In the beginning, there were cobbles

In the beginning, there were cobbles. And hills. And often there were cobbled hills. Over time, some of these roads were converted into asphalt. But the legions of fans saw fit to preserve some of these cobbled stretches and climbs, or even to convert some roads back into a cobbled state of being.

Today we are merely 58 days from de Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, when the peloton shall rumble over the cobbles of the classic cycle races that we love. Call them the "classiques" if you speak French, or "klassieker" if you speak Flemish, or "classiche" if you prefer Italiano. But the season of our obsession is coming, and none too soon.