If one day you die without having seen Bruges or Venice, one can say you never lived! If tomorrow Paul OWH Kassens dies, he'll at least have lived for 50%, since after the Nations Cup he was the only team coach visiting Bruges. Bruges and Venice inspired the greatest novelists. I think at Tod in Venedig by Thomas Mann, at Die schweigende Kanäle by Heinz G. Konsalik, at The four horses by Chapman Pinter, at Arkin or life in Venice by J. Mantle, at The Aspern Papers by Henrry James, at Concerto barocco by Alejo Carpentier, at Il Doge by Aldo Palazzeschi [all obscinated by Venice], at Le rendez-vous de Bruges by Armand Lanoux, at Il Santo by Antonio Fogazzoro, at Le Carilloneur  or Bruges-la-morte by Georges Rodenbach, at Onder de toren by Marcel Matthijs, at De filosoof van 't Sashuis by Maurits Sabbe [all fascinated by Bruges], etc.. More than any other city in the world Bruges and Venice are cultural objects. It is a shame that racers, coming from all parts of the world, didn't what Paul Kassens did: taking at least 24 hours off to discover a total other world than the daily world. My two best novels, De Nacht van Christus-Koning and De dag van de nachtschade play in Bruges and in Venice. I organised 96 international races in my life. I think that my two last should be at Bruges and at Venice. Otherwise all slot-racers, except Kassens, will dy without having lived...   Pic: Paul OWH Kassens.