Campenaerts and teammates spark backlash from amateurs after Strava battle: "Shame they feel they have to compete with us"

Wesley Van Dyck's story began in 2017, when he decided to attack the best climbing times on all 57 climbs ever included in the Tour of Flanders. It seemed an impossible task, so he enlisted the help of a group of friends. In no time at all, the ‘Kings of the Flemish Mountains’ was born, a group of guys with a shared goal.

They shared their attempts on social media, with great success: the guys now have no fewer than 24,000 followers on Instagram. The fun stands in stark contrast to their professional approach: they pay attention to every detail. “The tires, the right tire pressure, the weather conditions, the tactics of the train. Everything has to be just right,” Van Dyck tells Het Nieuwsblad.

It went very well: in August, the group had no fewer than 41 of the 57 KOMS on the Flemish climbs. But now the number is declining significantly. Because Campenaerts, Benoot, and co. have now set up their own competition. They saw the times of the amateurs and decided to do something about it. “We discussed it with some riders in the peloton,” says Florian Vermeersch.

“It was a fun idea to take back a few KOMs. It creates healthy, sporting competition. It also fitted in with our training.” The Belgian from UAE Team Emirates - XRG is out of the running for the time being. “I'm leaving for Italy now, so I won't be taking any more in the near future. But maybe we'll go for it again in the spring.”

Campenaerts also sees the fun in it. The time trialist from Visma | Lease a Bike draws new motivation from it. "It's fun to do this, it gives us a goal during our training." Did he take another KOM during his last training session? "Of course. But on Friday I'm going to Paris-Tours and then I have to take a month off from cycling," laughs Vocsnor.

The men of ‘Kings of the Flemish Mountains’ are not laughing. For them, a KOM is more than just a joke. "We support charities, organize events, start a team... It's more than just those KOMs," Van Dyck says of the battle. "They had warned us. I know that Tiesj Benoot is also participating."

"I think it's a shame that they want to prove themselves to us amateurs. We still go to work every day. But anyway, we're stepping up to the challenge, and I know there's still room for improvement on many climbs. So we'll fight back and reclaim the KOMs."