The moment the cycling peloton starts on the quays of Antwerp on Sunday morning for a distance of 273 kilometers, the village of Kwaremont in the Flemish Ardennes is already filling up. Early fans hang over the fences, pints in hand; Especially good. Others wave yellow and black banners bearing the clawing lion. The smoke of bratwurst rises.
Flanders celebrates the return of high mass, although the absence of the sick favorite Wout van Aert is distressing. After two silent editions due to the corona restrictions, churchgoers are crowding again in Kwaremont, the epicenter of the Tour of Flanders. Here are spectators first rank. Since the arrival was moved from Meerbeke to Oudenaarde in 2012, the worshipers on bicycles pass the village of less than six hundred souls no less than three times. At arm’s length, they squeeze through the houses.
This is also course. The pavilion of the KBC bank has been erected on the other side of the square, with a hard blue carpet on the floor. The tables are set for an extensive lunch. The windows offer a view of the valley, from which the riders will soon emerge as brightly colored lemmings. An outdoor terrace extends right up to the course.
First passage, 13:21, still 137 kilometers
Cheers rise as a leading group of nine refugees passes, with the Dutchmen Taco van der Hoorn and Mathijs Paasschens. The loudest cheers are for the last rider to pass, hundreds of meters behind the pack. His uniform is smeared, he ended up in a ditch.
The clump of houses around the whitewashed Sint Amanduskerk is caught on top of a hill in a loop of the trail. West of the village, the riders first descend the wide Ronse Baan. Downstairs, when they leave Kluisbergen, a winding cobblestone road back up awaits. It is sunken among farmlands, lined with willow trees, a spire in the distance – a lot Flemish Cher it won’t be. Formally it is called Broektestraat and Schilderstraat here, for cycling enthusiasts it is undeniably the Oude Kwaremont: 2.2 kilometers long, 93 vertical meters and an average rise of 4.6 percent.
They aren’t fear-inspiring numbers, but they don’t make the climb any less treacherous. First there are peaks of up to 10 percent, then it becomes false flat, gradually rising again. Here you have to stay with it, on these cobblestones reputations have been broken in the last editions and winners have emerged.
Second passage, 3:21 pm, 54 kilometers to go
The number of decibels between houses and pavilions is increasing. Two-time Tour de France winner Tadej Pogacar races towards the last remaining refugees, with a few other favorites in his wake. Mathieu van der Poel has to bridge a gap.
Marleen Beck and her husband Koen Parmentier have owned café In ‘t Palet for 34 years, the side wall borders on the cobblestones. She has missed the course in recent years. ‘It is always pleasant, a perfect ambiance. And it provides that little extra that makes up for the quieter winter months.’
She has seen the Ronde ‘evolve enormously’. Of the estimated one million enthusiasts along the trail, 40,000 now gather around the village. Roughly half have registered: as VIPs in the many tents, as fans in enclosed areas of meadows with a TV screen. Packages vary from 120 to 4,000 euros, depending on location, transport and consumptions, possibly with breakfast and lunch (four courses) with champagne or cava. Companies eagerly jump in and invite relations – the competition as a backdrop for networking. Marleen Beck from In ‘t Palet: ‘It took some getting used to, but now you don’t know any different.’
Mayor Philippe Willequet, whose house also touches the course, underlines the importance of the Tour. For Kluisbergen, which includes Kwaremont, it is an unparalleled event. The catering industry benefits, associations organize activities with which they fill the greenhouse, tourism is given a major boost. ‘Since the race has passed here three times, about five hundred beds in hotels and bed and breakfasts have been added. Not only cyclists are attracted to the landscape, but also hikers and mountain bikers. Saturday we had the Tour for recreational users: 16,000 participants, with more than 70 nationalities. Then you are on the map.’ He sees a downside approaching: the crowds. ‘We are gradually reaching the limits.’
Third passage, 4.25 pm, still 17 kilometers
It feels like a provisional finish. A hurricane of noise arises as Pogacar, followed by Van der Poel, emerges from a slight bend. “Come on Mathieu!” The public appears to be divided. ‘Pogi!, Pogi!’ The incentives for the Belgians who are behind are unanimous. ‘Tiesh, Tiesh!’
Groups of friends from the family have gathered on the first floor of In ‘t Palet for what they say is the best panorama of the Ronde. In the depths they see the match. Thomas Vanderschaeve (26) from Oudenaarde is here every edition, for years in a row. ‘There are always twenty of us here, we’ve known each other since school. This is the only day of the year when we can all meet.’ They scream as loud as the crowds below.
Who they are for, now that only two are left? Pogacar, of course. Only a few are supporters of Van der Poel. “They don’t know anything about cycling.” But after the terrifying sprint in Oudenaarde, about 12 kilometers to the northeast, there is an appreciative applause. “Congratulations, he was the strongest.” They cheer when they see compatriot Lotte Kopecky over an hour later on the women Annemiek van Vleuten and Chantal Van den Broek-Blaak.
The last Kwaremonts are being tapped on the square, trampled cartons of beer steps gradually become visible again, the church service is over, the first cleaners report to them. Two children leave the village in the wake of their parents, on their way to the valley. They hold a wet cardboard plate in their hands. ‘We miss Wout.’