Flemish for Poser

We're all chuffed over here at Pappillon for the resurgent media interest, and the attention of our fellow bloggers - especially when it takes the form seen below, in a screen shot from "Flemish for Poser", the Blog-Formerly-Known-As Doucheblog Cycling.

Burt writes: "As much as I hate to admit it, NY Velocity and DrunkCyclist are the cycling related websites I check out most frequently. Also, you can say what you want about [Joe] Papp, but his blog has become one of the more decent spots for thoughtful cycling related commentary on the old intranets these days. Of course, there are always comments like "Joe, you're such a dickface...bla bla bla." Haters never end, I guess. Just to be fair, I let him scoop me on the header."

Thanks, Burt! Or should we say "Jesus Cristo"? Either way, "Flemish for Poser" was cool enough to let us scoop the headline banner before it went live, which we did in a post here.

Just Weeks Ago VDB Was Training with the Belgian National Team in Mendrisio

Just a few weeks ago, Frank Vandenbrouke accompanied the Belgian team on a training ride at the Mendrisio, Switzerland world championship venue.VDB was captured on film in Mendrisio in this image by Sirotti, which I pulled from the original website in order to add a border to the photo:

A whole host of other VDB photo albums can be seen here on Picasa. Wonder if they'll be pulled down? Belgium is divided linguistically, politically and socially between the northern, Dutch-speaking Flemish and the southern, French-speaking Walloons. Vandenbroucke's family was unusual in being Walloon but living in Flanders and speaking Dutch in daily life. Does it matter now? Not for VDB.

"Tainted blood, broken body, spirit, mind -

Become dust, swept into the cobbles,

Soon to be forgotten.

All is ephemeral - fame and the famous as well."

RIP, VDB.