Journal

Scope Backyard Breakaway

By 3 min read
Mud-spattered rider's back with a Scope logo and "No Excuse" slogan at the Backyard Breakaway gravel ride.

The 29th September marked the date for the inaugural Backyard Breakaway, hosted by Scope Cycling in Eindhoven. An informal gathering of cyclists to join the Scope team and ride some of the roads that they call home. Quiet country lanes and high speed gravel sektors that comprise the testing and training grounds.

Veit Hammer, Scope’s marketing supremo, recounts the story of an awesome ride.

Two riders pass the chalkboard Kings of the Gravel start sign on a sandy gravel track.

Experiencing Eindhoven’s hidden roads

It’s still dark outside when the alarm goes off. A few raindrops are making their way down the window. The weather is better than the forecast predicted. Wet, but not too wet. A typical autumn day, sort of…

Putting up the signs for the Kings of the Rolling Hills and the Kings of the Gravel segments sets the mood for the day and as we lift the last flag onto its pole outside the Cyklist at 8:30am, the first riders arrive for an early morning brew.

Helmeted riders drink coffee under hanging jerseys inside the Cyklist café in Eindhoven before the Backyard Breakaway.
Riders gather at the Cyklist Cafe in Eindhoven.

The clouds are still hanging deep over Eindhoven but it’s dry as the teams roll out from the café to explore the course of the Backyard Breakaway. Each team is joined by riders of Scope sponsored professional continental team Wallonie-Bruxelles.

Together with Yorit Kluitman, the mastermind behind the Pathfinder Giro, we designed a course that shows the diversity of the local heathlands south of Eindhoven. The route would also take riders through local forests and into the hills of the Belgian part of Limburg.

Four riders in black jackets pose on their bikes on a wet brick square before the Backyard Breakaway start.
Ready to roll!

Where the streets have no name

Leaving Eindhoven’s city centre, the streets are as empty as they get on a damp Sunday morning in fall. Narrow bike paths lead the riders out of town and as they reach the outskirts, their pulse pumps in the rhythm of the day. The Kings of the Gravel segment takes some of them by surprise. But all get through it unscathed. Ready for the first of two coffee stops along the course.

Four riders on a sandy gravel track beside a maize field during the Kings of the Gravel segment.
The Kings of Gravel. The first timed segment of the day.

J.Guillem’s self confessed Velophile, Werner Coolen has parked his iconic fire truck outside the Achelse Kluis, a monastery located on the border between the Netherlands and Belgium. Time to briefly review the first segment. And time for laughter. And of course, time for coffee!

Werner Coolen pulls espresso shots from the machine in the back of his van at a Backyard Breakaway coffee stop.
Werner Coolen serves up the black stuff at the feed stops.

Deep into Limburg

After a short while, the Backyard Breakaway peloton takes off to head south. Following along the Bocholt-Herentals channel the teams get deeper into the Limburg region and finally reach the Kings of the Rolling Hills segment.

A couple of horse-drawn carriages make their way up the climb before the teams emerge from the drizzle. They don’t block the way, though, and all teams are able to challenge the clock.

Three riders roll along a sandy track between forest and meadow on the Backyard Breakaway course.
Gravel grinding in the backyard.

The rain helped to harden the loose gravel. And makes for mud-covered faces at the end of the segment. From here it’s only a couple of kilometres to the second coffee stop.

The drizzle turns into proper rain for a while as the teams make their way back to the Achelse Kluis. All boilers of Werner’s coffee machine are running as the teams roll into the parking lot. For some the next brew will be what they need to get them home.

Muddy riders laugh over a phone beside their road bikes after the Scope Backyard Breakaway.
Bad weather doesn’t stop the smiles.

Nevermind the Worlds, here’s the Backyard Breakaway

Back at the Cyklist, crowds stare at the television screens as the World Championship race heats up in Yorkshire. In conditions arguably worse than those the Backyard Breakaway teams faced. The café gets loud as Mathieu van der Poel makes his way to the front group. Time for us to award the fastest teams of the day.

Riders in blue jerseys hold up white T-shirts at the prize giving in the Cyklist café after the Backyard Breakaway.
Prize giving back at the Cyklist

It’s been great to see so many riders turn up for our first Backyard Breakaway. And even though van der Poel isn’t able to make his move count in the end, it doesn’t spoil the mood. Smiles for miles are still setting the scene a couple of hours after the ride and talk turns for the next edition of the Backyard Breakaway.

Follow Scope on Instagram and keep up to date on their plans for the next Backyard Breakaway.

www.scopecycling.com

Rider's hand holds a phone showing Strava segment results from the Scope Backyard Breakaway.
Mud-splashed riders crowd round a phone after the Backyard Breakaway, one still astride a Scott bike.
Bad weather doesn’t stop the smiles.
Rider in muddy kit rinses a road bike with a hose against a hoarding after the Backyard Breakaway.
Smiling rider with a mud-splashed face, helmet and Rapha gilet after the Scope Backyard Breakaway.
Rider in a muddy Kopwerk jersey grins from the saddle at the finish of the Backyard Breakaway.
Riders gather around a bike-wash area with hoses and a rusty oil drum after the Backyard Breakaway.
Smiling bearded rider covered in mud after the Scope Backyard Breakaway gravel ride in Eindhoven.
Mud-spattered rider in a black Scope jersey and helmet under a cafe parasol after the Backyard Breakaway.
Two muddy riders check a phone on a picnic bench beside a road bike after the Backyard Breakaway.
Speaker with a microphone in front of a Scope banner as riders drink beer at the Backyard Breakaway prize giving.
Grinning rider with a mud-covered face and gilet after finishing the Scope Backyard Breakaway in Eindhoven.
Wallonie-Bruxelles rider in a muddy lime Adeps gilet smiles under cafe parasols after the Backyard Breakaway.
Wallonie-Bruxelles team rider in a lime Adeps jersey, spattered with rain, at the Backyard Breakaway.
Curly-haired rider with a mud-flecked face and jersey sits in the Cyklist cafe after the Backyard Breakaway.
Mud-caked blue and gold road bike with bottles and Scope wheels, parked after the Backyard Breakaway ride.
Wallonie-Bruxelles pro continental team riders and staff gather on a muddy track at the Backyard Breakaway.
Riders laugh and chat on their bikes before the Scope Backyard Breakaway rolls out of Eindhoven.
Backyard Breakaway riders in a small group head along a wet cycle path through heath and woodland.
Riders follow a sandy gravel track between pine trees and heathland on the Backyard Breakaway course.
Two riders in cycling kit look at a laptop at a cafe table during the Backyard Breakaway in Eindhoven.