COBBLES AND MUD BEDEVIL SIXTEEN THOUSAND AMATEURS AT TOUR OF FLANDERS

24 hours before professionals tackled the early season classic Tour of Flanders, 16,000 amateurs rode the course, complete with cobbles, mud, rain, bergs, cheering fans and post-ride beer.

With four unique Tour of Flanders Cyclosportive routes, ranging from 75km up to the 242km “Suffer Like A Pro” version, no rider was spared from the miserable conditions throughout the Flemish countryside of Belgium.

Even Tour de France champion Tadej Pogacar, out previewing the course before his winning ride on Sunday, had to walk up the famed Koppenberg cobbles.