VeloVeritas

Viktor has barred us from attending any races which are patronised by Graham Baxter Tours, this means that the Tour of Flanders is out.

The next-best thing therefore, is De Panne. It covers many of the roads that Flanders does, the 'Flanders fever' is in full flow but the security is non-existent so you can skek bikes and annoy mechanics to your heart's content.

Viktor tucks into coffee and croissant and has a skek to see which keremesses are on today.

Ryanair dumped us in Charleroi right on time; Ford Fiesta to Ghent; dump the bags at the hotel then head for the coast. Evan Oliphant has organised us interviews with Nico Mattan and Eric Vanderaerden (see Pez for both interviews).

Once again I was reminded of the importance of patience as one of the key qualities for being a journalist; you have to wait for credentials and wait for interviews - but eventually we got our men, albeit late in the day.

Nico was cool, Eric wasn't as laid-back as Nico, but he gave us some good answers nonetheless. Eric is still slim but is as good a chain smoker as he was a rider.

Back to Ghent, the old haunts are the best; "The Viadukt", "Pour Que Non?", "Pharoahs", and into a coma at 03.00 am.

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