Face it. Bike racing has little if any relevance to bike commuting. But there's one group of races that got me interesting in watching racing, because of the conditions under which they're run.

I'm referring of course to the European spring classics, where they race in the cold, the rain, the snow, and the wind, over broken pavement and cobblestones. In other words, exactly my commuting conditions! (And possibly yours too.)

This year I even splashed for a three-month subscription to cycling.tv just so I could hear the commentary in English. I watch more than just the race itself. I've come to enjoy watching the passing scenery, and seeing how many in the crowd have ridden their own bikes to the race.

The spring season opened in Belgium on Saturday with the 69th running of the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, a 198km (about 120 mile) romp through the hills and cobbles of Flanders. It was cold. It was windy. Partway through, it started to rain. Sideways. Exactly like my commute. (And possibly yours too.)

This long preamble leads up to an image from yesterday’s race that summarized for me the nature and the spirit of the spring races.

Here’s Belgian Greg Van Avermaet of Team BMC (who finished second) taking his turn at the front, pulling a barely visible Briton, Ian Stannard of Team Sky (who won). He’s got the look of a hardman battling the wind and rain with 7.3km to go in a 198km race, hasn’t he?



But look at the woman riding her bike on the sidepath in the background. She’s out in the same sideways rain as the hardmen, apparently running an errand, stylishly dressed, dynamo headlight blazing merrily.

For me, that’s what the spring season is all about. Whether hardman or ordinary citizen, Rule 9 still applies. And that’s what brings a smile to my face, climbing into the wind-driven snow, on an ordinary workday.