Icons of cycling: Plum bike shop, Ghent

We profile the Ghent bike shop that hosted so many Anglophone bike racers

Plum bike shop Ghent Daniel Gould 2

From racers to folders, Plum cycles has it all. Photo: Daniel Gould

In 1910 Pol Desnerk and his wife Coralie opened a tiny bike shop in Bagattenstraat in Ghent. They were an ambitious couple and soon realised a shop wasn’t enough; Pol and Coralie wanted a brand, or at least something that would make them stand out from the crowd. They tried using Pol’s initials PDS as a name, but it meant nothing, so instead they tried La Plume.

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Chris Sidwells
Freelance Journalist & Author

Chris has written thousands of articles for magazines, newspapers and websites throughout the world. He’s written 25 books about all aspects of cycling in multiple editions and translations into at least 25

different languages. He’s currently building his own publishing business with Cycling Legends Books, Cycling Legends Events, cyclinglegends.co.uk, and the Cycling Legends Podcast