All of the best Flemish words have three syllables: uitstekend, alsteblieft, Museeuw, mayonnaise. But of them all, my favorite has to be interdaad. Used more as a form of punctuation than as an actual word, its figurative meanings far surpass its literal definition (“indeed”). For example:
A beautiful woman walks by as you sit and enjoy a cup of coffee in an outdoor café. She drops something, bends at the waist to retrieve it, and offers you and your friends a lovely view of her derriere.
Interdaad.
Tom Boonen lays down a shattering attack on the Tiegemberg. He turns his head at the top to assess the situation. No one is able to follow.
Interdaad.
Your friend finishes his fifth Belgian car bomb—a shot of vodka dropped in a glass of Duvel—and places the glass goblet upside down on the table, trying not to vomit.
Interdaad.
I had one friend who used to say it as if it were a 3-word phrase, accenting each syllable for the sake of emphasis: “In. Ter. Daad.” He said it more often than most, usually as an expression of how impressed he was by something or as an emphatic period at the end of an action or statement. Once he used it on a training ride as someone else rode away from us on a climb, as if to say, “We’re done.”
This Sunday you’ll likely hear an interdaad or two during the Tour of Flanders—if you watch it in Flemish, that is. With Belgians Phillippe Gilbert and Tom Boonen counted among the top favorites, there’s a very good chance the small nation will have yet another home winner to celebrate. Foreigners like Fabian Cancellara, Filippo Pozzato, and Matti Breschel will try and spoil the day for the legions of Flemish fans lining the course, all of them hoping to witness yet another fantastic race.
In the end, the winner will be the rider tough enough and smart enough to keep himself well-placed and out of harm’s way heading into each of the race’s 15 (many of them cobbled) muurs and bergs. He’ll have to contend with bad weather, narrow roads, and a bevy of talented competition. And if he’s not Belgian, he’ll have to face the jeers and taunts of what very well could be over 1 million incredibly biased spectators.
If he can somehow handle all of this and still manages to cross the line first in the finishing town of Meerbeke, he will be able add one of the sport’s most prestigious titles to his resume: Winnaar, Ronde van Vlaanderen.
In. Ter. Daad.
