With French and Spanish athletes banned from training on the roads due to the coronavirus blockade, and Italian professional athletes agreeing to stay indoors in honor of their countrymen fighting the spread of the Covid 19 coronavirus, Belgium's AG2R La Mondiale's Oliver Naessen and his daily training partner, Maxime Pillard, did a marathon ride of 365 km around Flanders.

All the spring classics were postponed or cancelled, and most teams told their riders to hold off on training, but Nessen wanted one big ride.

"I really needed it. When you look at your cell phone or watch TV, all you see and hear about is the coronavirus. That's not good," he told Sporza.

"I rode my bike for 12 hours and took a short break for 40 minutes. I went to the bakery three times for donuts. The intensity was really low, we chatted as we rode and never accelerated after a curve."

"The bike was very fast.

Naessen and Pilar left their home in Terralfene, just west of Brussels, at 5:30 a.m. in the dark and finished at 6 p.m. According to Strava data, they completed a long loop in Flanders along the regional border of East Flanders. their average speed was 30.4 km and their average wattage was 182 watts. Pilar will be stadium in Bahrain-Merida in 2018 and is the current Gran Fondo World Champion.

"All energy comes from body fat, so I don't need to eat much. I wasn't hungry yesterday or last night. I ate three Berlin Ball donuts and a gel during training. I consumed 8,000 calories, so I'm still good for the Miller test," Nyssen explained.

"Did you sleep well?" fantastic, Nyssen told Sporza (open in new tab) Thursday morning. 'Like a rock. I fell asleep on the couch last night. It was a blissful night."

"The legs definitely feel good. No difference whatsoever. This is not a crazy accomplishment. It was a relaxing ride to empty my head for a long time. I wouldn't recommend it to my parents, but I would encourage my colleagues to give it a try."

"Every day now is like Sunday, and you have to exercise with enjoyment in mind."

Naessen has emerged in recent years as one of Belgium's best classic riders. Last year he finished second behind Julian Alaphilippe in Milan-San Remo, third in Ghent-Wevelgem, and seventh in the Tour of Flanders.

"It feels very strange. Usually this is the time of year when I'm super focused, but now the fire has gone out. I'm in winter mode and it's like I'm watching myself get fatter and fatter every day. As soon as I heard that the Classic had been cancelled, I decided: 'Okay, it's time to fry up. But I'm 29. I don't have time for this. This is my most energetic time.'