Luyksgestel GP   

Luyksgestel is a village in the Netherlands in the province of North Brabant. Until 1819, it belonged to the United kingdom of the Netherlands' province of Antwerp, and only then it was transferred to where it currently belongs: the province of North Brabant, in exchange for Lommel, a neighboring village that was put into the province of Antwerp. This Grand Prix is dedicated to that particular moment in history where Luyksgest...

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Luyksgestel is a village in the Netherlands in the province of North Brabant. Until 1819, it belonged to the United kingdom of the Netherlands' province of Antwerp, and only then it was transferred to where it currently belongs: the province of North Brabant, in exchange for Lommel, a neighboring village that was put into the province of Antwerp. This Grand Prix is dedicated to that particular moment in history where Luyksgestel and Lommel were exchanged in 1819.

The departure of this one-day race is at the Kiosk in Luyksgestel. As the riders head for the first cobbled section at Borkel and Schaft they go through the town of Bergeijk where they pass the Standerd's Mill. After 12km they reach this rather easy cobbled section with a lenght of 4km that goes through the picturesque town of Borkel and Schaft, they pass the town's beautiful Saint-Anthony Abbot Mill. The peloton then crosses the border and races into Belgium as they pass through Achelse Kluis which holds the monumental Saint-Benedict Abbey and the Achel Brewery. Tourists can take a rest at the Inn, here they can enjoy one of the six Trappist beers in the world - Trappist Achel. But the riders don't have time to rest their legs and they continue on to Achel and Neerpelt on generally straight flat roads. As they pass through Nolimpark they go on to the silver sand mining quarries of Lommel.

After 40km of rather easy flat roads they arrive at the Ford Lommel Proving Grounds to test their bikes on a difficult cobbled road which requires a lot of technique and has a length of 2.5km.

As they leave this difficult section they head towards the city centre of Lommel and after 45km they reach the third cobble street, a difficult road with a length of 800m through the beautiful city centre. Some riders are starting to feel fatigued and they are starting to feel pain everywhere. The riders then try to regroup on the easy flat roads and go on to more silver sand mining quarries at Maatheide. They pass through small villages like Stevensvennen and Mol-Rauw. Leisure can be found at Holiday village Kempense Meren Sunparks and Provincial Recreation Park Zilvermeer Mol, where the riders are preparing their legs for the last cobbled sections.

After 62km the easy flat roads in Witgoor lead them to the Campina Beach as they turn onto the Zanddijk - Grensstraat wich is a protected monument. This difficult cobbled street requires some technique and has a length of 800m. Some riders are starting to drop off, other riders are ready for the final part of the race as they arrive at the village of Postel.

The riders enter the domain of Postel Abbey after 67km on a medium difficult cobbled section which has a lenght of 400m. The Postel Abbey is well known for the production of their abby cheese and Postel abby beer. The riders don't get much rest after that as they immediately turn onto the Steenhoven - Grensweg. This is the penultimate cobbled road which requires some technique and has a lenght of 5km. As they are struggling on this difficult road they pass the Steenhoven Country Club, a lot of riders are probably considering a carreer change to golf.

Finally the riders pass through the villages Witrijt, Weebosch and Rijt on flat easy roads. The riders enter the village of Luyksgestel as the last kilometer starts with an easy cobbled section with a length of 400m, they can see the Kiosk in the distance and are preparing to sprint for glory...