The World’s Best Cycling Collection!?

Whilst on a recent trip to Belgium, Jon was lucky enough to take a look around the Koers cycling museum in Roeselare. Jon was clearly in his element looking through the collection – what’s your favourite part of the tour?

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From modern day bikes and kit from the likes of Jasper Stuyven, through to old equipment and kit of riders from the 1900s, Jon took a look through the huge collection of the Koers museum. He was also able to look through the extra storage room and the archive, lucky lad!

Do you like cycling history as much as Jon? Let us know what you most enjoyed seeing. 👇

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Music: Epidemic Sound
Ascending – Brendon Moeller
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Hangscapes 4 – Danny Cudd
Knocked Off My Feet – Barbatula
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Revelation – Future Joust

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– I’m here in Roeselare in
West Flanders in Belgium, and this is Koers, which is
the Museum Van De Wielersport, which is loosely
translated by my good self as the Museum of Cycle Racing. Inside of here, it is
jam-packed to the rafters full of all sorts of artifacts from the world of cycle racing. This is the place to come if you want to know all
about the history of it. I’m so excited, I can’t wait! Let’s go on in and find out what’s inside. (upbeat pop-style music) So I’m inside of the
reception area, of course, and this is actually a kind
of tourist information hub, if you like, for members of the public who are visiting Roeselare,
to actually come along and plan later activities
involving cycling. Now, the building itself
actually has undergone some serious and major
renovation work taking, get this, about three years to complete. It’s actually the old fire
station here in Roeselare, and now you can see all the
beautiful original features that were actually covered up originally with plaster and such. And probably my favorite bit is the fact they ripped up what was
probably a beautiful tile floor and replaced it with
cobblestones, everyone’s favorite. Passe’. (upbeat marching band music) This is the World Champions Hall. It’s been called that because
four residents from Roeselare, the home, of course, have, in fact, won the coveted World Championship Stripes, which is some achievement, let alone having four members
of one team to wear them. Years ago, this used to actually
be a town hall, in effect, even though it was within
the old fire station, and that’s where members of
the public would come along and have their parties,
that kind of thing. And also, the firemen,
they used to actually do their exercises in here. These days, though, well, it is still used as a venue for parties, as
well as an educational venue for members of the public to come along and see informative videos. And also, check out these bikes
that are decorated in here. It’s a big place. I’d like to have my
birthday party in here. Hint, hint. Now, just downstairs
from here in, is in fact, a cafe, a locker room,
showers, that kind of thing, so that riders can
actually use it as a hub for their starting and
finishing point of their ride. Sadly, the cafe’s closed
today, but don’t worry. I have had my suitable
caffeine intake for the day. As is the rest of the museum, in fact. It’s closed, so I’ve got it all to myself in order to show you what’s here. Now, behind me, check out this. There are certain iconic images of cycling moments in time, if you like. So we’ve got right there,
we’ve got Greg LeMond. I think there’s Chris Boardman. There is Marianne Vos,
right at the top, I believe. That one there. Who could that be? At first I thought it was
Johan Museeuw or Bart Wellens. It is, in fact, Geraint Thomas. But the first person who guesses
correctly in the comments who this could be gets, um… John Canning’s elbow grease. Well, virtually, anyway. Who is it? Let me know. Let’s go upstairs and check
out what else there is here. Now I’m here with some
caricatures by an artist called Rik Delneste, also known as Nesten. Sadly, Nesten has just passed away, so my sincere condolences to
the friends and family of Rik because these caricatures are
of really famous cyclists, and you’re likely to have
seen them if you’ve ever been up the Kwaremont Climb, which is used in the Ronde
van Vlaanderen, for instance. Now, the ones you see at roadside
are absolutely ginormous, and they stand out from miles away, and they always bring a smile to my face. What is so great is that I’m able to get up close and personal to
actual versions of Rik’s work, painted by his very own hands. I’m incredibly honored
to be able to do this. I mean, just down there, Tom Simpson, what an absolute legend. These are fantastic. I’m happy enough just
be able to see these. Now, these caricatures, they
are pretty large in size, if you think about it, the
fact that I’m one meter 83, or six foot tall. They are going to be put
somewhere pretty special. And talking about special, let’s see what else we can find here. (smooth pop-style music) Now, when I walked into this room, I was absolutely blown
away, and I thought, “Well, if this is only it, “I’m gonna go home a very happy man.” But believe me, this isn’t everything. There’s more to come. First up, there’s a lot of
history behind cycle racing. For example, the culture. Just check out this. These advertisements, they’re
almost like billboards and they would’ve been, back in the day, advertising cycle racers
in people’s areas. As well as, look at that. It’s an oil painting
of the gentleman there, with his bouquet of flowers, I guess. But also the fact that roads are actually named after
bike riders here in Belgium. And there’s actually a screen
here, interactive screen, you can press and search to see
all of those different areas that are named after
professional cyclists. That is cool. Have you got a road named
after a professional cyclist in your area? Let me know in the comments section. I know of at least one
or two in Great Britain, so there we are. There’s a bit of a head start. And then also, we’ve got the Kermis. So, for those of you who don’t know, the Kermis is a staple part
of the Belgian community. So once or twice a year,
sometimes even more, depending on the size
of the village or town, a fairground comes along. Now, that’s not just Dodge
‘Em Cars and candy floss, that also means a bike race. And not just one bike race. Normally half a dozen or so,
over a period of two weeks, and everybody comes out and gets involved, including the mayor or the
mayoress, that kind of thing. And if ever you’ve been to one, you’ll know just how cool they are. There are people betting on
all sorts of random people, including me. I was once up there on one
of those betting boards. My odds were very, very long and nobody won any money off of me. (upbeat music) There’s not many sports out there, in fact, I can’t think of
any off the top of my head, where you have got quite
as many teams all battling for one thing at a time. You look at a soccer match
or a rugby match, ice hockey, whatever, there’s two teams battling out. In cycling, though, there
are so many different colors. And the display and how
it’s been done here, is absolutely fantastic. (upbeat music) Now, one of the great things I’ve just been able to listen in to is different commentaries
from different nationalities regarding real key moments in time. For example, this jersey here. Is it familiar to anybody at home? Yeah, that’s right. One of Greg LeMond when
he defeated Laurent Fignon back in 1989, by the slender
margin of eight seconds. The difference in commentary
between English and French, for example, is pretty different, and I’ve just taken a real
step back down memory lane. listening to that. Of course, the cyclist is,
in fact, a human billboard. I mean, after all, their
jersey they’re wearing is covered in the logos and name of their particular sponsor. But it doesn’t just end
there because a cyclist can, in fact, endorse different products. So the greatest cyclist
of all time, Eddy Merckx, his name, his face, his picture has been put to all sorts of products, from frying fat to washing
powder to chewing gum, to even shoes. And get this. He’s even featured on the
side of a cigar, as well. Now, another section here is actually the different types of clothing
that has passed by cyclists during the generations. Even in my short lifetime, clothing has totally
and utterly transformed. I can’t believe where we
are in this modern day, let alone if I was Lucien
Vlaemynck back in the 1930s, who was a professional cyclist, because Lucien used to
have to travel from Belgium all the way to Paris in France. That’s right. Not exactly around the corner, was it? And, well, look at that. There’s no Lycra in
sight, believe it or not. That was Lucian’s overshoes, and this was the winter underwear. Now, quite simply, I cannot imagine that somebody used to
have to race or train in, probably, snow, knowing Belgium, using this sort of equipment. And then obviously, there’s
Lucien’s bike there, too. Now, moving along, I can actually show you
that Eric van Lancker, so this is from the late
80s, Eric van Lancker’s kit. We’re starting to see Lycra introduced, and get this, even
Lycra-topped socks, here. I think these are from about 1993. I had a pair on Team Telekom. Horrific, they looked, but, hey, we all make mistakes. Original Arrow socks, I guess. So obviously a massive and utter change, although the helmet was
still loosely the same, so still a sausage-shaped
helmet underneath here. But importantly, the
bike, totally different and also the fabrics of that kit, too. Look at this rather
nifty extended head set. A stabilizer, I guess. It’s like a reinforced head set. Ah, man. Yeah, I haven’t seen
one of those for ages. Anyway, then we can look
at Jasper Stuyven’s kit from the modern day, so carbon fiber bike, fully Aero clothing. They are literally worlds apart. This rail blew me away
when I looked at it. Even though I remember
this, and now we’re at this, looking back maybe a hundred years, the change is amazing. Absolutely amazing. So glad I wasn’t around then. I would’ve froze. Of course, with sport
comes highs and lows, but certainly one of the highs
is being able to get yourself a nice trophy, if you win a bike race. And well, I never really
had the pleasure of that very often, but here, we
have got some trophies of very different riders
from different races throughout the years, and
they do vary massively. And I’ve never really looked that closely at cycling trophies in the
past, so I thought I would. Take, for instance,
this one here, actually, for Abraham Olano. When Abraham Olano won
the Vuelta back in 1998, actually had an Amstel
logo on the front of it, something that Dan Lloyd
would’ve probably watched, if he’d known that back in the day. Although he would’ve been quite junior, but I’m sure he would’ve made an effort. Louis je Gardin, Gran Paris
de le Pues Portif in 1931.// It’s got a lady covering her bust almost with long flowing locks behind
her, just, I don’t know, like a Superman almost style pose. I just find it so interesting how much a trophy can vary over the years. And also the size of it. When you look back in
time to certain times, such as this 1948. That is a massive trophy for a race. Okay, it is Tour de France,
but it’s for the team award, but still, it’s a big old trophy compared to the Vuelta back in 1998. It’s almost minuscule in comparison. (gentle music) I’m here with a collection
from Jean-Pierre Monseré, who was a cyclist from Roeselare, who was actually a World Champion
back in 1970 in Leicester. Sadly, Jean-Pierre passed away in 1971 during a crash in a race just near Antwerp whilst wearing the rainbow stripes. But his sister has actually
donated all of this equipment to Koers in order for visitors
to actually check it all out. There is all sorts here. There’s racing licenses. There is also a diary that his sister made for all of his races. It actually details where
he came in the race, how many people were in the sprint, and that is right from the very young age, you know, from like a youth
rider all the way up to senior, probably even including the
World Championship victory, as well as even his little first bike, his bikes as a professional, even the suitcase that
he had in the Olympics. This sort of thing is what I actually love about collectors of cycling. They don’t leave anything
to the imagination. There is literally everything you could want to know about that rider. And in the case of Jean-Pierre, what a fitting tribute to a true champion. I’m joined here by Thomas,
who is the Koers Director. Yeah, the Race Director. I guess that’s the best
way of translating it. And Thomas, do you know what? You’ve actually done me a massive favor by allowing me to visit here. Not just because you’ve
fulfilled my obsession, but also I’m not in as much trouble at home now because I’m just having a look at the library of
cycling books you’ve got. And I didn’t know quite
as many of these existed. I’ve got quite a few of them, actually. So I’ve had a little look through, and I’ve probably got enough to fill a couple of columns here. But you’ve just told me about an archive. – Yeah. – Now, that really, it
fills me with excitement, and also a bit of horror,
as well, because I’m worried that my obsession could get even worse. Because these books, these are in all languages,
as well, aren’t they? – Yeah. Not only Dutch, but
French, Italian, German, whatever there is on the
market, we wanna have it. We really want to be the knowledge center about the history of cycle racing in Europe and the world, actually. And the real heart of that
knowledge center is the archive. – Take me to it. – Yeah. We basically try to collect
everything that’s on paper. – Yeah.
– But also pictures. We have, for example,
these are all posters of cycling races. – Yeah. Let’s have a look. – Some are beautiful, some aren’t, but– – (laughs) But that’s part of
history, though, isn’t it? – That’s part of history. I don’t know what I’m opening now, but… – It could be anything. Let’s hope it’s safe. – Yeah. Look at that. – I think it was a race for a good cause. – (foreign language) – Yeah, this was a race against cancer, but I think it was just
something to collect money. – Oh, fantastic. The smell, by the way, in here, it smells of kind of old
magazines, and old photographs, that kind of thing. – Indeed. We do not only collect posters. We collect archives from
cycling organizations, race organizers, or cycling federations. – Okay. – From cyclists themselves. – Yeah. – For example, when a
family or a cyclist dies, an old cyclist, we try to collaborate with the family in order to preserve the
personal archive of the cyclist. – Okay. – These are the archives of a
guy named Jules Vandergurst. He was an official with the Cycling Federation
for West Flanders. Flanders, also. He had a massive archive,
which he donated to the Museum, and this is all about cycle races in Osla. – I just saw down there, there’s a box and it even had cigar labels
because, of course, cyclists, they used to promote
cigars, things like that. You can’t imagine that
in these times, can you? But, yeah. – This is a box with
cigar labels and stamps. – [John] Stamps, yeah. – and Viewmasters. – Oh, yeah. That was those things that
you used to turn round. – Let’s have a look. – [John] Any famous people? We’re not on there, are we? – [Thomas] Belgium. – Yeah. I would spend all day
just on one box, I think. Have you got a favorite? Have you got a favorite? – [Thomas] I believe my
favorite is over here. – Alright. – It’s La Vie Au Grand Air. – La Vie Au Grand Air, okay. That’s French for? – That’s French. It’s over here, La Vie Au Grand Air. But we have other boxes
of La Vie Au Grand Air. It’s basically, I think
it’s one of the first richly illustrated sports
magazines in the world. And this was a French magazine,
very richly illustrated. So, a magazine from around 1900. – [John] A hundred and 20 years old. A hundred and 20 years old. Incredible. Here we are, some cycling. – [Thomas] (foreign language) – [John] So the Velodrome. – [Thomas] And Le Tour. Le Tour de France. – [John] There you have it. It’s incredible. I can’t believe this. – And this is your very
rich source for people who are writing a book
about cycling history, who are doing research, like PhD students. They come and do their
studies here in the library. – That’d be a good PhD for me, I think. Cycling. – I think there are 20 PhDs. – Wow. This is absolutely– I can’t thank Thomas enough for just allowing me
to come to this place, let alone the archive. I was too scared to come in here alone, in case I started going through books and everything like that, and he wouldn’t let me do that on my own. So it’s like, “Whew,” right? I wanna see what else we’ve got here. God. (upbeat pop-style music) Now, I’ve already managed
to see a few bikes here and there in the museum, but I’ve just walked
through two very big doors, and I’ve been greeted
with some bikes belonging to absolute true champions
and legends of the sport. Now, there are heaps more bikes in here I’d love to show you, but you’re gonna have to wait for that. You’re gonna have to wait
for a different video. Stay tuned for that. (upbeat music) So, Thomas, where are
you gonna take me now? You’ve just, I thought,
given me the biggest, sort of, bombshell, if
you like, of information. You said you’ve got
something else to show me. I’m a little bit nervous because, well, it’s behind a big black door. – Yeah. – Take me in there. Just, uh… – Well, it’s a small storage room. We can’t show everything
we have in our collection, so we have some storage
rooms on the upper floor and then downstairs. Now we’re at the upper floor. – Right. – Obviously, it’s protected, secure. – Yeah. That’s good when
there’s people like me around. – Lights. – What the… (upbeat music) Wow. Okay. With this small storage room,
I expected something like, I don’t know. A very, very small room. But this is… How on earth do you know where
everything has come from? – You can see everything has a label. And everything is in our online database where we have the history,
the story behind each shirt. This one, for example, a polka
dot jersey from Erik Dekker. Not that difficult to see
because it’s written all over it. – Even I can tell that one. (laughs) Well, this one here. Sealink Race Leader, 19– That’s got to have come
from the Isle of Wight, I reckon, in the U.K. I don’t know too many sports where… Sealink, that was a ferry that crossed from the Isle
of Wight from Portsmouth. It’s absolutely incredible. I mean, there’s jerseys here
from Jack & Jones Danish team. – Yeah. – It’s… I’m absolutely blown away. Every time I turn a corner, you throw another curve ball at me. You surprise me. That’s fantastic. – Yeah. – If you look at how the team finished, it wasn’t that far off that, was it? It was always the same. I mean, this one Lucien
Zeems, Calmay, 1981. – Yeah. – Oh, we are? Little present for you. That’s great. Love it. But I mean, it doesn’t just stop there. There’s bike frames hanging up. There’s an old Vitus there. I remember that. A friend of mine had one, and
it was branded as a Persio, that red thing. – Hoomved. Bottecchia. – It’s incredible. I mean, I’m so privileged. Thank you so much. This, actually, is one of my
favorite jerseys of all time. It was the World Cup Leader’s kit. I remember Rolf Sorensen, the
Danish guy, racing in this. I’m gonna be a while, I think,
looking through this lot. I might miss my flight home, at this rate. A little, little… – Memorabilia. – Yeah, it’s Miguel Indurain. – Yeah. – It’s great, isn’t it? – It is. – (laughs) What Thomas is thinking is, “John, don’t break
anything, please.” (laughs) – No, no. I’m… – But, I mean, look at these kids’ bikes. If I had children, this would be, I wouldn’t want them riding something new and modern and fancy. They’d be riding this because this would be
the coolest bike ever. Imagine I’m a little kid riding around on that Flandria bike over there. – Mm-hmm. – Ah, man. Or this, – [Thomas] (laughs) – [John] (laughs) Or this. I mean, I don’t know what to say. There’s a bike over there. One, two, three, four saddles on it. – [Thomas] Yeah. Quadruplets. – Quadruplets. That, that is wild, because I’ve seen old-fashioned
photographs of those on velodromes and things. I’ve never seen one in my life. We’ve got a Flandria
exercise bike, a wooden bike, a little kid’s BMX bike,
miniature racing bikes. An original Kulador
jersey being shown to me, teased, in fact, to me, across there. Wow. Do you have any jobs
going here, by the way? (laughs) – [Thomas] I don’t know. – “Not for a guy like you,” he says. – I don’t know, I don’t know. – I’m joking. I wouldn’t be able to cope. I’d be in here all day. Shokolad Shack. Wow. Alright. I’ve got to get out of here
before we miss our flight back. I do hope you’ve enjoyed
that look around Koers here in Roeselare with me. It’s been absolutely fantastic, and I’ve managed to look
at all sorts of bits of cycle racing history I never thought I’d be
able to literally touch and get so excited about it, to be honest. Every corner I turned, there
was something which shocked me, including being able to
ride on one of these. So let me know what your
favorite bit of this video was down there in the comments section. Who knows? Maybe I’ll be able to come back one day and spend even more time here because I’ve absolutely loved it. I don’t wanna go, but I
have got a flight to catch. Otherwise, I’m gonna be
in all sorts of trouble. Now, don’t forget to
check out the GCN Shop at shop.globalcyclingnetwork.com. where we have a whole heap of
goodies for you to check out and buy and spend for
a loved one, perhaps. Now, I’m going try on getting
a few more kilometeres in on this bad boy, and I’ll see you soon. Don’t forget though, check out another video. How about clicking just like that. (heavy breathing) I have a record on this thing. Easy.