Oud-Heverlee will be the setting for the first Belgian and European clay court championship on Sunday, October 1. About 2,000 riders compete for the titles, including Sporza reporters Bavo Mortier and Bert De Backer.
Last weekend they jumped on the saddle of their gravel bike to explore the circuit through the Brabantse Wouden.
The local round (28 km) runs through the Meerdaalwoud and Heverleebos. The large loop (47 km) goes past Vossem and Tervuren to Christus-Eik and back past Loonbeek and Sint-Agatha-Rode to the Zoet Water.
Three local rounds (28 km) and a large loop (47 km) will give them no less than 131 km of gravel fun on Sunday.
And Bavo and Bert had fun during the exploration. “It is a fantastic circuit with a lot of variation,” Bert De Backer summarized.
“The small round is really through the forest: left, right, up and down. The big round is more open, but with two tough climbs. The selection can be made on that.”
Bavo experienced this firsthand, after a “small panic attack” during the descent. “We are not going to be bored, but we – or at least I – are also going to suffer on Sunday,” he concluded.
In any case, the opposition will not be bad on Sunday. World champion Gianni Vermeersch also has his sights set on the European and Belgian titles, just like Jasper Stuyven and Thibau Nys.
Jan Bakelants and Philippe Gilbert are also at the start, together with experienced cyclo-cross riders Eli Iserbyt and Michael Vanthourenhout.
2023-09-25 17:59:50
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