Cyclists using on setts—or “cobbles”—near the Flandrien Lodge in Belgium.
The co-owner of a newly-opened cycling-themed resort within the coronary heart of the Flemish Ardennes doesn’t have a hospitality background, nor was he born within the space.
As a substitute, Jamie Anderson is an Australian who has spent a lot of his life educating at main European enterprise faculties. He co-founded the Flandrien Hotel partly to follow what he preaches—his analysis specialty is the evaluation of rising markets—and since he desires to be embedded within the sport that, to a majority of Belgians, particularly these from Flanders, is way extra essential than soccer.
Following skilled biking is nearly a faith in Flanders; among the all-time greats—together with Eddy Merckx—have been “Flandriens.” Two-thirds of the world’s finest skilled biking groups have not less than one Flandrien on their books.
Wealth
Anderson is a Masters biking champion, however he was a late returnee to the game. His boyhood dream of biking professionally was scotched first by a scholarship—he was the primary from his economically challenged massive household to attend college—after which, when his educational prowess grew to become obvious, his profession path diverted right into a succession of lavishly compensated enterprise faculty posts. He additionally operated a consultancy that suggested telecoms corporations world wide.
Rich, profitable, and with a younger household, he ought to have been pleased.
“I used to be incomes a great deal of cash and was internationally acknowledged for my analysis and writing,” he informed me, “however I used to be turning into burned out and depressing.”
When he wasn’t spending lengthy hours mentoring MBA college students at Berlin’s European College of Administration and Know-how or educating executive-level programs at Daimler, Bosch, and Deutsche Financial institution, he earned a small fortune advising telecoms corporations in India, Nigeria, and the Center East.
Profitable, then, however by his personal account, he was turning into a “awful husband and pop.”
“My spouse nicknamed our residence in Berlin ‘Lodge Anderson’ as I used to be typically passing by way of to repack my suitcase and spend a number of hours with the children earlier than jetting off for one more consultancy challenge,” he remembered.
If his parenting might do with a reboot, so might his biking: his work commitments and worldwide journey had meant that by his mid-forties, he hardly touched his high-end bicycle. His waistline was getting “comfortable,” he revealed in a 2015 TEDx discuss, and this private enlargement was his wake-up name. He needed to drop a few pounds; he needed to get again on his bike.
He entered a Masters race—a collection, because the identify suggests, for the older athlete—and the coaching for this upcoming occasion meant one thing in his busy schedule needed to give. He moved jobs, decreased his consultancy work, and threw himself into biking. He medalled in his first occasion and went on to win a number of subsequent races, finally turning into a world champion.
Life objectives
Realigning his work-life stability had been transformational for his household, and it had rekindled his love for aggressive biking. Now a professor of innovation administration at Antwerp Administration College, Anderson wished to run a enterprise, too, however not one which required worldwide journey, a enterprise that meshed together with his love of biking.
“As a child rising up in Australia, my heroes have been [professional cyclists] like Allan Peiper, Greg Lemond, Steve Bauer, Sean Kelly, and Stephen Roche,” stated Anderson.
The Flandrien Lodge’s shuttle is a interval staff automotive.
Whereas not Flanders born, these Belgium-based riders grew to become often called Flandriens, an honorific they earned from the Belgian biking media due to tenacious perseverance and loyalty.
Peugeot-Michelin was one of many high groups of the Eighties, famous for its complement of English-speaking riders from Australia and the U.Ok., international locations not but often called biking nations.
“For me, Allan Peiper represents one of many first worldwide Flandrien, the exhausting males from Australia, the U.Ok. and North America who got here to Belgium to make their mark,” stated Anderson.
Allan Peiper, left, with Jamie Anderson within the Flandrien Lodge.
Peiper—an Australian prodigy who arrived to race in Belgium at simply 16—rode for the fabled Peugeot-Michelin staff.
Anderson styled the Flandrien Lodge after this iconic staff and the gritty, no-longer-just-geographical epithet.
“As a child, [Peiper] was my hero, however I by no means imagined him turning into a buddy and neighbor—he lives within the subsequent village and is an everyday customer [to the hotel],” enthused Anderson. (The resort’s emblem incorporates a silhouette of Peiper.)
Pedal potential
The creation of the Flandrien Lodge benefitted from enter from the native tourism board, which has been promoting cycling in the region for some years. Toerisme Vlaanderen’s analysis pinpointed the potential for a cycling-specific resort, and to deliver it to life, Anderson labored with co-founders Bernard Moerman and Ann Dusauchoit. Steeped within the native biking scene, Moerman and Dusauchoit have 20 years of expertise operating a biking improvement heart for younger Belgian riders.
The resort opened in July. It has a black-and-white aesthetic, a homage to the Peugeot-Michelin staff. The resort even has a classic Peugeot-Michelin staff automotive as a visitor shuttle. Anderson says he’s from an analogous classic: “I turned 50 in March this yr—the resort was a birthday current to myself.”
Anderson continued: “We signed the acquisition settlement in late March, received the keys in Might and opened for enterprise on July 1.
“Many individuals stated we have been loopy shopping for a resort throughout Covid-19—it took loads of effort to persuade the banks to supply financing—however we have been vaccination roll-out charges and had religion that the enterprise would work, even when we’d initially must give attention to regional versus worldwide company.”
Interval bicycles adorn the partitions of the Flandrien Lodge.
Since opening, the resort has been at round 70% capability on weekdays and is nearly absolutely booked at weekends.
“We had our first skilled biking staff stick with us just lately,” stated Anderson, “and we’re in discussions with World Tour Groups Israeli Begin-up Nation and Bike Alternate to be primarily based right here for his or her reconnaissance for the Spring Classics (cycle races) in March 2022.”
I requested Anderson what number of company have to date been hardcore cyclists and what number of solely need a resort within the city of Brakel?
“Our web site and on-line resort listings are fairly express: we’re a biking resort; round 80% of our company are right here for biking within the area.”
And it’s greater than doubtless {that a} bicycle racing-themed resort in a area the place biking is a faith will do fairly properly.
“150,000 worldwide biking vacationers go to the area every year, but there was not a single resort that was absolutely targeted in direction of serving them,” revealed Anderson.
“Analysis confirmed that the primary precedence for cyclists in coming to this a part of Flanders is to journey the well-known cobbles and bergs of the Tour of Flanders (Ronde van Vlaanderen), and we have been fortunate sufficient to search out a tremendous property smack in the course of the race route,” stated Anderson.
Friends can comply with the resort’s curated Flandrien Problem, a three-day journey expertise that covers the key climbs and cobbled sections of De Ronde. Finishers get their names engraved on a cobblestone on the Tour of Flanders Museum in Oudenaarde, and qualify for a celebratory jersey.
The Flandrien Lodge has a biking workshop, and workers should not fazed when a bunch turns up with bikes in massive bike packing containers. There are additionally free self-service washing machines and dryers in addition to a drying room for sneakers and helmets.
The resort’s health club sports activities cycling-specific sensible trainers, stretching mats, plyometrics packing containers, and a big display screen for these wishing to Zwift throughout their keep.
And for these wishing to take some biking residence with them, the Flandrien Lodge has an artwork gallery that includes cyclesport prints and artworks.
“C-Suite executives and entrepreneurs suppose nothing of spending $12,000 on a bicycle, however up till now they’ve discovered it virtually unattainable to specific their ardour for biking by way of the acquisition and show of gorgeous artistic endeavors,” stated Anderson.
“We goal to vary that.”