The Start the Finish

Dear Rider, With only 6 days remaining before the start of ‘The Golden Eagle’, the second edition of DeMap, time has come to reveal the details of our competition. Don’t be afraid: we won’t ask you to ‘riemt er zelf maar ene af’, nor are we promoting a meat- based lifestyle. But we can imagine that the tension is increasing and we ourselves are really craving for the starting shot. So do get your (digital) maps out, read carefully the following rules and start planning and optimizing your journey. The start All participants must start - one by one or in duo - this Saturday, between 7 am and 9h30am at De Wouwershoeve, De Lusthoven 58, 2370 Arendonk. Please bring your face mask with you and respect the social distance. You can choose your own bicycle type. Road bike, mountainbike, gravel bike: it's up to you. Electric bikes are not allowed. What happens at the start? Every participant will receive a race number (a page from Rik Van Steenbergen’s biography, written by Achiel Van Den Broeck: ‘De miljoenenfiets van Rik Van Steenbergen’), a small stamp booklet and some vegan energy powder drinks. The organizers will take a picture, put a first stamp in your booklet and will note down your exact starting time. After that, you are ready to go. The finish This time, the start is also the finish. Every participant must reach the finish line and receive the finish stamp within 12 hours after his/her starting time. So if you started at 07h35, we expect you to arrive back at De Wouwershoeve the latest at 19h35. How do you get there? There are parking places 200m from De Wouwershoeve for those arriving by car. The closest train station of Turnhout is located 12 km from the start. Overnight stay - the early eagle catches the worm If you are still looking for a place to stay before or after the event, we can recommend: • Bed & Breakfast Brug 6 • Bed & Breakfast Elegantier Rules of the game Next to the two basic stamps (one point each) – start and finish – there are plenty of other ways to gain stamps/points, and thus plenty of ways to plan your trip, to create your own map. However, first and foremost, before explaining the details, we would like to stress again that DeMap is not meant to be a competition, but a way to offer adventurous cyclists a frame to map new rides and to challenge themselves. So speed is definitely not of the essence. Secondly, we think it is technically impossible for any (human) rider to visit all bonus checkpoints and finish within 12 hours. The challenge is thus to choose and plan wisely. At the following checkpoints, you won't find any of us. To prove your passage, take a picture of yourself at the described place, your race number included. Once you have reached the finish, we will check your 'DeMap-selfies' and calculate your points. Having said that, we are sure you are curious to find out how to win these points. Well, here is the overview: We proudly present 5 normal and 2 special loops Each normal loop consists of 3 checkpoints (worth 1, 2 and 3 points) and 1 moonshot. If you visit all three checkpoints of one of the normal loops, you get 3 extra points. Each moonshot is worth 5 points. So the maximum score for every normal loop is (1+2+3+3+5) 14 points. You are free to choose which, and how many, checkpoint(s) you add to your personal map. Each checkpoint has its own value. If you: • dress up like an eagle, you get 2 extra points • bring a fresh zucchini to the start, you also get 1 extra point • ride alone, you get 2 extra points • succeeded in our flash ‘DeMap’ challenge last week: 2 extra points Be aware: every time you pass at the start/finish location after visiting one or more checkpoints, you earn 2 extra points. Loop 1. RIK, the track hero The second edition of DeMap is dedicated to Rik Van Steenbergen, who won The Tour of Flanders (1944, 1946), Paris-Roubaix (1948, 1952), Milan-San Remo (1951) and La Flèche Wallone (1949, 1958). But besides these classic wins, Rik also excelled on the track and won 40 six-day events. To pay homage to our track hero, we offer you 3 ‘track’ checkpoints. 1 point I am a circular cycle path in the woods, close to node 272 of the cycling network in Limbourg. As I am 10 meters above the ground, I’m not made for cyclists who suffer with a fear of heights. In total, I am 700 meters long. Ride a lap on me and gain 1 point. 2 points I am only 20 years old, so Rik Van Steenbergen – who died in 2003 – never got the chance to win a track race on me. A giant ski & snowboardcenter throws its shadow on me. There ‘s also a football pitch, a quarterpipe and a long jump box in my close proximity. I am 400 meters long, have sloping curves and an oval shape. I’m located in a city that is twinned with an Ethiopian town that is well-known for its rock-cut monolithic churches. Ride a lap on me and gain 2 points. 3 points Rik won the ‘Ruban Jaune’ in 1948, after riding the fastest ride longer than 200 km so far. He finished Paris-Roubaix on the track of Roubaix after 246km over 5h38’ 26sec. Pass again exactly 5h38min after your departure at the start/finish location and pick up your ‘Ruban Jaune’, for 3 points. But pay attention: the minimum distance already covered by then should be at least half of 246km, thus 123 km. Moonshot Ride with a fixed gear bike all day for 5 extra points. Loop 2. RIK, the rainbow man On August 26 th 1956 Rik Van Steenbergen became world champion on the road in Copenhagen. In bad weather conditions – cold and windy, rain showers all day long – Rik won the sprint of a small group, followed by Rik Van Looy and Gerrit Schulte. It was his second world title, after his victory nine years earlier, also in Copenhagen. A year later, he would win his third rainbow jersey in Waregem. This loop is dedicated to the podium of the 1956 race. 1 point Although I have no legs or feet, I proudly stand in front of Frituur De Wissel, with a poem of Willie Verhegghe next to me. Make a selfie with me and get 1 point. 2 points I am made by Philip Aguirre y Otegui. With my hands in the pockets of my jacket I oversee the Grand Place of my hometown. 2 points if you give me a warm hug and take a picture of this beautiful moment. 3 points I am a plaque in honor of the bronze medalist of Copenhagen ’56, who also became world champion in the individual pursuit by beating Fausto Coppi in the 1948 indoor finals. You can find me on the wall of a “grand café”. Smile while you take a selfie here, for 3 points. Moonshot Find and take a picture - on the day of DeMap - of an original rainbow jersey of a world champion of the pros, amateur, youth, road, cyclocross, track, MTB, man or woman, dead or alive. 5 points. Loop 3. RIK, the golden eagle We are not only fond of Rik Van Steenbergen, we also love animals. Not least eagles, as we chose Arend-onk as our base for our second edition. 1 point You can find me at 107.9 MHz in Arendonk. For 1 point, take a picture of my entrance. 2 points In mythology I’m often depicted fighting with the eagle. In this desert in this small city - known for its football club, where Mirek Waligora and Khalilou Fadiga used to play – you find me in a wooden shape not so far from the big lake. I am often climbed by children, as I am part of the ‘adventurous childrens’ walk’. Climb me and take a picture for 2 points. 3 points I am a fire tower in a famous nature reserve, known for its purple haze and unfortunately also for its regular bush fires. But did you know this is a popular breeding ground of sea eagles too? On April 11th this year, Mario Egthuijsen saw an eagle in the moorland surrounding me. Climb me, take a picture and get 3 points. And oh yeah: don’t forget to search for an eagle, all along this watchtower! Moonshot If you figured out the 1 point-location in this loop: try to feature live on me on Saturday June 12th and get 5 extra points. Loop 4. RIK, the pornstar After his career, Rik Van Steenbergen was on the skids for a while. In 1968, he acted in the porn movie ‘Pandore’, to gain some extra money. The film only got bad reviews, but he inspired us for this loop. 1 point I am sex club close to the border and my name rings a bell with a lot of cyclist fans. In the eighties I was even seen in the Tour de France, as my founders bought a double-decker to follow the riders and serve as the very first ‘team bus’ in the peloton. Take a picture of the Club from the street for 1 point. 2 points ‘Pandore’ was filmed on the Greek island Thassos. This is also my name.

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