Politicians bike with Ironman

Flanders’ minister-president Kris Peeters and transport minister Hilde Crevits rode alongside triathlete Frederik Van Lierde, who recently won the Ironman World Championship in Hawaii, on a celebratory 40-kilometre bike ride along the river Leie. The tour last Saturday started in Van Lierde’s home town of Menen in West Flanders. Van Lierde (pictured) has won several Iron Man races, including Nice in 2012, though the Hawaii version is considered the most gruelling.

The trio was joined on the ride by Van Lierde’s coach, Luc van Lierde, who has also twice won Ironman Hawaii, Menen mayor Martine Fournier and several friends and family of Van Lierde. “I am myself an amateur triathlete, so I have a huge amount of respect for the top titles Van Lierde has won,” said Peeters. “We could have brought Frederik to Brussels, but we chose to go instead to Menen to do the bike ride with him.”