Bigger chainrings, new derailleurs, unreleased wheels
(Image credit: Will Jones)
Opening Weekend is comprised of two races. First up is Omloop Het Niewsblad, a lumpy, rough-and-tumble race, from which we've already put together our first mega tech gallery. The start is frenetic, but well organised, with teams cordoned off from the fans with plenty of space for both the teams and jobbing journos to move around.
Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne is a different beast entirely. There is no start venue, so teams park buses in car parks, beside ancient bridges, and on the banks of the river Leie. There's often only a bike length from the door of the bus to the clamouring fans, which certainly makes it a little harder to get information out of mechanics.
The crowds typically swarm around the big teams, and the arrival of the Visma-Lease a Bike bus saw a mass movement of bodies more akin to a shoal of fish than humans. On the flip side, it meant things were easier at the second-tier team buses. I was able to have an interesting chat with the Lotto-Dstny mechanic about Thomas de Gendt's random tyre blowout without having to use my elbows at all.
Sadly there is no women's Kurrne-Brussels-Kuurne, so all of the tech below is from the men's peloton. If you want the full experience, put on some '80s classic pop hits, as were being blared out by two wonderful DJs on a rickety, wheeled scaffold platform. I'm just glad it wasn't raining.
Is there anything we've missed? Let us know in the comments below, and stay tuned to Cyclingnews for all the race results, news and features from our team on the ground throughout the classics season.
Thank you for your Cyclingnews subscription. We use our subscription fees to be able to keep producing all our usual great content as well as more premium pieces like this one. Find out more here.
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
This is subscriber exclusive content and can only be viewed if you have an active subscription with us.
Join now to access our subscriber exclusive content and have unlimited access to all our usual content with no limits
Will joined the Cyclingnews team as a reviews writer in 2022, having previously written for Cyclist, BikeRadar and Advntr. There are very few types of cycling he's not dabbled in, and he has a particular affection for older bikes and long lasting components. Road riding was his first love, before graduating to racing CX in Yorkshire. He's been touring on a vintage tandem all the way through to fixed gear gravel riding and MTB too. When he's not out riding one of his many bikes he can usually be found in the garage tinkering with another of them, or getting obsessive about tyres. Also, as he doesn't use Zwift, he's our go-to guy for bad weather testing... bless him.
Rides: Custom Zetland Audax, Bowman Palace:R, Peugeot Grand Tourisme Tandem, Falcon Explorer Tracklocross, Fairlight Secan & Strael