Projects insights

The disappointment amongst cycling fans at home and abroad was palpable when the Tour of Flanders was cancelled due to the corona crisis. Together with Visit Flanders and Flanders Classics, we created The Officially Unbelievable Ronde Van Vlaanderen: a unique podcast in which the most memorable moments of the past 100 years have been incorporated into one Ronde. Cycling heroes and heroines of the past and present fought each other for victory. This podcast became the most exciting Tour ever, with incredible plot twists, fun facts and above all a lot of emotion.

The whole story is told as if you – as a listener – were following the live report of a race, with support vehicles, supporters and interviews with riders using famous speaker voices. In the Dutch version, these include Ruben Van Gucht and Renaat Schotte. In the English version, Rob Hatch and Matt Stephens ensured that you stay glued to the radio.

The podcast was distributed nationally and internationally to all cycling communities. Cycling fans all over the world announced the podcast in their social media feed. This is how the Tour connected fans all over the world during a pandemic and made the tour even more iconic.

The national radio loved the idea so much that they broadcast the 60-minute podcast twice and it was one of the episodes of the Sporza podcast.

Even Rouleur, the podcast of the famous cycling magazine featuring interviews with the sport’s stars and fresh takes on its big races, broadcast the complete Unbelievable Ronde van Vlaanderen.

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