I have always loved cycle road races such as Paris Roubaix, Tro bro Leon and more recently the Strade Bianche, all of which leave the public roads for something a little different. Our manifesto is here.
The Gö Feldweg Omloop collection of rides offer a mix of asphalt and gravel feldweg plus Betonweg with as little public road as possible. This version is similar to the Paris Roubaix inspired Gö Feldweg Omloop North and has more gravel than the other routes.
Revised February 1, 2024.
The winter sun shines on a gravel/stein road
Het Volk Omloop and Gent Wevelgem
The Gö Feldweg Het Volk Omloop (Flemish – Round of the people) celebrates the Spring cycle road race classics including two great Belgian road races both of which signal the commencement proper of the European road race season in February and March.
Het Volk Omloop and Gent Wevelgem feature cobbles plus climbs, and lots of Betonweg, but few gravel trails. Our Gö Gravel ride uses the gravel sectors as a metaphor to help illustrate the spirit of the event and to stand in for the cobblestones and hills on the parcours although we include one representative climb.
If you ride this route in the wet, then take a look at the ´damp´ 1999 edition of the Het Volk race.
Four sectors of cobbles on this tour
Straße, Betonweg, Feldweg, Kopfsteinpflaster, and gravel
The track follows public roads (8.8km), and the rest is a heady mix of Betonweg, asphalt feldweg, cobblestones, and 19 gravel sectors. The tour features sections of both the Gö Feldweg Omloop and the Gö Strade Bianche although sometimes we ride in the opposite direction.
The route is mostly flat along the Leine Valley. As we pedal we leave Lower Saxony crossing into and out of Hesse and we go up to the Thuringian border at Kirchgandern (and where the Internal Border stood ). There is a cafe at Besenhausen.
We next visit Friedland where there is a Michelin Star restaurant and a cool museum telling the story of the Friedland Transit Camp situated adjacent to the train station (Direct link to Gö). Millions of people have sought and continue to seek sanctuary at Friedland since it opened in 1945.
Villages on Route
Sieboldhausen, Dramfeld, Klein Schneen, Elkershausen, Marzhauzen, Reckershausen, Friedland, Klein Schneen, Groß Schneen, Obernjesa, and Niedernjesa.
If it rains….
Het Volk (Flemish – Round of the people)
First titled Omloop van Vlaanderen, then Het Volk in 1947 the race is now called Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and it is held during February in Flanders being first raced in 1945. In the aftermath of the World War Two the organisers wanted to make the point that the established Tour of Flanders had been too closely associated with the Nazi occupation of Belgium.
Gent Wevelgem
Gent Wevelgem dates to the 1930´s and like so many races it was created to promote a newspaper . The race has been heavily revised in recent years to emphasize that the course flows through the Ypres battle fields of WW1 . To mix it up four sectors of Ploegsteert were added, these were gravel communication roads used by the allies and unable to come to terms with the Flemish language they were called Plug Streets by Commonwealth soldiers.
Gö Gravel Brevet Card
It´s not a race or a competition but all who ride the route can ask for a stamped brevet card as a memento .
You are never far from a train – adjacent to the Niedernjesa gravel (fast trains can surprise)
Ride: 49.52km
20 Gravel Sectors (18km of gravel)
4 Kopfsteinpflaster Sectors (0.9km)
8.5km ca/approx. of road open to general motor traffic
41.06km is Betonweg, asphalt Feldweg and gravel
Elevation 193m
Garmin Connect: https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/13768758850
Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/10675620946
Komoot: https://www.komoot.com/tour/1428919396
GPS Ride: https://veloklubhaus.com/2024/02/01/go-feldweg-het-volk-50km-february-1-2024/
Tip: Do not cross the central verge unless you are sure it isn´t hiding a stone or a rut! (this is true for all gravel sectors)
Gravel/Cobble categories (this is purely subjective & made up by us)
We have graded the gravel 1 to 5 with 5 being the roughest (there is also an Hors Cat for very extreme).
Cat 1 – mostly hard packed and rideable on almost all bikes.
Cat 2 – often hard packed, a little rougher, potholes and challenging.
Cat 3 – loose surface, more ruts & potholes, gradient changes, bigger stones with greater caution required. (may include downhill or a turn)
Cat 4 – very rough, loose with larger stones and deep ruts/potholes.
Cat 5 – as 4 but may also be downhill, maybe tight turns or with single track and ruts.
HC – Mind bogglingly hard.
Please bear in mind that roads may at times be closed because of farm or forestry workings, please be considerate to all.
Many smooth asphalt or concrete field roads can be heavily compromised by detritous.
My Bike
I rode my Omloop machine – a Crux cyclo cross bike that was good enough for Zdenek Stybar to win at World race level and equipped by me to flourish on a mix of Feldweg, cobbles, Betonweg and gravel.
Stages
The tour is divided into stages and stated are the types of road sections you will ride per stage.
Villages on route are included and at what distance they come.
Stage/Title
Stage 1 – Velodrome Exit @ 0 KM
If you wish you can ride a lap of the velodrome at the start or finish and this will add approx over 800metres to the tour.
We join a gravel path almost at once and this section can be busy with other users so be watchful and be friendly!
SECTIONS – 1 Gravel (0.5 km – Cat 1/2), Feldweg.
Stage 2 – Kiessee Kopfsteinpflaster
SECTIONS – Cobbles (0.3km Cat 2), 1 Gravel (0.1 km – Cat 1), Public Road
Stage 3 – Kiessee/Rosdorf
SECTIONS – Betonweg, 2 Gravel (0.5 & 0.7 km – Cat 1/2), Public Road
Dismount from your bike at the Dam and climb the stairs to cross the Leine River.
Stage 4 – Rosdorf Cobbles
We ignore the asphalt cycle path and instead we ride the cobbles which run alongside the railway. 400 metres of pure pleasure!
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- Rosdorf
SECTIONS – Cobbles (0.4 km – Cat 2)
Rosdorf Railway Crossing @ 4.7 km
Stage 5 – Rosdorfer Warte/Heinrich-Sohnrey Straße
We cross the railway and head onto Betonweg with the now lost medieval Rosdorfer Warte above us.
SECTIONS – Feldweg Asphalt, Betonweg, Cycle path, Public Road
Stage 6 – Heinrich-Sohnrey Straße/Sieboldhausen
The following asphalt Feldweg inspired the Feldweg Omloop, and these farm roads are often heavy with detritus.
SECTIONS – Feldweg Asphalt, Betonweg, Cycle path
Sieboldhausen @ 9.9 km
Stage 7 – Sieboldhausen/Dramfeld
The Three Chairs of Sieboldhausen are an iconic point on this stage, and recently they have been joined by a bench.
There is a climb with one step at 6.5% followed by a flat section and then a final push up at 10.5%.
SECTIONS – Feldweg Asphalt, Gravel (Cat 2, 1.7km), Public Road
Dramfeld @ 13.3 km
Stage 8 – Dramfeld/Klein Schneen
SECTIONS – Feldweg Asphalt, Betonweg, 3 Gravel (Cat 1, 0.2km – Cat 2, 0.7km – Cat 2, 1.2km), Public Road
Klein Schneen (1) @ 17.8 km
Stage 9 – Klein Schneen/Elkershausen
Be very careful there is a blind spot when crossing the main road – watch out for fast traffic emerging from the right, but there is a mirror to help.
At Elkershausen there is a small library, which has books, a stool and a door to close out any wind or rain!
SECTIONS – Feldweg Asphalt, Cycle path, Gravel (Cat 3, 2.3km), Public Road
Elkershausen @ 20.9 km
Stage 10 – Elkershausen/Marzhausen @ 22.41km /Autobahn Gravel
SECTIONS – Cycle Path, Gravel (Cat 1, 0.8km), Public Road
Stage 11 – Autobahn Gravel/Niedergandern
We go under the Autobahn and dodge pot holes.
The gravel sector here also features on the Gö Strade Bianche.
SECTIONS – Feldweg Asphalt, Gravel (0.9 km – Cat 2), Public Road
Niedergandern @ 26.2 km
Stage 12 – Niedergandern/Besenhausen
SECTIONS – Betonweg
Besenhausen Cafe @ 27.6 km
There is a cafe and toilets – check their website for details – https://cafe-besenhausen.de/ .
Iron Curtain
As we leave Besenhausen looking to our right we can see signs stating that this was once the Iron Curtain and remains the state line of Thuringia, and a number of information boards illustrates how this area looked before the Internal Border was removed after 1989- https: //wegdergeschichte.de/.
We are overlooked at this spot by a defunct DDR bunker.
Stage 13 – Besenhausen/Reckershausen
As we pass through the village it is worthy of note that there is a bike shop here https://www.Fahrradke.de/ and a Marshall Amp Museum.
SECTIONS – Cycle path, Public Road
Reckershausen @ 29.7 km
Stage 14 – Reckershausen/Friedland
SECTIONS – Betonweg, 1 Gravel (Cat 2, 1.5km), Public Road
Friedland @ 32.6 km
Nestled within the timbered buildings of the old village is the Michelin starred Biewald Restaurant. Associated with it is a bistro that has a sign of welcome for cyclists (https://www.landhaus-biewald.de/) . The church is pretty cool as well.
There is an Edeka supermarket in Friedland.
There is a direct link to Göttingen from the Friedland Railway Station. In addition the Friedland Transit Camp Museum is situated here and atop the hill beyond the cemetery (containing many refugee war graves) there is the Friedland-Gedächtnisstätte monument.
SECTIONS – Cobbles (0.2 km – Cat 1), Public Road
Stage 15 – Friedland/Klein Schneen
At Friedland cross the Leine via a FOOTBRIDGE.
The gravel sector is also ridden on the Gö Strade Bianche but from the opposite direction.
Or go straight ahead and pick up the route at the end of the Betonweg.
SECTIONS – Feldweg Asphalt, Betonweg, Cycle path, Gravel (1.6km – Cat 2), Public Road
Klein Schneen (2) @ 37.4 km
There is a baker in Groß Schneen. (Bäckerei Könnecke, Landstrasse 22).
Stage 16 – Klein Schneen/Obernejesa
Adjacent to the first sector of gravel running along the rail line there is an unlawful swimming lake on the left handside, be careful of the law abiding having a day off. There is usually a gate to stop the bathers parking their cars along the feldweg.
SECTIONS – Betonweg, Cycle Path, 2 Gravel (Cat 2, 0.8km – Cat 3, 0.7km), Public Road
Obernejesa @ 40.3 km
Stage 17 – Obernjesa/Niedernjesa
If you are cool you will ride the cobbles.
SECTIONS – Gravel (Cat 1, 1.2km), 1 Cobbles (0.9km), Cyclepath, Public Road
Niedernjesa @ 42.3 km
Stage 18 – Niedernjesa/Kiesseestraße
SECTIONS – 4 Gravel (Cat 2, 1.1km – Cat 2, 0.2km – Cat 2, 0.5km – Cat 1, 0.9km), Betonweg, Cobbles/Stein (Cat 3, 0.2km), Cycle Path, Public Road
Velodrome @ 50.16 km
Attention/Take Note
The Gö Feldweg Omloop is a suggested cycle tour route and not a race or a contest, you should choose to follow our description or a GPS of the outlined route you do so at your own risk.
It is your responsibility to ride in a safe and in a comfortable manner suited to your own estimated skill or fitness level.
Die Gö Feldweg Omloop ist ein Routenvorschlag für eine Fahradtour und kein Rennen oder Wettkampf. Solltest Du Dich dafür entscheiden, unserer Tourbeschreibung oder einem GPS der beschriebenen Route zu folgen, tust Du dies auf eigene Gefahr.
Du bist selbst dafür verantwortlich, entsprechend Deinem Können und Fitness-Niveau, so zu radeln, wie Du es Dir zutraust.
Contact – https://veloklubhaus.com/contact/
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