“De Ronde” gets a TV series of its own
- By Neal Rogers
- Published Mar. 31, 2011
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De Ronde, coming to a TV near you ... if you live in Belgium. -
De Ronde shows what a big, big race does to a relatively small country.
Big enough to spawn a popular new weekly Belgian television program, titled “De Ronde,” a fictional drama, written and directed by Belgian writer/director Jan Eelen — the man behind the Flemish version of “The Office” — which intertwines multiple stories, all occurring on the day of the 2010 edition.
Each of the show’s nine one-hour episodes chronicles a different segment of the race, similar to the American series “24.” The series follows several characters, portrayed by top Belgian actors, demonstrating the way the race affects everyone from fans and the event’s workers to those with homes along the route.
To prepare for the show, Eelen placed cameras inside Quick Step and Omega Pharma-Lotto team cars during the 2010 race — as well as inside a VIP minivan, driven by former Belgian national champion Ludo Dierckxsens — splicing that footage, along with real-time race action, throughout each episode.
Over the past month the show has been on the cover of weekly magazine Humo, spawned a best-selling book, and was prominently featured over a two-page spread in Het Nieuwsblad’s 44-page 2011 Ronde van Vlaanderen Guide.
The eighth of the nine episodes airs Sunday following this year’s Tour of Flanders, with the final episode ending one week later, following Paris-Roubaix.
FILED UNDER: News / Road TAGS: Tour of Flanders
Neal Rogers
An interest in all things rock 'n' roll led Neal into music journalism while attending UC Santa Cruz. After several post-grad years spent waiting tables, surfing and mountain biking, Neal moved to San Francisco, working stints as a bike messenger and at a software start-up. He moved to Colorado in 2001, taking an editorial internship at VeloNews. He never left, and is now Velo's editor in chief. When not traveling the world covering races, Neal can be found riding his bike, skiing, cooking, or attending a concert. Follow him on Twitter at @nealrogers.