Spring Classics Tour Edition - TriVelo Coaching Podcast

All right.

Hello and welcome to another edition of the Trivelo Coaching Podcast, brought to you, of course, by Trivelo Coaching, specializing in cycling and triathlon coaching. Today we have a special edition of the podcast because we're going to be going through what's very exciting for us, the Tribello Coaching Belgium Spring classics tour for 2019. We've run this Tour for a few years now and we are about to launch the applications for next year's Tour, which is really exciting. We get to take 10 riders over to Belgium and France to compete in the Tour of Flanders Gran Fondos and the Paris Roubaix Gran Fondo. And so we wanted to use this podcast today to talk about the entire Tour. A lot of people want to come, but they have a lot of hesitation or questions about what it's actually going to be like and whether they can or can't do it. So we're just going to talk about the experiences of this Tour on this episode. And so I'm joined by the head of Trivolo coaching, Jared, and as well as a special guest, Liam, who's also done the Spring Classics Tour himself. Welcome, Gerard. Welcome, Liam.

Thanks, George. Great to be on.

Thanks, Jord. Excited.

So let's launch into it. I mean, dad, you started the Spring Classics Tour a few years ago. You decided to go to Belgium yourself. Why is this Tour so special and why are the Spring Classics so special?

George, that's a great question. I have always grown up wanting to be on the famous cobblestones of Roubaix and Flanders. It's something that I've watched over the years and we've had a lot of success from Australian point of view with Stuart o' Grady and now recently Matt Hayman winning the Paris Roubaix, which is one of the most iconic events in the world. The Tour de France, the Grand Tours, Giro and Welta are special races, but these are one day Spring Classics, which is just really the hardest races you can ever do. The one day stuff where it's all on the day. It's not a three week race, it's all on the day. If you're not good enough on your day, you can't win. And every year there's only one winner and there's five or six monumental Spring Classics and we've selected two of them. Love to take groups to the other places like Liege, Bastogne, Fleche, Wallow and Amstel Gold, but the two that I've grown up watching is definitely Roubaix and the Tour of Flanders.

So Liam, why Did you decide to go? You kind of heard how special they were. Someone that's been a cycling fan, like, dad knew how special they were and went experienced them himself. But what made you decide to go?

Yeah, it's funny because when people ask me, why did you go to Belgium? What's in Belgium? Because it's just, you know, it's not really an iconic destination for the typical European traveler. You know, everyone goes to Paris or they go to the UK or, you know, I like to tell the Laymans, who aren't into the cycling world, you know, everyone knows the Tour de France. And I say, yeah, you know, the Tour de France, because the Tour de France is like the most famous race, but it goes for three weeks. It's a tour. There's these things called one day classics, which are the next tier down, basically, like as dad said, from the, from the Tours. And it's like, you know, it's like especially the Durande, the Tour of Belgium, that one day is, if there's any comparison, it's like our Melbourne cup day, you know, that I was blown away by. When I arrived at the airport in Belgium, you know, I was going through customs and a young guy like called me aside and like, maybe check my passport and wanted to ask me a few questions. And I was a bit nervous and he was like, you know, what are you doing here in Belgium? You're by yourself, you know, you got no luggage. Because I actually didn't have my bike with me because I had my bike. Go along with you, dad. And I said, oh, I'm. I'm here for cycling. And he said, his eyes lit up. He's like, deronde, you're here for the cycling.

He's like.

And he's just like, so excited. He's like, oh, you Australian, what is your team? Orica? And I was like, yeah, yeah, like, you know, love the Orica guys. And he couldn't believe that, you know, I'd traveled all the way from Australia to go to Belgium because to them it's such a big deal. They're so passionate about it. Like the whole. In the Melbourne cup, we say it's the race that stops the nation. In Belgium, it's the same thing. Like the whole, the whole country shuts down for this one day and, you know, the pubs open at 9am and big public holiday and there's literally millions of people around the country on the course. And yeah, I guess I knew that it was going to be good because I'd watched it on TV and I'D seen, you know, the classic races between, you know, Cancellara and Boonen and, you know, and Heyman, like, I can't believe, dad, you got to see Matty Heyman win the year before. I'm so jealous of that.

But also lean the build up I, I'd given you over the years of, you know, how special this race was and you've got to come one day and you're not into cycling like I am, but.

That's right, I'm a casual fan for sure. But even I knew, like, how cool it is to watch, you know, the couples, you know, everyone's right there on these 200 year old roads, like, there's no barriers and people, there's dust flying everywhere and dirt and bike riders falling over and like actually getting cannon shot into crowds and like, it's crazy. Yeah, I knew it was going to be good. And then when I actually arrived in Belgium, I'm like, wow, this is actually so much bigger deal than I thought it was and was even more blown away. Yeah, it was, it was pretty awesome.

That was the exact same experience I had, which I knew it was big, I had a big build up, I'd seen it enough times, but it's just a totally different experience once you actually get there. And, you know, if you think about Belgium, it's not a massive country. And we flew in and we went on some training rides leading up to the Tour of Flanders and then we stay in Rondsay, which is a pretty relatively small town and there's not that many people around. And I just joked to everyone and said it's like the town just comes alive. It's like Belgium comes alive for one day because on the Tour of Flanders day, there's a million people out on the course and it almost feels like every single person in the country is outside on the floor.

That's what it feels like, isn't it? It's just people everywhere.

You can't believe there's 250 kilometres of people lined. There's no gaps. It's like, you know, if you talk about people going to the MCG for Grand Final Day 100,000, there's over a million people on the course and sometimes it's two, three deep in certain spots. And the corporate side of it, that's the other thing that we were blown away by, especially at Flanders. You know, we actually were lucky enough to be host hosted by a giant sunweb as part of the. It was awesome and, and we got, we got to meet the riders and Be at the bus and, and at the start. Got photos with the team and got to meet the director. Sportive. And, and just talking about the tactics of the race and what tyres to run and you know, that was important to us because we doing the Flanders gran fondo ourselves. So, you know, all that information the guys just were so excited about getting from the head of giant sunweb directeur Sportive.

So that's what this Tour is about. This Tour is about getting to experience one, the Tour of Flanders and Paris Roubaix ourselves, where we get to ride them, but then also watching the pros ride them. And you get such a. Such an appreciation for what the pros go through once you ride the course yourself. But it's also about experiencing, just riding, riding through Belgium and riding through France. And yeah, I guess let's start talking about that before we launch too much into the actual races. But I mean, what is it like for you both just being in Belgium and riding around?

That was what I was most excited for. Right. Because I think all cycling fans, when you grow up or. And you're watching the Tour de France and you watch them climb these iconic hills like Alpe d' Huez, and in your head you're just like, how good would it be to, you know, just do all of those yourself and like, follow it and like. But then the reality is, is it's not really possible to do that in the Tour de France unless you're an absolute freak. Like, I covered, you know, they climb 10,000 kilometers or something crazy. It's just, it's not possible unless you're a professional because the amount of K's they cover in the top course. But then what's unique about Flanders? The Tour of Belgium, like, it's, it's so cool because yes, the, the race goes for 200 odd kilometers and it's very hard when it's done all at once. But because it's kind of done in like loop to loops and it's all kind of backing, backtracking on itself. They've got three or four. I think it's four main. They call them monuments, don't they? Yeah. Which are like the iconic ones. And so it's like when you're watching the race on tv, you know, every time they hit one of these clients, it's like, this is where something could happen, like someone could break away or someone could do something crazy or, you know, couple of years when it's raining, it's. It's hilarious because the cobbles get so wet and the professional, these professional riders jump off their bikes and are running their bikes up there up the hill because they can't actually ride up. And the crowd are going crazy. So it's like for me, I was like so pumped and was like, I can't wait to like try and ride up the Mer. I can't wait to try and ride up the Paderbergen. And then getting there, it's actually so awesome because with technology and we've got Strava these days, it's so, so cool because you can actually not only. I was really excited to try and beat all dad's times from the year before when I finally got there. And I know Jord, you did the year after me. So you couldn't wait to get there and try and beat my times because it's all there.

Ye. But.

But then the other thing is you can see what the. All the best people in. Yeah the pros and what times they're doing just for these specific climbs and you know, seeing like Nikki Terpstra and, and guys like actually beating your time, like halving your time.

You over a five minute climb by two minutes.

That's right. And you're just like, how, how is that possible? But yeah, that was definitely the high. Like one of the highlights for me is because, yeah, we're staying in Ronse. You know, it's a quick bike ride down to, to the Mur. The Mer. To Gerardsbergen I think it's called. I always thought it was funny I had your name in it, but it's such a pretty, pretty ride to get there. Like it took about maybe 40 minutes to get there. And then we got there and the town's really cool and awesome and old and. And then it's like, yeah, you come over this bridge and it's like bam. You're straight on the climb and you just hammer it to try and get to the top of that church. And the whole time you're on it, you're just like, this is just like, you know when Kent Lara rode away and like, yeah, you can just imagine yourself flying up and that was just so much more enjoyable for me. I mean, I haven't been to France yet, but I can't wait to go to France. But that was so much more enjoyable than going, okay, I'm gonna ride Mont Von 2 here. And then it's like, oh crap, I've got another. I've got like a three hour climb ahead of me. It's actually not that fun. Whereas this is like, yeah, like the Mer is like a five minute climb. The Paderberg's only like 90 seconds or something. And that's just so challenging, but so fun. And we ended up doing it like two or three times each, you know, and just racing each other.

And that was my favourite part as well. They were short climbs so we could have a crack and a few guys didn't make it up or have another crack to get up it. And.

Yeah, well, never was a clap. He couldn't ride up it. So we gave him three goes. We drove back down and said, right, come on, everybody is in the van cheering for him. And he ended up riding up the bank and cut his leg.

But that's what happens because riding up these ridiculously steep hills on coals, your bike is just like it's falling apart under you and it's going left and right and you start going sideways.

As soon as you lose any momentum, like you're lost, you can't make it up. And it's. I think that's what's so great about it because it's not just like, oh, yeah, I'll ride up the hill. Everyone does it. But it's not like every time we went there, like there's other groups there or other locals that are, you know, having a go of it as well. And like only like 20% of people or 30% of people are actually making it up. Yeah, everyone else has to stop halfway and give up and try again.

And.

And so it's like, it's really a feeling of achievement. There's a great photo of me and Stazza, fellow giant rider. When we first did the finished the Paderberg and we got to the top, we, like held our bikes above our head like, just like Gilbert did when he won the. The Durande. But you're spot on and the.

The country just gets so into it and the support from the locals is so awesome. One of, one of the most rewarding moments I think was towards the end of. For me was towards the end of Tour Flanders. I was really struggling and I had cramp in both legs. And we're on the last, last berg the Paderberg and I was just struggling, but I just was so determined to get up. And the amount of locals cheering and yelling at you, you felt like you were in a pro race and that.

It'S not even the actual race.

Yeah, that actually got me up the hill and it just going, come on, come on. Just say Al. Whatever they're saying, both legs are cramping. I'm just pushing as hard as I can. And then you get to the top. And I literally cheered over the top. I was yelling, I was fist bumping.

Yeah, because that's the other thing is the day before the actual event is the Gran Fondo. So, yeah, they set up the course the day before a day early, close all the roads, and then they just let anyone who wants to enter ride the actual race. And it's so awesome because, yeah, there's like 10,000 people that actually ride the.

Race, 15,000 for the Flanders.

You feel like you're actually in the race. It's awesome. And then the other thing is, because everyone's, like, traveled out to watch the actual race, I get there a day early in their camper vans, and they've actually set up all their deck chairs and they're sitting there and watching all of us because they're just like, well, I just might as well reserve my spot for tomorrow. So they're just sitting there drinking their beer and just cheering you on. And, like, it's so good.

And the good about it is, you know, it is spring and you can get any conditions. And the minute you've got dampness on the cobbles, doesn't have to be rainy, it just has to be a little bit of dampness. And because the cobbles aren't like paving, like, they're not joined, there's dirt in between it. So the minute the dirt hits, the pavement becomes like an ice skating rink. And, you know, therefore, your tires have to be a certain pressure, which, you know, we didn't realize till the director, Sporty from Giant, told us that we need to deflate our tyres. All these little tips was no wonder the guys can get up the hills better because they're riding at 50psi when we all had our tyres at 100.

And that's why I love the whole experience, because every single day is different. It's so dynamic, and you can get a really nice spring day and just have a really enjoyable ride, or it can be a little bit wet and it's a little bit challenging. But I even found that pretty fun. And one of the days we went up the Gerardsburg and it was damp and a lot of the guys were slipping and falling off. And I was so determined to hang onto Dad's wheel and make it up. I could feel my bike slipping and most people would just unclip and get off. And I was too determined to stay on Dad's wheel, so I just kept pedaling and I pedal myself into the ground sideways. So I refused to Unclip when I just couldn't get up the hill.

That's kind of a little bit of.

A crash but it kind of made it fun, you know, experiencing that and really having a crack.

Yeah, you're not going too fast at that point when you're right at the end of that Gerardsburg and coming around that steep section. Oh you're going about six k's an hour just trying to get around that corner.

And a little bit of local knowledge too. You don't really know where the church is at the top because you do so many turns.

Oh that was my mistake.

And you really hammered it too hard. And there's a photo of you sitting beside your mum not looking very good at the top of the church. And Jordan's was so determined to beat your time and I was coaching him the whole way. Get on my wheel, you're going to beat me today. We had a bit of fun. I turned around, he wasn't there.

You're still clipped in but you literally just fall sideways.

Yeah, that's right. That's classic.

Yeah, but I mean that's really why it's so special. And I was the same as you, Liam. I struggled to articulate it to my mates back home about so many factors of why it was so good. It was just everything we did was just a different experience and so fun. And I even asked all the guys on the tour, I asked them for a bit of a testimonial and to say, you know, why would you recommend this? And every single one of them actually struggled to articulate it. They said, I don't know how to explain it but you just have to experience it and you think you know what the cobbler's gonna be like. You think yourself it might be tough or it might be a fun experience but you just don't fully appreciate it until you experience it and ride it yourself. I think that's just as best summary.

As you can put on it.

How was the feeling, Liam, when we were talking about Paris Roubaix and the famous Arenberg Forest and the build up the day before? We're talking about, oh, you know, it's, it's the most dangerous set of cobbles and it's the slipperiest because the trees prevent the cobbles from drying out. And I've really got nervous for everybody hitting the Arenberg Forest. I was so pleased to see you come out the other end. What was the experience like for you when you were getting to the Ahrenberg forest?

Oh yeah, that was, that was such A special day. So obviously, the timeline of the Tour is, yeah, we arrive in Belgium, you know, we ride around Belgium, countryside, experience some great Belgium chocolates and waffles, and, you know, all the great Belgian coffees and Belgian beer, of course. Like, that's, you know, that's a really fun thing to do for the first few days, and go visit Ghent, which is just, you know, looks like. It looks like a freaking fairy tale, like, town. It's the most beautiful town I've ever seen. And then, yeah, eventually the weekend rolls around. You do the Gran Fondo of Tour of Flanders, and then you start, but you're satisfied. And the next day you get to go and watch the actual pros try and do it. And then we've got another week until the next weekend, which is Paris Roubaix. And so that all that week, it's rewriting all the famous climbs, trying to beat your times. And that's really fun. But then, yeah, the weekend finally rolled around for Paris Roubaix. And so we'd been riding on all the cobbles in Belgium, obviously, but Paris Roubaix is slightly different because obviously, you know, starts in Paris and then finishes in Roubaix. So, like, you do. Do they cross. They cross over to Belgium just briefly or. Yeah, right along the border or something. So it's actually not even in Belgium. But, yeah, that. That Saturday morning, you know, we're at the start line, and I think it was like. I think it was 2 degrees or something, like, it was so cold and you could not see 20 meters ahead of you. But same thing. They've closed all the roads. You ride out from under the start line, and there's a solid maybe hour, hour and a bit before you reach the cobbles. And Paris Roubaix, for people who don't know, there's 20 odd sections of cobbles riders, is it 30 is a while that you have to get through. And each cobble's got a rating out of 5 with regards to how intense it is. So the longer it is and the more that's. The other thing is some of the cobbles are really jagged and all over the place. And other cobbles have been smoothed out over time by the tractors and the cows and all the things that walk over the cobbles. But the very first cobble section you hit is the Arenberg Forest, which is the most famous one. And because it's number five, it's the hardest because longest and longest, and it is the whole time in this first hour, hour and a half, it's. You know, really fun riding through the streets and you know, you do feel like you're in a race. We were in a big peloton. We had, I reckon we had like 80 or 90 people in the peloton. You know, it's not, it's just all the other entrance into the, into the, into the race, into the Gran Fondo. And the whole time you're just rolling turns and you hammering along, but you're like, oh, when's this, when's this cobbles going to start? And then turning that right hand bend into the forest and then you just, it's just one long straight line and you can see it ahead of you. And then as soon as we hit the cobbles, I got the shock of my life. We've been riding on cobbles all week. But this was like, this is something else. Like the cobbles at Ironberg are so deep and jagged and it's like your bike is not, it's not meant to ride on stuff like that. Like within the first five seconds I thought it was going to throw me off my bike. Like it was that violent. And then the whole speed of the peloton immediately gets broken up because like the average Speed goes from 30, 35K to 10, 20. Everyone's riding different. Everyone's just holding on for dear life, basically.

It's almost like the guys made a road and he's just taking a whole lot of rocks and put it on the back of his tractor and just.

And then just dropped them there, let.

Them all fall off and wherever they land, that's the road. And the gaps between the cobbles is the problem, isn't it? Because it's your bike sliding between gaps and a little bit damp and ah, boy, the adrenaline rush, you know, it is, it is something to. It's more nervous than I've been for some of the big races and trying to think about I've got to stay upright.

That's right, that's key.

And you know, the first year I was watching and taking photos for you and the second year I was riding with the boys and, and seeing you guys come out of the forest was the, the best sight I've ever seen because we were waiting, thinking, that's right.

And then we finished it and we all looked at each other and we were all spread out like we'd lost each other. But we all waited and then we kind of were like, all right. Yeah, we did it. All right. Like, so one down, 19 to go or whatever. There was like, and, and every single section of Cobbles. You hit, like, there's a big banner just before you go into the cobbles, and the banner's got, like, a star rating, and it's like, welcome to section number 17. And. And it tells you how long it goes for. And it's like, all right, here we go. And you hit it.

That was crucial information, wasn't it?

Especially when you get down to, like, the last half a dozen, like, the last six. You know, Jordan, you said, like, you couldn't articulate it. You know, this. This Paru Bay section, You know, I eventually got dropped by. Well, not dropped, but, like, I couldn't keep up with some of the other guys in the group, and that was fine. And one of the other guys in our group, Dave Staley, he. He was like, all right, well, let's just ride together. And so me and him just rode together the whole way. And, you know, you have a pit stop halfway because, like, it took us five and a half hours. Like, so halfway through, you know, there's. There's a food break where the rest station, we get heaps of lollies. You can get some electrolyzing eggs and Coke. And, yeah, you know, they've got toilets as well, so, you know, having a toilet stop and, you know, just. Just catching your breath and stretching out your back and giving your hands a break from holding onto the handlebars. But, yeah, Dave, I think, articulated it so well because, you know, every section was just getting harder and harder to finish, you know, and we finally finished that last section. And then riding into Roubaix, you know, that iconic road with the trees down the middle, and then you turn right into. Into the. Into the velodrome.

And.

Something we've seen a lot on telly over the years, here you are.

Doing it, and it's finally smooth road. You've just ridden, like, four hours of your bike, literally bucking like a bull, trying to throw, finally on smooth road. And, like, it's just an amazing feeling. And Dave said, you know, Dave's really into his, you know, challenges and really pushing himself to do achievements. And, you know, he always said that one of his best achievements ever was completing an Ironman. And, you know, that's. That's a big achievement for a lot of people. Like, that's a one big bucket list thing. And he said something amazing. He would just. He just said after the race, he said, riding into that Balladrome, I honestly think was a better feeling and better experience than finishing an Ironman. And it really does feel like that because it's Challenging in so many different ways. And it's really, mentally, it's hard because, yeah, your hands are getting destroyed, your back's getting destroyed from trying to keep. Keep going, but you just got to keep turning your pedals over. You know, there's people around you that are falling over, and you know, it's. If you're not careful, you can hurt yourself. And, yeah, actually finishing it and, yeah, riding to that Valjean across the finish line, it's. It's pretty amazing feeling and pretty awesome achievement.

I agree. It was. It was totally euphoric and it was just. It just felt like one of the. One of the best feelings I've ever had, I reckon, just crossing that finish line for us especially Liam, we're not cyclists. And you would have had a similar experience to me. Heading over, being a bit nervous whether you could actually make it and ride five, five and a half hours. But as challenging as it was and as, like, tough as it was, it was equally as fun, equally as rewarding. And I just remember thinking along the ride, even though it was hurting, I just remember thinking, this is one. This is the best day I've had on the bike, Both at rebate 100%. It's just a spring day in France and Belgium. It's just the best countryside we've ever seen. And for that reason, it was just. The whole experience was unbelievable.

But even more to the point, both of your preparations was classic son of a coach. No writing whatsoever. And I was just that scared that you guys would absolutely not make it. And to credit, I was shocked that you got through it, Lane, I think you had three rides beforehand. And I told Jordan, don't make the same mistake as Lane made the year before, because you'll suffer big time. And he actually did fall, right. And to see his face turn around and watch him come into the velodrome, I could not take the smile off his face. It sent shivers down my spine. The emotion was. It was phenomenal. And everybody at the end was just hugging each other. It was like, you get a medal.

And I actually found that medal this morning and I was like, how good is this? Yes. With the cobbles all over it. And.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, I agree. I took it home. I was showing, like, my mates at home, and they didn't understand how special.

It was, but I was still wearing it.

I reckon I was just so happy with it. And that's the thing about this tour. I mean, it is challenging. It's not a luxury tour. It's not a relaxing kind of. We'll just cruise along and see some good sights. Tour. It is a riding tour and we want to make that really clear that, you know, we, we do go out and we ride. We don't, we're not pushing every single day to do the hardest ride. We're enjoying everything. But it is a challenge and you've got to be up for that challenge to come.

I think for me, because I really love my surf tours so like I'm nearly every year I'll go to a different location and yeah, go with the Tour group to surf one of an iconic surf break. And one of the, the worst things about tours is if you end up in a group with different surf abilities, it completely kind of ruins the trip because, you know, the beginners don't want to surf the waves that are too hectic. And then there's some people there that are only there to surf the most extreme waves ever. They're like, well, I didn't leave Australia just to surf like same waves as Australia. And so everyone gets really upset with each other around where to go and where the boat should go the next day. Day. What I really loved the way you organize the dad is that obviously you do it via application and so you're making sure that every single guy on the Tour is at least like a similar ability. So, you know, everyone who has a good bike, you know, loves their training, loves their cycling, you know, if they're not, you know, a full on cyclist, at least like me and Jordan, that we've got fitness from our running or footy or elsewhere. And so I think that just works so well because, yeah, every day you get to just ride together and no one's trying to ride away and no one's really lagging behind. And I remember you sat down with a couple of people just coincidentally when you first got to Belgium when they were on a tour and they were just pulling their hair out because there was a couple of not saying girls are worse riders than boys. It just so happened that there were these two girls on the Tour that were there really just to, you know, have a look around basically like, and they'd never ridden more than 20, 30Ks in their life. And these guys who were there who wanted to challenge themselves on the Paderberg and the Quarremont and the Koppenberg and like they were just constantly waiting for these two, two ladies and really ruined, I guess, their experience. And yeah, that's what I love about the way you set it up, dad. It's just. And the fact that you've been there so many times now. It's just like every day you're just like, all right, this is what we're doing. This is where riding, follow me. And everyone just follows you and you know the roads back to front. And obviously you've got the local knowledge now. Your friends that you've made over there and families that you've met over there have given you a local knowledge of where to go and where to ride. And then for watching the actual events as well, it's like knowing all the shortcuts of where to go and in between all the towns and cities. Yeah, I just think that's. That was just such an enjoyable part to not have to worry about it and just not have to worry. Am I going to be the worst rider or are we going to be waiting for people that are, you know, going to be absolute nupties? But, you know.

Yeah, well, look along those lines. One of my really good mates from uni from back in the 70s, Neville, came along and. And Neville's a novice rider and he wasn't young, he's in his 50s. Whereas you guys had youth on your age, which actually got you through. But, but Neville said to me, I really want to come on this tour. And he said that to me in October of. Of the previous year, about now, actually. And he said, what do I need to do? What standard do I need to get to? I said, oh, Nev, this is probably going to be a little bit, you know, it might be a little bit beyond you, but if you. If you're willing to actually do a little bit of a, you know, follow a little bit of a program, I think by the time you get there, you should be fine. And sure enough, he stuck to whatever I gave him. And you remember Lane, the way he.

Rode, he rode away from me.

Yes. And he was just saying, this is the best thing I've done, you know, in a long, long time. And, you know, he's played a lot of footy and cricket over the years, but he's not a cyclist yet. He got to do, you know, two of the most iconic rides and got through them with flying colors. And so you can. As long as you're prepared. I'm not. Not saying the way you two guys prepared, but as long as you're prepared for it and, you know, now's the time to start writing for something that's going to happen in April, there's plenty of time to. To get. You don't have to be outstanding, you just have to be able to, you Know, ride in a bunch and. And, you know, we don't want, you know, guys have only been riding for five minutes and. And, you know, that would really make the task a lot more difficult. But certainly people who are, you know, C grade, D grade riders to A grade we can all ride in a bunch together, which we proved this year. Jordan. We rode both tours together this year, Lane, which was a bit different to what you did first year. I decided to make sure that everybody rode together this year and really that was the best thing we did. And we ended up having massive pelotons behind the 10 riders that we had, which was so much fun. And yeah, even Studio Grady's tour was.

That's right.

Yeah.

Just on Nev, by the way, one of the funniest things. This is the other thing about why I had so I don't think I've laughed that hard during that week as I. As I did for a long time. Just the culture of the group and everyone's there on holidays, everyone's there for a good time and, you know, everyone's enjoying a beer afterwards and you're just laughing so much. But yeah, Nev, obviously, he's a footy and cricket background. Just getting into his cycling that day at Flanders pre race, where we were lucky enough to go to the. Behind the start line where all the riders are on the buses and on their Ergos and warming up. And it was so great to be walking around there and like, you know, talking to the SBS commentators. And then sure enough, the rider with all these people, like, trying to chase him and there's photos going everywhere is trying to get through and he's only riding at 12 k's an hour. Obviously he's just trying to get through the crowd. And you took a photo, dad, and obviously it's world number one saga. You might end up being one of the greatest riders of all time at this point. And there's this photo you've taken of Sagan and he's standing at a standstill pretty much right next to Neville. And Nev is completely oblivious that he's even ridden past him. He's looking up at the sky or something. He's not even concentrating. We're just like Nevada, because he's fishing with you and Sargent.

He's like, oh, yeah, yeah. Is he.

Is he all right? Is he.

Why has his jersey got the rainbow. Rainbow colors and stuff on it? What's so special about him?

Oh, man, it was absolutely classic. But that's so true, though.

That's like Nev is a good epitomizers the person that can come on the tour. And I mean, to make that really clear, if you feel like you need to improve, that's why we're opening it up now. One, to make sure that we lock in the 10 people that are coming early so we can confirm everyone. But also it gives you time to prepare for it. And if you need help with the program, we can give you that. And yeah, to make it really clear, it's either gender, male or female, it doesn't matter. If you want to come along, we'll just have a conversation with you, with where you're at right now, what you want to get out of it. And then if you need some help preparing, then we'll give you some help. And yeah, I mean, it is open to absolutely anyone. Just got to understand what kind of tour it is. Yeah.

Then look, we didn't really touch on what happens. It's, you know, you live in a magnificent house that we are totally catered for by my darling wife, who. Who basically cooks all the meals, does all the washing. You get your washing done every day, you get your bike cleaned like, you get treated like you're a pro. And then you wake up and breakfast is ready and the tour for the day is organized. And where we're going, massage therapist and the massage. And then we've got Patrick doing massage and we've got. He's also in the car directing us, you know, around the beautiful Belgium roads, the countryside. And then, you know, all the meals at night are catered for. It's all inclusive. You actually don't put your hand in your pocket. Frank lost his wallet on day three and I gave him €50. And after day five, he said, I said, do you need any more money? He goes, I still got 50 you gave me.

So all those details will be uploaded onto our website. If you want to get more information, every single one of those details, exactly how the tour runs, will be on there. Look out on our Instagram page, Trivelocoaching, or our Facebook page, trivelocoaching. And over the next week, we'll be uploading all the details, everything you need to know, some video footage showing exactly what the tour is like. So definitely head to Trivalo Coaching Facebook page or Travelo Coaching Instagram page and then applications open next week. So we're very excited for this, we're very excited for this tour. It's going to be an absolute ripper again, as it always is. And we're looking forward to the 10 riders that get to come along with us.

Unreal.

And that's it from us. Thank you very much, Liam, for joining us. We're very excited to share with you more details of the Trivello coaching Belgium spring Classics tour, and we'll see you next time. Cheers.

Thanks, guys.