EDWARD PICKERING

There aren’t many fan experiences better than the Tour of Flanders. Maybe you can persuade me that a roadside picnic in the sunshine on a mid-stage mountain at the Tour de France trumps it. Maybe.

After the Ronde finished, I went and hung around in the Markt square in Oudenaarde for a while. It’s where the party is – the team buses are surrounded by fans, the bars around the edge are all packed and play very loud, very cheesy, very Belgian techno from a marquee out at the front. The biggest crowds were right under the ornately decorated Gothic town hall at the northern edge, where Quick-Step had established base camp, but every team had fans three or more deep around their buses.

The also-rans and domestiques were drifting in, slowly freewheeling through to their buses and getting pats on the backs and selfie requests from the public. (I heard more than one rider say “excuse me, please” as they tried to get through – top marks for making a good impression, cyclists!)

Not for the first time, it struck me how close the relationship is between pro cyclists and fans. We’ve all long benefitted from the bargain struck between riders and public – in exchange for providing the colour and atmosphere, we are allowed close enough to the riders to congratulate them to their faces or even hear their breathing as they pass by. Sometimes the fans are close enough to touch the riders, and they do, which is something I’m less enthusiastic about. Both outside the race, and especially during.

But cycling is unique for the depth of the connection between public and athlete. Especially in Belgium, there’s no impression of ‘them and us’ – the fans and riders realise they are both part of the same spectacle. Make sure you get to a race some time soon, if you can, so you can enjoy the unique atmosphere, and don’t forget that by being there, you are making the race what it is.