I decided that one of the Fidea Classics race would be the best as they weren’t part of my original plan, so it would be easier to focus on just Bart during the day. But then I didn’t hear back from Bart for a couple of weeks and I kind of gave up on the idea – so I was nicely surprised last night when Nancy notified me that Bart was expecting me to meet him today. Great news. I got to Leuven pretty early and knocked on Bart’s camper van’s door as soon as they got there. It was a great day, it turned out that Bart is a extremely nice guy, he’s got a lovely family and it was interesting to see how a pro rider prepares for a big race. What you will find below is only a couple of photos, you’ll have to wait to see the full story in the book in March (more on that later)!

Bart receives his number and the entry passes for his pit crew.

Even the greatest riders need to pin their numbers on their jerseys.

Anyone who turned up at Bart's campervan played a little with Lily, Bart's (almost) three year old daughter.

Bart pre-rides the course.

Bart relaxes before the warm-up for the race begins.

He puts on his skinsuit and his serious face as well.

Bart swaps bikes.

Bart abandoned the race with only one lap to go as he crashed three times and that was too much even for him.

A young admirer.

And some more admirers.