This sympathetic Belgian, endurance athlete and Merit bikes ambassador answered us few questions about long endurance and bikepacking riding. Ben is French Divide and Tuscany Trail winner and participant of many other bike adventures.
We know that Belgium is country of cyclists, but how did you get into cycling?
Actually, I do not have any background in cycling. I grew up in a family full off football. For a long time everything revolved around football and there was no space for other sports.
At age 28 I decided to stop with football after persistent knee injuries. From then cycling got into my life and became a passion. In the beginning I rode the weekly mountainbike tours in winter and some Belgian cyclo classics in spring. After that I made a longer cycling trip in summer and another one after that. My rides got longer and more adventurous.
In summer of 2014 I picked up Kristof Allegaerts performance in the TCRn°2. From that moment bikepacking and endurance races came into my life and I found my passion.
In 2015 I was at the start of TCRn°3 for my first bikepacking event, and the train was rolling …
What do you like on long distance races and what do you consider is your greatest success?
I like being on the road by myself, to come to and discover places where you otherwise never would come. And I like testing my own physical and mental limits. It’s the passion for cycling, for the bike and for adventure that is the key to success.
Every challenge you take and that you can complete is a success.
But maybe my 9th place in the Trancontinental race feels as my greatest success. At that moment I was so ignorant in bikepacking that this finish was so fantastic.
Could you tell us something about long unsupported races?
Most unsupported races just have a start and finish point with a fixed route between them. Some of them have also checkpoints on the route but that isn’t necessary.
The main goal for the riders is to reach the finish as fast as possible, but in a self-supported way. This means you have to do everything on your own and aren’t allowed to use any assistance from outside of anybody. You have to carry all your equipment by yourself and you can only take use of commercial services on the road that are available for all the riders. This means you can cook you own food you bought in a supermarket, but you also can eat in restaurants. You can sleep in a tent or bivvy bag alongside the road or in a bus stop, but you can also decide to sleep at a campsite or in a hotel. You cannot for instance sleep at a friend’s home, because that’s not available for the other riders.
You can ride as long as you want and stop or sleep as long as you want, but you have to remember that once the race has started, the clock never stops.
What is hurt much on long distance races and what kind of hurt we can expect?
Off course there is the physical aspect. After being days and days in the saddle the body gets hurt. Knee pain, achilles tendinitis, nerve damage on the fingers and saddle sores are the most common injuries on the road, I think. It’s key to be as prepared as you can be at the start of a race to minimalize the risks of getting those injuries.
On the other side you have the mental aspect. I think for most people that’s the most difficult one. To ride your bike for that many hours on consecutive days is mentally demanding. You have to find the motivation to keep going, to restart after a short night, to ignore the pain, to challenge the elements of nature,… When it is over in the head, thinks are getting difficult.
What was your biggest crisis, where and what happend? How to prevent or overcome the crisis and convice your mind to continue in race, do you have some advices?
In my last race, the Tour Divide, I broke my front suspension. I just had a very hard day with cold and snow and heavy terrain. I was on top of Fleecer Mountain, above 3000 m, while my front suspension broke, luckily without getting injured. I had to move down with my bike literally in two parts. I walked for hours before I found someone. At that time I was leading the race and I thought race was over now. I needed more than 24 hours to find a new suspension but I finally got back on track. I restarted the race around 25th position, but finished in 3rd place.
When you have trouble, you have to accept that, it’s part of the adventure. It happened and it will not change because you are getting mad. Staying calm, trying to solve the problem step by step and set new achievable goals is the best you can do in those circumstances.
What is the longest you’ve ridden without sleep?
I have done a couple of rides of more than 24 hours but these are exceptional.
One of those I absolutely remember is my final day in the Trancontinental Race N°3 to Istanbul. I was in Plovdiv in Bulgary and I had to do 550 km to reach the finish in Istanbul. It took me more than 26 hours. It was a real struggle with a lot of wind and traffic but I made it.
Fatigue and sleep deprivation are a strange thing. On moments where you are so tired, you start to hallucinate. There were moments I saw in every shadow other riders. I didn’t like that at all. Mostly I go for longer sleeps and faster rides.
What is your plan for next season?
There are so many nice events to do and every time it’s hard to choose, but my 2018 plans are made and I stay again mostly off-road this year.
- April: My long way home (training) Riding back home from the French Alps after a family vacation in the mountains
- 28 April – 1 May: ACT3 (across Belgium-Germany and Luxemburg) - 450 km off road event in the Ardennes
- 10 May: BeMC in one day - Riding a 3 day UCI Mtb race in one day (promotional race)
- 1 July: Bikepacking Trans Germany (main goal of 2018) - 1700 km off-road event in Germany
- 25 August: ACT5 (across Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, Luxemburg and France ) - 1200 km Mtb race across the Ardennes
What is your favorite setup for unsupported races
I prefer off-road races where you are more in the wild, more in nature and it’s more adventurous. So for a favorite setup I go for a CX mountainbike.
- CX mountainbike frame
- Lauff suspension fork
- Shimano xt components
- No tubes – ZTR arch rims
- DT Swiss rear hub and SON edelux front hub
- Ergon grips
- Ergon saddle
- Saddle bag (last race I used Apidura, before that I used Revelated design)
- Custom made steer harnas with waterproof sea to summit bag
- Bikes: Mtb (Cannondale and Cube so far) (Merit Professor for coming events)
- Shoes: Supplest Mtb shoes are the best for me.
- Clothes: Since this year I’m sponsored by Castelli.
Thanks!