P01 Lauwe - Saint-Omer-en-Chaussée

1st ride to the Algarve, from Lauwe to Saint-Omer-en-Chaussée: a long ride of 194 km with 1340 meters of elevation. The first 60 km are flat, then it becomes very hilly.

Via the Leie valley, you ride to Menen and Wervik-Sud. You pass through the region of Nord - Pas-de-Calais, which consists of two departments of the same name. This region is known for its many coal mines and other heavy industry. Due to the closure of the mines and many other businesses, the area suffers from high unemployment and poverty.

From Fleurbaix in the department of Pas-de-Calais, you pass through this dreary mining area between Lens and Noeux-les-Mines. You leave ‘la Pleine de Flandre’ and climb over a ridge where intense fighting occurred during the First World War. On the right stands an Indian monument and a bit further left in the distance, the large French military cemetery ‘Notre Dame de Lorette’ and further ‘le Mémorial Canadien’ with a large statue on a hill that you can see on clear days.

You are immediately out of the Leie basin. It now often goes up and down over streams and small rivers, arriving in Picardie, department of Somme at kilometer 95. The capital is Amiens. Picardy has played a significant role in cultural history and is sometimes seen as the cradle of Gothic. Particularly Amiens, Beauvais, and Laon, but also Soissons and Noyon have famous Gothic cathedrals.

After 136 km in Picquigny, you then ride over ‘la Somme’. This is also an area where much fighting occurred during the First World War.

Then it’s regular climbing and descending again, to arrive after 169 km in the department of l’Oise. After Grandvillers, it climbs further to Briot (km 176), the highest point of the first stage: 199 meters of elevation. Then it descends to the river ‘le Petit Thérinet’. You follow that river, but 4 km from the end you still have a short but steep climb out of that valley. The last 2 km, you descend back into the valley.

After 194 km, you reach your well-deserved resting place in Saint-Omer-en-Chaussée. Saint-Omer-en-Chaussée is a municipality in the French department of l’Oise and has about 1100 inhabitants. The place is part of the Beauvais arrondissement.