There is a type of hardman that is unequivocal. The Flahute.
The term Flahute is thought to be coined by French journalists after WWII who used it endearingly to describe their Belgian neighbours, the cyclists who rode the legs off their rivals over the pave and through cold, rainy conditions. These were people that had just had their country torn apart by war. People who gave themselves one choice, pick beets all day or become a cyclist. Either of which led to a career of suffering. One of which may have also led to praise by his countrymen and perhaps even glory. These are riders, it has been said, that consider le Tour to be a series of long training rides. The exception that proves this rule is, of course, Eddy Merckx. Roger De Vlaeminck, Mr. Paris-Roubaix and a noted Flahute, defines them this way; “They’re just those guys who know how to ride faster than anybody else over cobblestones and in the rain.” Flahute has also been defined as the only guy who finishes a 200k race that 125 guys start. Franco Ballerini was one. As was Johan Musseeuw.
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Try your hand at the series of rides over Winter.
- The Flahute 2011.pdf
- The Flahute 2011 Details
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