Tour of Flanders 2020 had a virtual edition due to Covid-19
Viviane Vaz for 2East Belgium
(Brussels, 10 April 2020.)
The 104th edition of the Tour of Flanders (Ronde van Vlaanderen in Dutch and Tour des Flandres in French) was held last Sunday, April 5th. Due to Covid-19 pandemic, the Belgian event had to go online. DeRonde2020 – the lockdown edition counted with 13 professional bike riders on rollers connected straight from their homes.
The Flemish public television channel Sporza and the organizers of the Flanders Classics race have teamed up to find this alternative. So, the cyclists have virtually covered the final 32 kilometers, including mountains, on connected rollers. Greg Van Avermaet won this Tour of Flanders virtual editio. The CCC rider was ahead of Oliver Naesen (AG2R) and the Irishman Nicolas Roche (Sunweb).
Serving on spot
Last year, 2East Benelux had the honour to take part of the 103rd edition of the Tour of Flanders on April 7th, 2019. It was the 14th event of the 2019 UCI World Tour and the second monument classic of the season, following Milan–San Remo.
The Italian rider Alberto Bettiol won the race that started in Antwerp and finished in Oudenaarde, covering in total 267 kilometres. It featured 17 categorized climbs and five flat sectors of cobbled roads.
The team of 2East Benelux was placed strategically at this Ronde van Vlaanderen to guarantee the audience had plenty of beer available on spot.
“Enjoy the Spring watching this event and having a fresh Belgian beer was a real pleasure. Specially when I don’t have to queue to get my Jupiler,” said Koen Mertens.
Jupiler was the chosen one for this event. It’s today the highest selling beer in Belgium, with around 40% share by volume. The Belgian beer was introduced in 1966, currently brewed by Anheuser–Busch InBev at Piedboeuf Brewery in the Jupille-sur-Meuse neighbourhood of Liège.
“We had fun working at this event. I’m fond of the Tour of Flanders, so follow the event on spot, interacting with the crowd was really cool,” said Miguel Mendes.
2East Benelux looks forward to serving the Belgian audience at the Tour of Flanders 2021. Next year, Spring will have a sweet taste of health and freedom, just like cycling.
