This channel is actually such a gem. To see someone who is such a huge fan of bike racing - and so knowledgable - on this journey to, as he says, become a not so shit rider is inspiring for all us race fans who don't get on the bike nearly enough.
It's actually funny that everytime i see 7-8% percent in a race i say that it's an easy clinb... but then i ride on that gradient and i get destroyed 😂 Nice video Benji!
Your cycling journey makes me smile! So proud of all youve done this year and I hope you ride with the Mrs. Good luck heading toward de Ronde and keep the fun-factor!
That is better...you are Belgian doing Belgian things....OUDE KWAREMONT in the rain!! You don't need any Andorran mountains!!! Great video, love seeing your adventures and your progress!
I did the Kwaremont with my partner recently from Australia in September, we got lucky with the weather and had 30 C and sunny. Lucky us! Great climb, great content! Keep it up Benji
I went to flanders in the summer on a family holiday and got to do a quick 60km loop, the hardest 60km loop of my life! I did the Varent, Molenberg, Kerkgate, Holloweg, Paterburg, Oude Kwaremont, Koppenberg, mariaborrestraat-stationsberg and finally the Taaienberg. All i can say is flandrians are different gravy. I walked the Koppenberg haha.
I did that climb in July and loved it so much. Riding the climbs I could only have dreamed of as a kid was an amazing experiance. So fun to see you do the same climb, takes me back to my trip in the summer! :)
That's Remco's favourite Andorran coffee stop at the top of the hill in Pal, isn't it? Really shows how high a level those top guys are as Remco made the stop there look like 'oh what a jolly nice place to stop, eat and drink.' Like he'd ridden on a flat.
Thanks! I want to try to become even more vlog-style instead of sitting at my desk in parts of the video, but it's been hard to transition to that. I hope I can do that in the coming months. :)
Keep it going Benji!! Question, what gearing do you have on your bike for these climbs? You may want a cassette with an easier gear or smaller chain rings when you visit LR world HQ (spoken as a fellow big guy with race gearing)
I have one bike with big boy gearing. It gets put away about Oct 14 and comes out of storage in May. 53-39 with a 13-25. Triples and friction on the other bikes. :-)
Congrats on the achievements this year! Your handlebars on your specialized look like they are on a diagonal from the frontal view. Is that the case? I only ask because my Specialized Crux had a reversible head set spacer that could be rotated to increase or reduce the angle of the stem and I only found out about it after I completed a bikepacking trip when I felt like I was crooked the whole time. Fiinally checked out my bike and saw that I had the spacer rotated halfway between the settings, so one side of my bars was higher than the other! Haha
Basically, I record my video footage with the Insta360 X3 camera, which is just generic footage without data, and then I use the GPX file of Strava combined with the Garmin VIRB software to put the data on the video.
Love the vids Benji, well done and thanks for the pod too - love 'em. Can I ask - why do you have your garmin mount on the right of your stem? Looks like it should be on the left for the centre display. Is it because of your cameras? Losing watts right there 😉
What does him riding on rim brakes have to do with anything?😅 In fact he can even go faster because rim brake equipped bikes are lighter that disc brakes lol
@@kidgugstev6406 I've done the flanders sportive, saw lots of rim brakes collecting mud and with pads wearing down during the course fast in the gritty, wet, muddy environment. No impact on the climbs of course, but I took my disc bike for good reason.
Fortunately, they only look wide because of the 360 degree camera lens, haha. They might be marginally imperfect in real-life but the way it looks on video is completely different, fortunately, haha.
Don't you feel the desire to have a better bike? i have my giant contend 3 for 3 years and im already desperate to buy a carbon aero bike now and i just ride like 50km a week. lol
You need some more appropriate gearing. Grinding up 5% grade is no fun, and your knee cartilage surely doesn't enjoy it. Need gearing that lets you average 90-100 rpm up your favourite climb. Just look at the cadence of the pros spinning past you....
This channel is actually such a gem. To see someone who is such a huge fan of bike racing - and so knowledgable - on this journey to, as he says, become a not so shit rider is inspiring for all us race fans who don't get on the bike nearly enough.
It's actually funny that everytime i see 7-8% percent in a race i say that it's an easy clinb... but then i ride on that gradient and i get destroyed 😂
Nice video Benji!
you got the whole experience aswell, flandrien weather and flemish parking
Your cycling journey makes me smile! So proud of all youve done this year and I hope you ride with the Mrs. Good luck heading toward de Ronde and keep the fun-factor!
The moment you're dying and Patrick just rides past like it's nothing 😮
Those damned watts per kilo Andorran climbs😵💫Tell that SOB Patrick he should have moved to NL!🤷♂️
That is better...you are Belgian doing Belgian things....OUDE KWAREMONT in the rain!! You don't need any Andorran mountains!!! Great video, love seeing your adventures and your progress!
That wheelspin looked brutal. Thanks for sharing all this, Benji.
Impressive, you are only getting better. Don't give up!! Forza Benji!!
Great effort Benji! Great progress !
I did the Kwaremont with my partner recently from Australia in September, we got lucky with the weather and had 30 C and sunny. Lucky us! Great climb, great content! Keep it up Benji
Nothing but respect for your cycling journey so far. You will smash your times next year!
I went to flanders in the summer on a family holiday and got to do a quick 60km loop, the hardest 60km loop of my life! I did the Varent, Molenberg, Kerkgate, Holloweg, Paterburg, Oude Kwaremont, Koppenberg, mariaborrestraat-stationsberg and finally the Taaienberg.
All i can say is flandrians are different gravy. I walked the Koppenberg haha.
I did that climb in July and loved it so much. Riding the climbs I could only have dreamed of as a kid was an amazing experiance. So fun to see you do the same climb, takes me back to my trip in the summer! :)
That's Remco's favourite Andorran coffee stop at the top of the hill in Pal, isn't it? Really shows how high a level those top guys are as Remco made the stop there look like 'oh what a jolly nice place to stop, eat and drink.' Like he'd ridden on a flat.
Tour of Flanders Sportive is one of the best things an amatuer cyclist can do!
more videos from your amazing Flanders!! :)
Brother, you keep this stuff up and you can be a domestique in RVV, not just riding the RVV sportive. Allez Benji, venga!
Can confirm this does not feel like 4% at the end of the Flanders sportive 😂
love these videos, vlog type cycling. thanks benji!
Thanks! I want to try to become even more vlog-style instead of sitting at my desk in parts of the video, but it's been hard to transition to that. I hope I can do that in the coming months. :)
@@BenjiNaesenTV I can’t wait! Love that kind of story/adventure side of cycling
Very inspiring! Keep it coming!
Keep up the good work Benji! Love your pain face 😋. Can you do more voice over and less desk time?
Awesome stuff Benji! Great progress this year!
Who was the Jayco-AlUla rider at 5:41 ?
Thanks for sharing, Benji! Great work. Now I want to go for a ride.
Every ride is a step closer to your goal! :)
Indeed!
Keep it going Benji!! Question, what gearing do you have on your bike for these climbs? You may want a cassette with an easier gear or smaller chain rings when you visit LR world HQ (spoken as a fellow big guy with race gearing)
I have one bike with big boy gearing. It gets put away about Oct 14 and comes out of storage in May. 53-39 with a 13-25. Triples and friction on the other bikes. :-)
Absolutely loving these videos, Benji! You're crushing it!
another great video. I assume that was Patrick wheeling by at the end.
Benji approaches bike. Cue dramatic music.
How long till you race Patrick up the Oude Kwaremont?
you rock Benji Gooood freaking job!!!!!
great vid just signed up to the race series. Are you doing every week?
are those tents there year round at 03:00 ?
That part of the video was recorded the days after RVV so they were breaking it down still, haha.
Congrats on the achievements this year! Your handlebars on your specialized look like they are on a diagonal from the frontal view. Is that the case? I only ask because my Specialized Crux had a reversible head set spacer that could be rotated to increase or reduce the angle of the stem and I only found out about it after I completed a bikepacking trip when I felt like I was crooked the whole time. Fiinally checked out my bike and saw that I had the spacer rotated halfway between the settings, so one side of my bars was higher than the other! Haha
Well done Benji. Amazing!
Can I ask how you record the live data on the video?
Basically, I record my video footage with the Insta360 X3 camera, which is just generic footage without data, and then I use the GPX file of Strava combined with the Garmin VIRB software to put the data on the video.
Cannot wait to see you at the rouler event!
Looking forward to being there. :)
2023 Kwaremont - 2024, Kapelmuur - 2025 Koppenberg, get it Benji!
Love the vids Benji, well done and thanks for the pod too - love 'em. Can I ask - why do you have your garmin mount on the right of your stem? Looks like it should be on the left for the centre display. Is it because of your cameras? Losing watts right there 😉
Yeah, it’s because the camerz mount (that is invisible on the video) is in the center.
Thanks for the kind words! :)
Which camera mount are you using,@@BenjiNaesenTV ? Cause that frontal footage looks awesome!
Insta360 X3
On rim brakes! Keep on the good fight, Benji!
What does him riding on rim brakes have to do with anything?😅 In fact he can even go faster because rim brake equipped bikes are lighter that disc brakes lol
@@kidgugstev6406 I've done the flanders sportive, saw lots of rim brakes collecting mud and with pads wearing down during the course fast in the gritty, wet, muddy environment.
No impact on the climbs of course, but I took my disc bike for good reason.
Benji, where is your flou yellow + pink kit from? Visible at 0:44
It was from a Zwift collaboration with Pedal Mafia.
Awsome! Keep it up!
Love u Benji
If you like flandrian cobbles
Oude Kwaremont in the rain
Angliru is calling 2025👀
Congrats Benji! Pls try to show your Cadence next time so we can #CadencePolice you 😂
#SpinningIsWinning
That is the reason I kept it a secret in this video. 😂
Het Kwaremontplein....nog leeg.
All those camera angles, great job but one was showing us you got the wrong gears.👍👋
Little stupid dramatic scene to leave the bike on the street @9.23, but i guess...thats social media^^
This years Ronde?
next your you mean, MVDP
paterberg next
Feels good right!?! In the best/worst way 😂
Zet eens een zwift group ride op met je volgers 😊
That’s my plan! :)
@@BenjiNaesenTV dat maakt een z2 training misschien minder saai 😀
Your bars look insanely wide Benji.
Fortunately, they only look wide because of the 360 degree camera lens, haha. They might be marginally imperfect in real-life but the way it looks on video is completely different, fortunately, haha.
Don't you feel the desire to have a better bike? i have my giant contend 3 for 3 years and im already desperate to buy a carbon aero bike now and i just ride like 50km a week. lol
You need some more appropriate gearing. Grinding up 5% grade is no fun, and your knee cartilage surely doesn't enjoy it. Need gearing that lets you average 90-100 rpm up your favourite climb. Just look at the cadence of the pros spinning past you....
Yeah, I'm contacting bike sponsors during the off-season in the hopes that I don't have to buy it. 😂
@@BenjiNaesenTV is that a specialized allez in some of the riding?
@@DougRose_ Yes, I basically have a BTwin Triban 560 in Belgium and a second-hand Specialized Allez in UK.
your gearing is definitely not right for you, and you seem to have a hip impichment on your right leg, try shorter cranks ?