This weekend marks what was once the proper start of the year’s racing season, in years past any event before Het Volk was effectively a training race. Now known as Het Nieuwsblad (“the newspaper”), Saturday sees the Belgian season start and it’s followed by Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne on Sunday. Many races in Flanders feature cobbles, from residential … Read more
I’ve covered the subject of Belgium’s government, or rather the lack of one, before. But today marks a new world record for the country overtakes Iraq for previous record of “longest political crisis”. Following elections 249 days ago the elected representatives have been able to form a majority to govern and the longer the crisis … Read more
I’ve covered the political splits in Belgium before. So time for a quick update: Belgium is still without a government. This makes it Europe’s longest post-war political crisis, beating the 209 days it took to form a government in The Netherlands in 1977. If it goes on to the end of March then the Belgians … Read more
It’s Christmas Day today in Belgium, known locally as Sinterklaas. You might already think the country is quirky at times. Today’s celebrations probably confirm this. Blacking up all over Belgium and Holland Why? Well the Belgian Father Christmas, Saint Claus (aka Santa Claus) has a sidekick. Who is called Zwarte Piet or Black Peter. And … Read more
There are some foods that are particularly European. Maybe people think of fine wine, truffles, baguettes and ravioli. But for cyclists there are some particular foods that stand out. As part of a series about food in Europe for riding, here’s the fifth: french fries. Product description Fairly obvious, it’s sliced potato that’s been fried. … Read more
Three months after elections, Belgium still has no government. Months of negotiations, politicking, horse-trading and more have come to no avail as the latest attempt to form a parliamentary majority has collapsed. In short, the country is split between Dutch-speaking Flanders and French-speaking Walloonia. There are spats over linguistics but other fault lines too. For … Read more
Has Philippe Gilbert signed with Footon-Servetto and adopted their tan leisure wear? No, fear not. The Belgian rider got married over the weekend to Patricia Zeevaert. You can see a small gallery of images, including the stunning bride, from the wedding online here.
Belgians go to vote this weekend and it could see the country set on the path to breaking up. I’ve written on this in the past here and there’s an election preview from the British newspaper The Guardian here. Will Belgium split? Well it’s not going to happen quickly. Philippe Gilbert will still be riding … Read more
This weekend sees the first “VDB Forever Classic”, a ride in memorial of Frank Vandenbroucke, aka VDB. Just over 100km long, the route goes from Steenhuize-Wijnhuize to Ploegsteert, VDB’s home town and now his place of rest. I hope readers don’t find his memorial too morbid, nor mawkish but it’s worth noting that the Belgian … Read more
After a few days riding around Liege and it’s outskirts and my good mate nearly being mugged, it’s official Liege is a DUMP! Bradley Wiggins, Twitter. He’s right, Liège is an ugly place. The unofficial capital of Wallonnia, it’s a place that has seen better days. Its position on the Meuse river gave it a … Read more