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Classics campaign begins: Between the Muur, the Kuipke and childhood dreams
For Arne Marit, Gianni Vermeersch and Jordi Meeus, Opening Weekend is more than a date in the calendar. It is memory. It is identity. It is home.
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When cycling begins to smell like spring, the climbs are called hellingen and bergs, and the compass points toward Flanders. There is a particular sound here when winter slowly fades — tires humming over rough asphalt, blending with unrestrained cheers carried by the wind through corridors of fans.
Cafés debate start-lists. Fantasy cycling teams are built. Bakeries prepare special pies for race Sunday. And somewhere, a child sits in front of the television — or stands by the roadside — watching, dreaming.
As Opening Weekend approaches, something shifts across the country.
Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe during Omloop Recon
© Twila Federica Muzzi / Red Bull Content Pool
“With Omloop Nieuwsblad, it really feels like the start of the real cycling season,” says Arne Marit. “The races before, we call them preparation races. But everyone in the classics group builds towards Opening Weekend.”
It is not just another weekend. It is a reset — and for Belgian riders, it always carries something personal.
Arne Marit: Ten kilometers from the Muur
Arne now lives in Pajottegem. “From my home it’s only about ten kilometers to the Muur,” he explains.
Ten kilometers to one of cycling’s most mythical climbs. Ten kilometers to a place he first knew through television images — and later experienced in the peloton.
As a child, his family would stand for hours behind the barriers on the Bosberg — another cobbled climb in Geraardsbergen — waiting for the race to arrive.
Feeling at home: Arne Marit during the Omloop recon
© Twila Federica Muzzi / Red Bull Content Pool
“I still remember standing next to the barriers for hours, watching the screen and waiting for the legends like Ballan or Tom Boonen. I was waving the Flemish lion flag.”
These are not abstract childhood memories. They are vivid: the tension, the noise, the moment the race suddenly explodes in front of you.
One memory of seven-year-old Arne Marit stands out above the rest:
“My sister took part in a drawing competition at school. The winner got a meet-and-greet with Tom Boonen. So we were at the finish line when he won the Tour of Flanders in his world champion’s jersey. I remember it like it was yesterday.”
Today, Arne rides those same roads. Yet it has never become normal.
Every time you ride over the Muur, you think about where the big attacks happened. It feels mythical.
“Every time you ride over the Muur, you think about where the big attacks happened. It feels mythical.”
Some riders train on famous roads. Others grow up with them.
Gianni Vermeersch: Growing up with VHS tapes
In Klerken, near Roeselare, cycling was never just a sport. It was part of family life.
“My dad recorded all the races on tape, and when I got a bit older, I watched them again and again,” Gianni says. “From almost every edition of the Tour of Flanders, I know how the race unfolded.”
While others had favorite TV shows, Gianni had past editions of Flanders.
Watching those races wasn’t only about being a fan. It was education — learning the climbs, understanding the flow of the race. Long before he lined up himself, he already knew what was coming next.
Gianni Vermeersch knows the roads of the Omloop like the back of his hand.
© Twila Federica Muzzi / Red Bull Content Pool
“Even before I rode Flanders for the first time, I already knew which climb was coming next. I think that’s one of my strengths — knowing the parcours so well just from watching the races for years.”
Even before I rode Flanders for the first time, I already knew which climb was coming next.
When Gent-Wevelgem passed through his hometown in the past two years, the experience became deeply personal. “That was one of the nicest moments of the classics season: riding through my hometown, with family, friends and supporters all gathered at the church.”
For most riders, it’s just another section of the course. For him, it was home.
Jordi Meeus: The yellow flags on TV
Jordi Meeus grew up in Lommel — two hours from the heart of the Flemish classics. Perhaps that distance made the races even more special. “The Flemish classics are still very close to my heart,” he says.
He doesn’t remember the very first Opening Weekend he watched. But he remembers the years when Peter Sagan was always there. When Greg Van Avermaet was winning. And especially the edition when Ian Stannard beat the Quick-Step riders.
Jordi Meeus keeps an eye out for the yellow flags with the Flemish lion.
© Twila Federica Muzzi / Red Bull Content Pool
And he remembers the images. “The yellow flags with the Flemish lion. I remember watching the races on TV and seeing so many of those yellow flags, especially in the Tour of Flanders.”
Those images stay with you. And one day, you find yourself inside them.
Perhaps that is the quiet power of Opening Weekend: It connects generations — from the child watching to the rider in the bunch.
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