Belgium: bike clubs

Belgium has hundreds of bike clubs that are members of the Wielerbond Vlaanderen. You can find a complete list on the website. You will notice that clubs are listed as clubs met renners (clubs with racers), wielertoeristenclubs (cycling tourist clubs) and organizerende clubs (clubs that organize events). Check one of these options and click the zoek (search) button to see a list of clubs in that category. The listing shows the club's location and the contact information.

You can select alle provincies (all provinces) or choose your favorite province. You can also sort clubs (sortering) op postnummer (by zip code), op gemeente (by town), or op stamnummer (literally by tribe number).

Flemish provinces are West-Vlaanderen, by the North Sea and around Brugge, in the upper left corner; Oost-Vlaanderen, home of de Vlaamse Ardennen (Flemish Ardennes), Oudenaarde and Gent, to the east; Antwerpen, the Northern most province around the port city of Antwerpen. Limburg in the upper right hand corner around Hasselt, and Vlaams Brabant, the Flemish part of the central province around Brussel.

Zip codes are four digit codes that start with 8 in West Vlaanderen, 9 in Oost Vlaanderen, 2 in Antwerpen, 3 in Limburg, and 1 in Brabant. The provincial capital has three zeros so Brugge is 8000, Gent is 9000, Antwerpen is 2000, Hasselt is 3000 and Brussel is 1000.

Also note that a club with racers has separate teams for every age group they serve. Most clubs that support youth racing do so from miniemen up to the junioren level. They will usually have an aspiranten team, a nieuwelingen team and a junioren team. Some of the best nieuwelingen and junioren  team clubs do not have a beloften (U23) team and so riders are forced to switch when they reach 19. In most races beloften race with Elites z/c (amateur riders).

It is possible to join a team for a race or a set of races if you contact them beforehand and they have slots available. Usually a team will have many more riders than they can field in an interclub event and internal competition for these events is fierce. However that does not mean you can't get a slot. Due to age restrictions, younger riders will often have to give up a spot in order to remain eligible for other events. Sometimes riders will give up prime slots in stage races (where they are restricted to just a few events per year) in order to race in other countries with the Belgian national team.

For youths it is generally easiest to join a team for a junioren event. Here is where you often find the optimal conditions in terms of age restrictions, number of available team riders, and number of available events. It is also fairly easy to join a team for a Elite z/c event (i.e. amateurs in the open category). Furthermore, by age 17 most solid riders have enough of a resume to convince team managers that they will live up to expectations. Without a resume that shows at least some racing in Belgium, convincing a manager may be tough to do.

The various cycling houses  have affiliations with local teams and if you show good race results while staying there, you may get a slot for a team-only event. But it is not required that you stay at one of these in order to make a team. Getting yourself noticed during a race and talking to potential managers and riders afterwards is often enough to do the trick. Nearly all big races from the nieuwelingen level on have talent scouts in the crowd. At a nieuwelingen stage race last summer I noticed Omega Pharma Lotto, Rabobank, and RadioShack along the course.

Going on training rides -almost always welcomed- with a team is another good way to become visible. Many teams are attached to a local bike store and hanging out in the store (especially in the back where the mechanics are) will get you connected to the right people pretty quickly. Although nearly everyone speaks English, it is definitely helpful if you learn some words in Flemish. And the best place to learn relevant words is to go on rides with people.

Race day

Most races in Belgium start at 15:00h or 3PM. In the nieuwelingen category the races last for about 1:30 hrs. Juniors race a little over 2 hrs, while beloften (U23) and amateurs have at it for 2:30 to 3 hours. A typical race will consist of 10-20, 4-8 mile loops that start in or near the village center and go out into the country side. US style criteriums are almost unheard of. Races with very long loops are rare too, especially in Flanders.

The registration (inschrijving) will happen at a cafe along the course or near the church. It is nearly always within walking distance of the start/finish. Most commonly registration is in a large room at the back of the cafe, that is also used for dancing, dinner parties and festivities (feestzaal). Access is through the bar or -more rarely- using a separate entrance around the back. There may be signs, but most often there aren't any. Local riders remember where to go from the year(s) before.

In smaller villages or in some outlying districts, inschrijving may take place in a special large tent (feesttent) that is set up for the kermis and will host the night time festivities. Officials are bound to arrive a few hours prior to start and they usually open up for business at 13:00h or 1PM. Shortly beforehand riders, often fully dressed, will line up inside the cafe with their credentials in hand. As a rule, no parents or guardians will be present in line and riders register on their own. Make sure your riders have all their paperwork handy and also bring safety pins as none will be given out by organizers.

When you first enter the village you will notice stacks of barricades and movable fences that will be used to line the start/finish area. You will see club cars and riders exploring the course and warming up. You will also see many riders and family members walking to the registration.

You may notice an overhead crane or two with placards that read aankomst (finish) or "1 km" to go signs. The important thing to do at this stage is to find a good parking spot. In larger races there will be showers and dressing rooms (kleedkamers) in the local sport hall. You can find that information on the Wiebo calendar. The sports facility may have a good sized parking lot but it is likely located outside the town proper and so it may be a fair walking distance away from the action. It is better to park closer by if you can. Many locals will ride in for the race.

Fifteen minutes or so before the start, riders will start lining up at the line. In Interclub events (where you need a team), things work a bit differently. The team managers will pick up all materials around noon at the permanentie. There will be a mandatory manager meeting and officials will go over the rules with the managers. The teams will be required to show up for a team presentation, usually two hours before the start. Team presentations are done near the start site.

Half an hour beforehand, riders will be guided into a corral for gear checks and released from there into a sealed start area. Although gear checks also happen at regular races, they are far less common.

It is important to secure a good starting position near the front of the group, especially when the race starts on a narrow road. For some events, local riders or provincial and national champions will be called out and allow to roll up to the line first.

Be prepared for a very fast start in all categories. In the nieuwelingen group crashes near the start -often before the line- are quite common and you can almost bet that a crash will happen at the first turn.

Riders will get dropped from the very first lap and the pack will quickly whittle down to about half its initial size. The younger the age group, the sooner that will happen. Crashes are likely on every lap and these usually happen in or near the same spots. An ambulance will follow the racers, but those able to walk will be guided back to the first aid tent.

Riding in the back of the pack is a recipe for disaster and the probability of getting dropped or crashing is close to 1 if you ride there.

Breakaways happen often and early, but in the younger age groups they rarely create a big gap or last for more than a lap. What is more common in these packs is a split or several splits, often initiated after a crash or near a technical section of the course. Also common is for the pack to split as soon as riders leave the village proper and the protection of the buildings. Here they are exposed to the inevitable winds on the open road.

In younger groups it is not so much that the leaders break away, but more often it is the followers who are unable to keep the pace. If the split results in more than one pack and the second pack loses more than 3 minutes, officials are likely to announce a bell lap for the dropped pack. These riders will then finish an abbreviated race and be counted at a fixed delay.

Individuals or smaller groups (2-4) are pulled, unless they end up in between two packs, in which case they may be allowed to finish as the leaders of the dropped pack. Dropped riders almost never show up in the final results, except in stage races for nieuwelingen and juniores.

In the beloften and amateur groups (elite z/c), real breakaways do happen, but it is usually only the second or third break that makes it to the end. That break is most likely to happen when the first break gets caught or shortly thereafter.

Even though interclub races are team events, very little team riding happens in the IC's at the younger age groups. It is very rare to witness true team work, such as one team mate giving up a wheel to the team leader who has a flat, or team mates waiting for the team leader (or best placed) in case of a mishap.  Sprint lead outs are more common but even here, team riding is not the rule.

The one thing most US novice riders remark about Flanders is the very high and very steady tempo of the race. Races for nieuwelingen and juniores rarely show a letup and speeds are pretty steady at 42-43 km/h (26-27 mph) throughout. Given the gear restrictions these riders have to live by, that means that getting dropped for whatever reason is usually the end of the road. In the beloften and elite z/c groups races are longer and there is a relative letup after the first hour of racing. The letup is no time to  sit back and relax however, and that is when important moves are made.

After the race, the winners and runner-ups are expected to stick around for the rewards ceremony. Riders also have to go back to the inschrijving to return their numbers, receive their refunds and pick up any winnings. Pay is often 20 deep and in bigger events it may run 50 deep. There are special prizes for sprints (or more rarely) climbs, as well. IC's also have club prizes, but in IC races, team managers collect all the winnings.

Everyone should also check for doping control if one is present. A list of numbers will be posted near the start-finish. Doping control is rare in small town races for young age groups.

A closer look at the calendar

The race calendar can be found under

http://new.wiebovlaanderen.be/COMPETITIE/Weg/KalenderUitslagen/tabid/74/Default.aspx

When you look at the calendar on the website of the Wielerbond Vlaanderen you will notice that races are listed by date in a particular format. It is worth learning to decipher that format.

The races are listed by date. Unlike the US, date format in Europe is day/month/year.

Within dates the races are listed alphabetically by title (eg. RONDE VAN VLAANDEREN). When there is no official title, the name of the city or town where the race is being held is listed. So for instance you may find that on August 1, 2010 the following races took place:

BALEN (STEEG)

BIERBEEK -BREMT

BRASSCHAAT (BETHANIE)

BUGGENHOUT (P.K)

DEINZE

DENDERWINDEKE

...(etc. etc.)

The above titles are all names of municipalities (city, town or village). In paratheses you find additional information (town subdivision, parish, etc.) or special type labels (P.K. Provinciaal kampioenschap -provincial championship, B.K. Belgian championship, etc.).

Next you see the labels "OO" or "GO." OO means Open Omloop, or open course, whereas GO means Gesloten Omloop or closed course.

OO races are not completely closed to traffic. Rather, a rolling closure is used. What that means is that dropped riders will most likely be pulled by the police when the gap grows to greater than 3 minutes. In a GO race, all competitors can usually stay in the race to the end.

Underneath you find a three letter UCI code (eg. 1.14.3 for BALEN). The code works as follows:

x.y.z, where x designates whether the race is a one day race (1) or a multi-day stage race (2). (The race in BALEN is a one day event as evidenced by the 1.y.z)

y is the category. Nieuwelingen are 17, women elites 15, juniores 14, Elites without contract and U23 are 12. Other designations are common and may refer to category, eg. GENTL, which means gentlemen, or type, eg. MB means mountain bike, etc. UCI designations such as MJ meaning men junior and ME, or men elite are also commonly used.

z is the competitive level. 3 means an individual (not a team) race. 1 is the highest level (except for things like TOP which means top competition, or HC, which means hors categorie or out of category).

So the race in BALEN is a 1.14.3 or an individual race for juniors. Many such races are held at the time of the village festival, known as a "kermis" in Dutch or "kermesse" in French. Most US riders call these races kermesses but the kermesse is the festival. The race is a kermiskoers or course de kermesse. Not all x.y.3s are kermiskoersen.

Note that as a rule, there will only be one race, for one category at any one location on a given day. BALEN or any other city may well have a nieuwelingen race (1.17.3), a juniors race (1.14.3) and even a pro race for its "kermis" but these events will be held on different days.

The race in DENDERWINDEKE is a 1.17 TOP or a race for nieuwelingen at the TOP competition level. The actual UCI code for that race is NAT or National Calendar. That race is not open to individuals. Only members of a team can compete.

In general, visitors can enter any race that has a x.y.3 designation, provided they are members of the "y" category. So nieuwelingen with a UCI license, a permission letter and a kalenderkaart can enter any 1.17.3 race.

There is no need to call in advance to race. All you do is show up and pay the EUR3 (plus a refundable EUR5 for the race number) and you are set.

To find out where and when you need to do that, you click on the race title or the ">" mark and find out the "technische gegevens" or technical info.

Let's check out the Technical info for the BALEN race.

It reads:

84,5 km-447 EUR - I: Feesttent, Steegsebaan, 2490 Balen -U: 13:30/14:45/15:00 - Contact: Andre Van de Weyer, St. Rochusstraat 26, 2490 Balen (Tel: 0473 97 26 96) -Extra info: 13 ronden van 6,500 km.

What that means is:

84.5 km total distance (note that Belgians use a comma instead of a period)

447 EUR that is the total prize money

I means inschrijving or registration. It is held at the Feesttent or festival tent and the tent is located on the Steegsebaan in Balen. 2490 is the zip code.

Although the street address may sound confusing, remember that races are almost always held in the center of town where everyone can watch them. The Feesttent in Balen will be very easy to find. It is meant to be found and is used for other kermis events such as dinners, dancing, and maybe even a performance. Everyone in Balen will know where the Feesttent is.

Registration will open at 13:30, staging will be at 14:45 and the race will start at 15:00 or 3PM. Note the use of a 24 hr clock (aka military time in the US).

The contact person is listed with their address and phone number. The number is a cell phone (starting with a zero plus a three digit area code that starts with a 4). You can call Andre -who probably speaks fluent English, but there is almost never any need to. If you just show up with your paperwork and your money, you will be allowed to race. You won't have to fill out any complex forms and you don't even need to bring your parents. Any 15 yr old can go into the bar (yes registration is usually in a bar or a feesttent, which is a temporary bar) and nobody will be upset when the young racers enter that bar.

The extra info says the race will be 13 laps (ronde) of 6.5 kms each.

After the race, you are asked to return your number. You will also get your prize money -often 20 deep- and if you happen to finish in the top three, you are kindly asked to stick around for the festivities. The latter is not to be taken lightly and if you bail, you will be blacklisted.

Results will be on the web within hours after the race. Furthermore, they will likely be correct too.

Nieuwelingen

15-16 yr olds are called "nieuwelingen." The word "nieuw" means "new" and nieuwelingen are novices or new riders. The category is further divided up into "1ste jaars" and "2de jaars" or first year and second year novices. These categories ride together in most races but there are separate provincial and national titles for first and second year riders. There is a Belgian champion for the first years (who wears a white jersey with a Belgian tricolor) and the second years (who wears the more traditional light blue jersey with the tricolor).

Nieuwelingen are subject to many restrictions. First is the gearing: they need to ride a gear smaller than 6.94 m (or equivalent to a 52X16) on the road, track and for cyclocross. There are no gear restrictions for mountain bike or BMX. Although Shimano makes cassettes that start with a 16 cog, most riders uses spacers and a derailleur adjustment instead. A derailleur adjustment alone is not allowed.

What most racers do: put two spacers in and make it an 8 speed

A 16 cog on the inside won't fit in many newer carbon frames, so the spacers are an easier solution overall. Gear checks are common for stage races and interclub (IC) races, but far less so for regular events, often called kermesses by US riders -although not all are kermesse races.

Nieuwelingen are also restricted to races no longer than 60 km for the first three weekends of the season and 70 km thereafter. For IC races the max is 80 km. Cyclocross events are limited to 30 minutes max. Mountainbike events are limited to 1h15 minutes.

Nieuwelingen are allowed a maximum of three races per week, with a maximum of two in the same discipline (road, track, cyclocross, mountain or BMX). The road season starts on Feb 1 and lasts until mid October. Track is year round. Cyclocross starts on Sept 1 and runs until March 1. Mountainbike and BMX are year round, but mountainbike is mostly a summer sport in Belgium.

All weeks start on Mondays and end on Sundays.

The kalenderkaart is used to keep track of the number of races. Belgian riders have a race-log instead. The kalenderkaart has 3 spots per week to allow for official entries. Each time you race the official will fill out a box.

Stage races (rittenkoers) are counted as one race, but one is only allowed to compete in three events per calendar year. Nieuwelingen also can't compete the day before and up to four days after a stage race.

Nieuwelingen cannot ride disk wheels in time trials. They need to ride wheels with a minimum of 16 spokes per wheel.