Our literary editor, Leslie Reissner, doesn’t just read books, he also rides his bike as much as he can. In honour of the first cobbled Classics last week, Leslie has relived his ride on the Rik van Steenbergen Classic in deepest Belgium. Bring on Flanders and Roubaix!Once again Springtime approaches and with it appear the flahutes, the tough men of the Low Countries, and the fans congregate on the narrow roads beneath the leaden skies of Belgium to watch their heroes and the air is redolent with frites and beer and rain or dust or both. There are brutal climbs to conquer and nasty cobblestones that bite in these races where, unlike the famous Grand Tours, you only have a single day to become a legend. And amongst Belgium’s cycling legends, near the very top, one finds the name of Rik van Steenbergen.World Champion in 1949, 1956 and 1957Born in Arendonk in 1924 into a poor family, he worked as an errand boy and a cigar-roller and began racing at 14. During World War II he blossomed into one of Belgium’s top juniors and then after turning pro in 1942 he won the Tour of Flanders in 1944 and again in 1946. His palmars impress: three times Road World Champion; double wins at Paris-Roubaix and La Flche Wallonne; victory at Paris-Brussels; at Milan-San Remo; 40 Six Day Races won; 15 stages wins at the Giro; four wins at the Tour de France; six stages of the Vueltaand these are only...
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