Brabanste Pijl - In photos and a few words

Sram Force is good enough for the AN Post Team. As light as Dura Ace but way cheaper it's not a cop out and it enables the Teams without Thousands of Euros budgets to compete.

Museeuw may have long retired from the racing scene, but his bikes are now used on the roads he made his name on. Flax Carbon is comfy and stiff and is ideal for the cobbles.

Cervelo, although only Pro Continental, are one of the big boys and looking at their kit they have all of the toys to play with.

I really liked the little beads hanging off the saddle rails. Not sure what the story is behind them, but I'd love to know, no matter

I am a sucker for a Ridley. I think that having owned one they ride great and have a look all of their own. The new colour scheme is to my liking and they really stand out. They are built for the tough roads of Belgium and beyond.

Milram are another Team who have some nice toys to play with. The hi-light no doubt being the Lightweight wheels, which are really something else. I am sure that when they can't use them in races it must make them a little less happy.

Last minute tinkering by a Milram Mechanic. Not sure if anything was really wrong, or if he was just doing it to calm a riders nerves. Nice tool kit though.

I apologise that the photo isn't great on the saddle and you can't see the decal properly. But Danny Pate was using a Arione Tri saddle. Same cool shape with a little more comfort thrown in, good call.

I'm not the worlds biggest carbon bottle cage fan, but these from Arundel are really nice, a bit like the ones from Zipp. The Zipp ones are a bit easier to get hold of outside the USA.

Mr Meyer in his dashing white.

A fan bags a signature, happy days.

This was just off the roadside, a think some sort of priest box. I think its really pretty.

The Pros hitting a corner hard and fast.

The Pave is what adds another element to what makes Belgium special and its races extra tough.

This was at the finish. Few finished as the course was tough, but being circuits it allowed them to get off much easier than in the middle of knowhere.

Nico is nicknamed 'Rambo' and for good reasson as I think he was made out of granite. We where told he'd had a crash a few days before. A couple of days later I found out he'd cracked a vertabrae, which is pretty impressive as he was in the escape group for over 100km.

The Pro photographers waiting at the finish.

It seems funny after seeing the Garmin boys on Mavic wheels after being on Zipp for so long. I like the Mavic wheels especially as I have a habit of wrecking alloy freehubs on more exotic brands.

This was close to Waterloo. The peloton was closing down fast on the escape group and the speed was damn fast. They split over the roundabout and I chose the right, which ended up being the wrong side as most riders when on my left. (pic left)

 

I'm in the Team car at this point. Going round in the car just went to prove how tough that circuit was. Very lumpy, which never truly comes over when you are watching on TV.(pic above right) I'd really like to ride this circuit and if I could manage five circuits like the Pros did I'd be super happy.

The AN Post team at the start. The weather was around 21c, so much nicer than two weeks previous when I was there for the Tour of Flanders.

Oh so pretty, but I hate that long winded graphic down the seatstay. Not sure why they think they need to do this. The bikes are cool and don't really need a lot of marketing to attract a bunch of customers, just better availability. Although I'd like it with Sram or Shimano better.

Even the valve extension shows its battle scars. Cole wheels are still pretty rare on any Pro bike.

The AR, it looks more like a weapon than a bike. Riders mainly chose the F series (which I love) but it must be nice to be able to ride the bike that suits you the best.

 

Steve Cozza (above) is a super nice guy and I managed to exchange a few words. I wished him the best for the day and would love to have a beer with him some day.

Some of the Garmin team where using these Prototype Vittoria tyres. Not sure what was different about them but they looked a lot like regular CX tyres. They also bore a stricking resemblance to the new Vredestein tyres. Be interesting to see what they are like when they come to the market.

 

The K-Edge chain catcher has become increasingly popular in the the peloton. It looks far nicer than the custom ones that the mechanics have been making for years. I think I'd like to get one on the next bike, if only just to look Pro. 

Cervelo Test Team

Ok, you can be cynical about these videos, but I think they are being honest with their thoughts, It's in the eyes for me. They make great bikes, and if other companies were smart they'd encourage the same involvement with all the Teams they worked with. So take these as you will, and don't forget to watch out for the MIB on Sunday, Haussler, Thor & Klier will be up there for sure. (just as a note I wrote this post a few days ago and had it scheduled to go up today. Unfortunately Haussler and Klier will not be there, such a shame for the riders and the fans)
 











and lets not forget those special tyres



and the jacket I wish I had for Sunday, or in fact any Sunday.

Vittoria Open Corsa Evo CX 320 Tpi - IMO

Testing tyres in many ways is one of the easier things you can test. Take off the old ones, discard old tubes (if you are being really good), fit new ones inflate and ride. Damn sounds really easy. The hard bit comes in trying to find different types of surfaces to try them on and in varied weather conditions. Over the period of the test neither have been a problem.



Okay to the first ride. This also happened to be my last epic ride in Hertfordshire so it has clear and fond memories. I left the house early, the weather was gently simmering away, not hot but at the same time not cold, ideal conditions in my books. Not bothering with knee warmers I ensured the legs had some embrocation on them, just in case. Jacket stuffed into the back pocket I was off.

Ten kilometres into the ride I had to stop, bollocks I thought I have a puncture. Getting off the bike and giving the tyre a knowing squeeze I was surprised to find that the tyre was solid. Great I thought, but I thought wow this tyre is supple. Concerned I may be too heavy (this tyre is very light at 210g) for it I was conscious of the road terrain so not to tempt fate.



The ride turned out to be an epic 100km one, which hadn't been planned but just ended up being a great first ride test. I had encountered the rough lanes of Herts plus some unplanned off road section of around 3km. So that was the varied terrain covered. Weather wise as I have already mentioned was a nice Spring day, warm at 16 degrees but towards the last 25km it started to rain. It was the nice warm rain that is surprisingly refreshing to tired legs.

Onto the performance. As I mentioned above this tyre is very supple. I think that this is the closest I have ridden to a tubular performance on a clincher. If you wanted to go for the ultimate experience you could try fitting a latex tube as this would narrow the gap. Dry weather performance is awesome with the herringbone and file treads combined with the tyre's compound offering bags of grip. Rolling resistance, or the lack of it, is awesome even at 120-130 psi. I put this down to one thing the 320tpi casing of the tyre, which although is only 30tpi higher than the original has transformed a great tyre into a "must have' one.



I have ridden these tyres in rides where it has started off dry and ended up being wet and greasy, Unlike some top end tyres that require some adjustment to your riding style once the conditions turn the Open CX just kept on offering bags of grip time and time again. Railing around corners in the wet or dry was awesome and never once did I have one of those moments when you think 'oh shit'.

I have ridden around a 1000km on this tyre on a multitude of roads and two different countries and I have to say that this is a 5 star tyre, truly is a real performance enhancer for your bike. In the test period I never suffered a single puncture and small cuts are to a minimum, which considering the price is welcome as it enables you to buy with confidence. Some of this has to be down to the 320tpi casing and the new PRB 2.0 Aramidic protective belt, it's light and it works better than the previous version.



Now the big question Would I Ride it at Flanders (WIRIAF), that would be a resounding yes, especially as they have a 25mm tyre which would offer more comfort and grip over the cobbles. I'll be buying some more once these wear out, I'd advise you to do the same they are brilliant.