Across Belgium
The Across Belgium is a very sportive mountain bike raid from North to South, 400 km in 3 stages ! Elias Van Hoeydonck and Stef Reynaerts have perfected the Trans Belgium North-South parcours for years. From this year onwards we organise the Across Belgium raid together with Broederlijk Delen. The collected funds go to a great project supporting children, women and youngsters in Oegada. Here is more information about this.
Godfather and godmother of the biking tour are Edwig Van Hooydonck and Kristien Maes, who participate in the biking tour themselves. Big novelty this year is the “double” edition: not only for mountain bikers, but there is now also a route for road bikers.
The tour itself runs from the northernmost border post of Belgium, in the front garden of a house in Meersel-Dreef southward all the way through Belgium to end at the southernmost border post in Torgny, which awaits us somewhere lost at the rim of the forest. To allow everybody the maximum chances for success, this raid is organized during the “longest days”. Sundown is around 22.00 hrs.
Parallel to this three day raid, there will be another non-stop attempt this year. Contact Stef and Elias for info about this formula: www.solosride.be
Programme :
Saturday 16/06: appointment at 07.00 hrs at the latest in Meersel-Dreef. Introduction to GPS, assembling your pick-nick, ready your bike, store your luggage in the vehicles and depart around 08.30 hrs. First leg from the most northern border post of Belgium in Meersel-Dreef to Opvelp: crossing the Kempen and Hageland regions.
140 km ~ 750 altimeters.
Overnight stay in De Kluis in Sint Joris-Weert, a quadrangular farm in the middle of the forest. BBQ in the evening where your sponsors are very welcome. Prepare for a cozy evening !
Sunday 17/06: from Sint Joris-Weert to Rochefort/Han-sur-Lesse, via Haspengouw to the valley of the Meuse river, crossing the Condroz.
125 km ~ 1670 altimeters.
Overnight stay in modern gîtes in the center of Rochefort for the mountain bikers and in the center of Han-sur-Lesse for the road bikers.
Monday 18/06: from Rochefort/Han to Torgny south of Orval, through the real Ardennes, with an end rush via the Gaume region to the southernmost border post.
120 km ~ 2100 altimeters. This lap passes through sparsely populated areas with little “civilization” or catering possibilities.
Spaghetti and shower possibilities at arrival.
28km from the finish, at Orval, there is a “cut off” time at 18:30hrs: anyone passing Orval later than that will be shuttled in to avoid having to organize transfers back North at an absurd time.
When everybody has arrived, showered and eaten, there are retour shuttles to the North, with stops near Brussels, Mechelen, Antwerp and Meersel-Dreef.
Price: 250,- Euro per person
Maximum 30 participants for the mountain biking raid, 40 participants for the road raid.
Included: two overnight stays in gîtes in communal rooms, all meals from the pick-nick on Saturday morning till the spaghetti on Monday evening at arrival at Torgny. The use of a GPS system with steering bar mount, rechargeable reserve batteries and maps with denivellation profiles, walkie talkie. Technical assistance on route (accompanying biking guides, and 4WDs on stand-by), provisioning along the road, luggage transport en route, all transfers of participants, luggage and bikes back to starting point with drop-off stops along the way, VAT.
Not included: your own mountainbiking gear, travel insurance, drinks at the bar in the evening.
For all info about the raid, the aid project and booking : click here.
Weekend Hockay (Ardennes)
(Date and Price will follow)
Across Belgium
