink and Liquigas' green - that's the gaudy colour combination that characterises this first week of the Giro d'Italia. "The Killer", Danilo Di Luca's strong sprint took him to Giro success again in yesterday's Stage 4, finishing at Montevergine di Mercogliano.

The 1978 Tour de Trossachs Remembered

When Ed Hood said he and VeloVeritas editor Martin Williamson were going out to watch the Tour de Trossachs it brought back my memories of watching the race for the first time in 1978. When I started my reminiscences it was going to be all about the Trossachs but one thing led to another and now we are looking at the early career of Robert Millar and the state of Scottish cycling.

At Random

Christopher Macic – “I have to give it 100% this year”

A few years ago, Vik and I were hanging over the barriers at a Friday night kermis near Gent; ex-pro Tony Bracke was Hoovering up the primes but one of the Kingsnorth Wheelers guys was catching our eye, Christopher Macic.

Our Time in Belgium, by Norman Gower

One of VeloVeritas’ functions it seems is unlocking the memories of those stalwarts – like our own mentor and soothsayer, Viktor and indeed, our editor Martin - who beat a path in the 70’s and 80’s to the legendary Mrs. Deene’s boarding house in Gent (and later in Zomergem) to show those Belgies how it should be done. The latest epistle which came our way was from Norman Gower.

Rudy Pevenage – “They should have sent half of the peloton home”

Rudy Pevenage was the man behind Jan Ulrich and guided him to a Tour de France win and many other successes, but let's not forget he was a top rider in his own Pro career. Not much has been heard of the man from Moerbeke recently, so we looked him up on one of our visits to Belgium for the Omloop...

Peter Hawkins – “if you do the work you do see the fruits of your labours”

Our pal Viktor has been hard at work; it's not everyone who could do his job, those long hours huddled over a computer screen, day in, day out - checking those Belgian cycling results websites. Lifting his head only to make another coffee ("sometimes my fingertips tingle with the caffeine"), or to phone me; "Ed, there's a boy you should be talking to..."