“Ah, but that’s another story. Can I tell him that one?” he asks his wife, “No, no, maybe not that one.” Discretion being the operative word, Christian and Hilde respect the privacy of the guests at their Oudenaarde-based Hof ter Kammen B&B, although just looking around at some of the gifted memorabilia gives a couple of hints towards some of the many professional teams and riders who have based themselves here from time to time over the years. “You know, first time when we had just opened and we had team’s staying we asked for a jersey for the wall,” laughs Christian, leaning in, “but very quickly it went to ‘We want ours up there too!’, now we have more that we have space for!”

It’s getting late in the evening after a proper Belgian day riding the wet cobbles but we’re enjoying the hospitality with Christian’s special “90% water recovery drinks” while the couple are recalling how they ended up converting their family house into this veritable oasis in the real heart of cycling. “We stayed in lots of B&B’s during our honeymoon in Scotland, and that got us thinking,” recalls Hilde, “but we needed a theme too, although that was easy as we were both from cycling crazy families. I remember as a child I had to sit still and be quiet because Eddy Merckx was racing on the TV! I said it would be my biggest dream to have racing cyclists in the house, and then after two weeks we had a World Champion stay, Gunn-Rita Dahle, and that was the first link with Norway.”

Indeed, although the U23 Danish team were straight after Gunn-Rita [“Matti Breschel’s Dad Tom, he ran the team”], the U23 Norwegians followed soon after: “Alexander Kristoff first stayed here then, Edvald Boasson Hagen, him also”. The two following a trend to return here with whichever team they are currently with, the base commonly used for secret training camps for National squads and Pro teams for pre-Games or pre-Worlds final prep and under the radar pre-Classics recon’s. “The riders come here to escape, not to be seen, and to relax in private. We don’t even tell our children who is staying beforehand.”

Its existence is normally only shared via word of mouth, although the Kiwi connection here obvious: an old BikeNZ sign outside the dedicated workshop, framed team photos, a miniature figurine with a silver fern painted on. I’d got the tip-off from ex-Cycling New Zealand Head Track Mechanic, Chris O’Connor: “I think I’ve been there four times. One year I was there for eight months, from the middle of February until October: they really took me under their wing. It’s an unreal set-up, the garage is bloody ideal and they’ve got the flat out the back too. You can even rent different parts of it so you can be either self-contained or fully catered, everything’s tailored for you.”

“We heard of it through Sarah Blake, she was working as a swanny for Drapac back then but they were shutting down their European campaign. That was it from there really. It’ll always be my first port of call whenever I’m in Belgium: head there and see my Belgian Ma and Pa,” he smiles.

“When I think of Belgium I think of the Hof der Kammen,” agrees Dylan Kennett. “Christian and Hilde are so nice and it’s quite a cool lifestyle over there. The racing is all so close and the Koppenberg is only 2k’s away so it’s always fun to go and race up that!” he laughs, “I’ve never heard anyone say a bad word about the place, everyone likes it.”

“Yeah, it’s a great spot,” reiterates Hayden Roulston, “so close to all of the major climbs of Flanders. I guess it’s more of a cycling lodge than a hotel, it’s just all about the cycling. If you are a cyclist staying there you know you are going to looked after, they do such a good job.”

“They are so supportive and you just feel at home there,” beams Rushlee Buchanan, “they are just feverous people who love cycling and who will do anything to help you. Even when I stayed somewhere else with UHC I’ve ducked in there to hide from the rain! They make you feel you can just hang out as it’s just so homely.”

“It is one of those cycling establishments that everyone knows about,” says Sam Webster, “plus it’s the mecca isn’t it? That whole area around Oudenaarde is quite prestigious.”

Aaron Gate has since been back again with his Aqua Blue team: “They were looking for somewhere to stay and I recommended Hof der Kammen but suspected they’d be booked out but we got lucky. It was perfect, we could just ride home from the races. It’s just cool having your own space and it’s good from a team perspective as there’s space to park all of your vehicles, space to work, plus if you are missing a tool or something Christian will no doubt be able to find one! Did you have a go of the bike? I couldn’t get it started but Regan Gough was the master! He’d take it into town through the alleyways and back!”

Christian has many many bikes, trust me, but his backwards steering yellow bike is always brought out for the guests. “It was just a little competition between us all,” laughs Gough, “and I suppose I took it more seriously than everyone else!”

“But I actually like riding around there more than other parts of Belgium, it’s such a good location and Christian and Hilde are very hospitable. They are passionate about it all, they love coming to the races to help with the feeds and all sorts of stuff. It actually feels a little bit like home; it’s a house not a hotel.”

With the teams based there often for such long periods, it would be impossible for the family not to get attached in some way: “Going to the Worlds is so complicated for us,” sighs Hilde, “For example, in Denmark the people next to us asked: ‘You cheer for New Zealand, for the Aussies, Norwegian, Danish, Belgians, lots and lots of other different riders too – what’s your story?’  But it’s always nice because if the riders spot us they will always come up and say ‘Hello.’”

“We have so many younger riders staying here but in reality only a small number of those make it to professional. Sometimes you can tell,“ hints Hilde, glint in her eye, “the ones who maybe check the weather forecast too many times, perhaps that’s clue if they are going to make it or not.”

The stories continued far too late into the night, with far too many to fit into this article, but when you go ask them about the time they had to evacuate Matteo Trentin on a tractor; why their daughters rabbit is called ‘Bling’ (and how they lost Michael Matthews’ Dad during the Retro Ronde ride); and about their huge neighbourhood barbeques. One last thing, make sure you measure yourself against the best of the world with Christian’s infamous ‘VO2 Max’ tester.