We are off on another rail and looks like bus adventure. Early rise today as we have many miles to cover before we camp out and watch more men’s and women’s races. The weather is still cool with the expectation of rain, of yea, just what I needs as I try to recover from this cold, I picked up somewhere along the way. Different weather, lots of people, erratic sleep patterns, hard to say how or why but this is my second time in Brussels and second time I am trying to recover.
We are getting comfortable with the bus 71 to Brussels Centraal mode of travel. This time however we are heading north to Antwerp which has been promoted as the start of Schelderpris, but the real start is a town quit far away but the finish of both the men’s and women’s races is a 30-minute bus ride outside of Antwerp in the town of Schoten, a smaller more manageable area to stage an event that totally disrupts local traffic and people patterns. We will get to watch multiple laps of racers flying by in Schoten. I am sure it is easier to put up all the traffic controls in a smaller town. Plus, it’s a fun little place. Maybe a bedroom community to Antwerp I suspect.
As is previous days, there is a bit of uncertainty as we get off the train in an amazing rail station in Antwerp. Off to the info booth and we get a map and some directions to walk to Roosevelt Plaats where we catch any bus that is labeled 600, so 602, 605, 610, etc. will get us there. The challenge is no one can tell us where we get off the bus and which way we walk to get to the center part of town and the race proper.
The bus driver gives us some help but as in the past, I listen to others on the bus and I hear three others talking about Schelderpris, follow them. It’s about 2 miles but as we walk, the neutral group of women’s racers pass by us. Wow, that was unexpectedly good timing. All the ladies are in a pack waiting to get the start flag from the official’s car in front of them. Very fun! As we are walking, we find a Pharmacy and stop in to get some cold relief for my scratchy throat. Ha, the pharmacist says there is really nothing besides rest and sleep to help but sells me some tablets that might help the discomfort.
Another 8-10 blocks and we find the city center, all the race barricades, the big screen TVs, the VIP stage area at the finish line, we made it with plenty of time to spare. Nothing much happening so we continue to walk and tour the town. We find a fun little Italian restaurant and stop for a coffee and some lunch, yum. Good choice.
The women’s field comes through once and get the “bell” for last lap, soon we see them sprinting to the finish with Lorena Wiebes as the overall winner, great race, she is a powerhouse of talent. Podium ceremony right in front of us and now we wait for a few men’s laps.
Not to be outdone by the ladies, the men are fast and furious racing though the twists and turns through town immediately after the finish line. Very exciting and close action. The men’s winner ends up being Tim Merlier who had a flat with 11 k to go and had to chase back on to take the win over Phillipson, who was not happy to take second place.
Excitement done for the day; now can we find out way home. We start our walk back the wat we came hoping we don’t have to walk all the way back to our drop off location. Things are a bit confused with bus routes due to bike race closures. We find a few buses with 600 on them but they are suspended until all the closures are cancelled. We find another bus shelter with a guy waiting, 60’ are supposed to stop but the time comes and goes. Back to the drop off place we go. Eventually a bus arrives, we get on and off we go towards the rail station in Antwerp. Did I mention how impressive the architecture is inside the station? It is amazing!
The rest of the day is uneventful, we make all the train and bus connections and 2 hours later we are back in our lodging in Brussels, another fun adventure day.
Very fun day and great race. Antwerp station is incredible