With the Eneco Tour set to begin today in Koksijde, the focus of the cycling world will return to Belgium.

Few countries in the world have a cycling culture as strong as the Low Countries, where only football is more popular.

The Thompson company, a Flemish brand, founded in Geraardsbergen, home to the famous muur, is among Belgium’s oldest, having been established in 1921 and still owned by the same family, the De Smets.

Family legend records that the founder fought alongside English troops in WW1 and fell in love with an English actress of the day named Thompson. When founding his bike company, choosing a name was a simple decision.

We paid a visit to Thompson’s painting and assembly plant in Wallonia, home to about 30 staff, during our visit in February for the opening race of the Classics season, Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne.

Frames are sanded on their arrival from the Far East as part of a quality control process, before being painted, decaled, and finished with a clear coat lacquer. Custom colour options are at the centre of Thompson’s offering, and the paintshop is one of the busiest areas of the plant.

Most Thompson bikes are imported to the UK as frames to be built as bespoke specifications, with components from SRAM, Shimano or Campagnolo, finishing kits from Richie, Deda, 3T and Fizik, and with wheels typically from Fulcrum.

Bikes ordered as a standard package, however, are assembled in the Belgian plant, albeit to specifications, for crank length, for example, made from measurements taken in the UK. Each frame is allocated an order number and the components picked by hand and taken to an individual assembly point.

Wheels are assembled and trued by machine. Rim tape is automatically applied as part of the process. Two machines ensure the wheels are trued: one to check the circumference for roundness; a second to check lateral trueness to a tolerance of 0.5mm.

Decals are applied to Thompson’s carbon wheels by hand, for those choosing custom stickers to match a bespoke paint scheme.

Once sanded, painted, decaled, coated, and, in the case of standard build packages, assembled, the machines are packaged, and loaded onto Thompson-liveried lorries for delivery.

The bicycle, and brands like Thompson, remain an integral part of Belgian culture. With the WorldTour returning to Belgium today for the first time since April, cycling is set to return to the spotlight.

Website: Thompson Bikes
UK distributor: Hammer Sports