Flanders

But actually the true home of cycling, the Tour de France kind of cycling is Belgium.

Flanders in particular.

Yes, that's where the real, I mean, it's in their blood there.

Like, you know, you're just much more than France, actually, you know, believe it or not.

Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, held in France Burgundy proper, with Artois and Franche-Comté.

Beyond it, Brabant, Limburg, Hainaut, and the wealthy cities of Flanders, and was on the point of excluding France from all communication with the rest of Europe except through his states, by seizing the Provençal dominions of René of Anjou.

The dukes of Bretagne and Bourbon, and the Count of Armagnac with his Gascons, were equally opposed to Louis, and there was not one of these potentates who would have scrupled for a moment to call in against him the English or any other foreigners.

In spite of all this he succeeded by unresting vigilance and craft in baffling them one by one, and in establishing his own power on the ruin of theirs.

They made for Worcester, apparently trusting for their safety to local connections there.

These, however, failed them entirely, and their forces dispersed on Henry's first proclamation of pardon.

Lord Lovell fled to Lancashire and thence to Flanders, and the Staffords took sanctuary at Culham near Abingdon, but were removed from it for trial on the ground that the place had not sufficient privileges as a sanctuary to shelter traitors.

The elder brother was then executed, the younger pardoned as having acted under his influence.

The enemy marched down troops from all parts of France to defend themselves where they thought the descent was intended, but the king's plan was well laid and unsuspected by the court of Versailles.

Instead of steering to the coast of Brittany, he directed his course to that of Flanders, and without the least opposition landed his whole army on the beach of Blankenburg.

He immediately published and dispersed a memorial to the Dutch, exhorting them to take this favorable opportunity of regaining their liberty, promising to do everything for them that could be in any way conducive to so salutary an end.

But their spirits were too much depressed, and they were kept too much in awe by the garrisons that were in their several fortresses, to listen to a deliverer.

The wishes of the whole kingdom attended the King in this demand, and the commons having granted the necessary supplies, George increased his forces to eighty thousand men, while his fleet was manned and ready for service in case of necessity.

very soon after a vast fleet of transports wafted the king at the head of sixty thousand of the bravest troops in the world to the coast of flanders had the emperor been in a less critical situation he could have drawn one of his enemies off by marching to paris but nothing could save frederick except raising the siege of vienna george therefore lost no time but began a long and dangerous march through a country wholly possessed by the enemy he had with him a vast train of artillery and a multitude of baggage-wagons, yet thus encumbered, he ventured on one of the most dangerous expeditions that ever was known.

All the passes, quite from Flanders to Austria, were in the hands of the French and Russians.

He had many fortresses to pass by, and a prodigious number of rivers to cross.

For trust King Charles, 'twill be of small account when masterful the voice what tongue it speaks.

To Flanders I must go.

Your king, dear duke, must emperor return.

The King of France will stir all means.

All have love prepared to meet and answer yours.

But what has my proscribed received from niggard fortune? You possess Castille and Aragon, Murcia and Leon, Navarre, and still 10 kingdoms more.

Flanders and India with the mines of gold you own.

An empire without peer, and all so vast that ne'er the sun sets on it.

[dramatic music] Escape, designed to free you from the four walls of today for a half hour of high adventure.

Tonight, we escape to the coast of Flanders in October 1914 into the story of a man chosen by a strange destiny to win the First World War, as Robert Buckner tells it in his classic tale, The Man Who Won the War.

[dramatic music]

Gentlemen, I have asked this board to meet by the authority vested in me as chairman of the Naval Committee of the House of Commons.

No single piece of evidence came to light to substantiate his fantastic story.

There is no record of his action in the Belgian War Office.

There is not a single witness to his weird adventure upon the Flanders beach that night in October 1914.

Why, damn it, man, the Royal Navy itself tried to find the evidence, but we couldn't.

Mm

... and 17th centuries, uh, in Flanders, which is modern-day Belgium and Netherlands.

Mm-hmm.

And, um, kind of this idea of lighting, which you could probably go into more detail, but, um, this kind of, uh, uh, lighting is a technique used, strong contrast.

And in the past couple of seasons, she's been doing more of the classics, which I think suits her a lot better.

The races like Flanders and Roubaix suit Blanca massively, whereas...

I'd say the races like the Ardennes are, especially Liège and Fleche, were that little bit too hilly for her, where she can really thrive in the early season classics that also conflicted with her cross season.

Yeah, that'll be an interesting one is whether or not she will continue to cross with Shuren leaving and the potential of Lucinda leaving.

They're such a strong nation, and they actually haven't done well at the Worlds in the last couple of years, which has been interesting to see.

And this is a Worlds where Volering is with the season she's had this year.

I mean, Omloop, Flanders, Liège-Bastogne-Liège, Fleche Wallonne, the Giro, the Tour.

It's been one of those seasons of old where you would only see like Voss or Van de Breggen walk away with that level of results or Van Vleuten.

I just...

And, you know, people may point examples and stuff and you will see him at the Tour of Luxembourg soon, but I'm not convinced that when everything starts flying, the attacks are really going... whether Van Der Poel is going to be able to complete this this is more of a Elias Bastogne age course rather than a Flanders course so I just am not convinced about Van Der Poel surviving it surviving till the end

Yeah, I think that will be very exciting to see what happens.

And hopefully they do.