Proximus Cycling Challenge - Groote Oorlog 16/9/17, Ypres.
Belgian telecoms company, Proximus, sponsor and organise a season of sportives throughout Belgium. The penultimate event this year was the Groote Oorlog (Great War), a multi-distance ride in Ypres and Flanders, which took in many of the sights and sites of the WW1. The ride caters for a wide range of abilities and determination with 40, 70, 110 and 180km routes.
Cycling buddy Neil and I opted for the 110km/70mile route that took me a leisurely five hours and a bit. The route avails of traffic-free canal paths, very quiet back roads and clearly marked, designated cycle lanes on (the very few) busier roads. The wiggly route even took us into France for a couple of hundred yards or so. There were two feed stations providing refills of a glow-in-the dark energy drink, waffles, tasty chunks of a sporty nutrition bars, and fruit. There had been 1800 dappere deelnemers on last year’s ride but it seems only 688 took part this year and so there was little danger of the congestion of massed rides. However, next year’s may will be rammed, being the 100th anniversary of the end of that war. The hotel we stayed in is already fully booked for November and I figure September will go the same way. Details of how to enter the ride and accommodation are at the end of the post.
Other freebies included a Katusha coffee to kick start the day, a front light of sorts, free bike wash, and a goody bag that was just that - a laundry bag! A Shimano mechanic was on hand at the feed stations for any minor trouble. The ride was well-organised with arrows marking the route - most of the time - and cost just €12. The mix of riders is welcoming in that all ages were represented as were fatter tyres and flat bars rubbing treads with high-end carbon road bikes and the like. There are no timing chips, results or medals – just the benefits of a nice ride on quiet roads and paths.
For anyone new to the idea of Flanders and Ypres, the latter is just a matter of a forty-mile ride from Dunkerque ferry port, itself only a two-hour crossing from Dover. Belgian scenery, at best, is not spectacular but is easy on the eye and, being flatish, is easy on the bike. One other curiosity about the Flanders countryside is that agricultural types are not shy with slopping on the slurry with the consequence that we were seemingly cycling in a fart for five hours.
Other freebies included a Katusha coffee to kick start the day, a front light of sorts, free bike wash, and a goody bag that was just that - a laundry bag! A Shimano mechanic was on hand at the feed stations for any minor trouble. The ride was well-organised with arrows marking the route - most of the time - and cost just €12. The mix of riders is welcoming in that all ages were represented as were fatter tyres and flat bars rubbing treads with high-end carbon road bikes and the like. There are no timing chips, results or medals – just the benefits of a nice ride on quiet roads and paths.
For anyone new to the idea of Flanders and Ypres, the latter is just a matter of a forty-mile ride from Dunkerque ferry port, itself only a two-hour crossing from Dover. Belgian scenery, at best, is not spectacular but is easy on the eye and, being flatish, is easy on the bike. One other curiosity about the Flanders countryside is that agricultural types are not shy with slopping on the slurry with the consequence that we were seemingly cycling in a fart for five hours.
The Ypres Salient was an area of allied forces’ land that lay like a wedge in the German frontline in the war of 1914-18. Ypres (Wipers to the British army), like its counterpart in the Somme, Albert, was strategic goal for both sides and cause of the three battles of Ypres, the last in 1917 being known more notoriously as Passendale. Ypres - or what was left of it – following its conquest in late 1914 by the British, remained under allied control for the rest of the war. However, being surrounded on three sides by the Axis powers, there was continuous action throughout the war and consequently there are hundreds of cemeteries in and around Ypres. The Groote Oorlog routes take in many of these cemeteries, with their familiar white typeface on a racing-green background, which range in size from a handful of graves to ones containing a thousand or more. None of the routes, however, extend out to Tyne Cot, the biggest of all the WW1 CWGC graveyards.
After a few km of canal the route passes by Essex Farm cemetery then heads west beyond Poperinge, taking in the first food stop before the Nine Elms cemetery. The ride then swings south east to ascend Mont Berg, a cobbled climb near to Kemmel. All routes reach Mont Berg and the (optional) 10% cobbled ascent. Thankfully, the descent is not a load of cobbles.
Passing the New Zealand Monument there is the second feed stop in the village of Mesen, which features a sculpture and museum celebrating the Christmas Truce of 1914. Close to nearby Ploegsteert (Plug Street to the tommies) is a monument to this peaceful challenge to the bloodshed and horrors.
This was unveiled by Michel Platini in December 2014.
This was unveiled by Michel Platini in December 2014.
The routes, depending upon the distance chosen, visit the Messines Ridge, home to several crater pools created by nineteen huge mines exploding simultaneously to kill over 10,000 Germans on 7th June 1917.
The Peace Pool, replete with lilies, is the most visited of these grisly attractions.
The Peace Pool, replete with lilies, is the most visited of these grisly attractions.
The route goes north to the imposing Berkshire Cemetery and then Hills 60 and 62. The Sanctuary Wood museum has a preserved trench within its grounds and you might want to pop back to spend time at this unusual tourist attraction. From there the ride headed back to Ypres.
The rides all return to Ypres through the Menin Gate then follow the city’s wall back around to the start, passing through lakes on a cycle path.
Ypres, unsurprisingly, was raised to the ground over the course of WW1. It was rebuilt – brick by brick until finished in 1965 – as a part of the German reparations.
The central square is dominated by the magnificent Cloth Hall that houses the Flanders Fields museum, which is well worth a visit. +he other must-see sight in Ypres is the Menin Gate – a memorial engraved with the names of 54896 men lost in the quagmires of WW1’s killing fields. The huge edifice, built in 1927, hosts the daily Last Post ceremony in which a lone bugler - often from the UK – performs in the eerie quiet beneath the domed ceiling.
The monument lists those lost in order of rank – presumably following a tradition of the army – which, as you learn more about the extreme privations of the ‘great’ war, seems even more indecent, disrespectful and inhuman than if none the wiser. I challenge anyone to defend that tradition…
The square and streets leading to it have plenty of restaurants and cafes, though straightforward bars are a little harder to find.
There was plenty of time to take in a ride out in a beautiful crisp morning to Tyne Cot before checking out of the hotel.
The central square is dominated by the magnificent Cloth Hall that houses the Flanders Fields museum, which is well worth a visit. +he other must-see sight in Ypres is the Menin Gate – a memorial engraved with the names of 54896 men lost in the quagmires of WW1’s killing fields. The huge edifice, built in 1927, hosts the daily Last Post ceremony in which a lone bugler - often from the UK – performs in the eerie quiet beneath the domed ceiling.
The monument lists those lost in order of rank – presumably following a tradition of the army – which, as you learn more about the extreme privations of the ‘great’ war, seems even more indecent, disrespectful and inhuman than if none the wiser. I challenge anyone to defend that tradition…
The square and streets leading to it have plenty of restaurants and cafes, though straightforward bars are a little harder to find.
There was plenty of time to take in a ride out in a beautiful crisp morning to Tyne Cot before checking out of the hotel.
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