Spotted on Strava: Tour of Flanders, A First Ski Descent... and the Easter Bunny

Multisport

From the cobbles of Flanders to the bright lights of Las Vegas, by way of the Easter Bunny on the streets of London, there was no shortage of incredible on Strava this week.

If you ask any pro cyclist - or cycling fan, for that matter - to come up with a list of words synonymous with the Tour of Flanders, the likelihood is that cobbles, rain, and chaos would likely feature somewhere near the top of it. In this respect, Sunday's race did not disappoint. Prodigious quantities of mud and rain, not to mention those cobbles, caused havoc in both the men's and women's races.

World champion Mathieu van der Poel took the win in the men's race after powering up the Koppenberg - a legendary climb that bested many of the field. The Dutchman then launched an audacious 44km sprint for glory to take a record-equalling third title. In the women's race, Elisa Longo Borghini won her second Flanders title as she edged out Kasia Niewiadoma and Shirin van Anrooij in a sprint finish after a dramatic race involving multiple crashes.

As the dust settled and the mud was washed away, Luca Van Boven reflected that the race had been 'the ultimate mix of pain and happiness'. Mateo Jorgensen, meanwhile, went 'win or nothing' and... came away proud.

While the world's best cyclists were hurting themselves in Belgium, teams of runners were sprinting towards the California desert as part of The Speed Project. A team relay race from Los Angeles to Las Vegas, there are no rules in The Speed Project, nor are there any spectators. Instead, there are just the athletes, and 340 miles / 547 km of tarmac that winds its way through mountains, deserts... and a whole lot of California. Needless to say, while the race is grueling, the party in Vegas at the end of it all is pretty... epic.

From the depths of California to the heights of France, on a remote mountainside in the heart of the Vanoise region Symon Welfringer and Xavier Cailhol were completing something truly remarkable: a first ski descent of the North Face of the Épena. In an impressive feat of mountaineering, the pair ice axed their way up the 3,280ft / 1,000m wall, before skiing back down on a descent that featured gradients of up to 60 degrees.

The word impressive can be used for millions of activities recorded on Strava every day. It certainly applies to what Symon Welfringer and Xavier Cailhol did in the Alps. But it's just as applicable to the Strava Art that Jeric Yuen produces regularly. The London-based runner is one of Strava's most talented Strava Artists, and this weekend he combined training for the London Marathon with an impressive drawing of the one and only Easter Bunny.

And, finally, back to France where April 1 is synonymous with... fish. Yes, while the English-speaking world plays pranks on one another on April Fools Day, for centuries the French have been toying with more piscatorial humor. From sticking a fish on someone's back to simply giving them a fish, it is a unique part of French culture. As such, it was no surprise to see Emilie Yip bring the humor to Strava. Emilie, who is counting down to the Paris Olympics by embarking on a series of runs that highlight French gastronomy, started and finished her 15km run at, where else? Poissonnière Metro Station in the heart of Paris.