Edelareberg is a hill in

Oudenaarde Oudenaarde (; french: Audenarde ; in English sometimes ''Oudenarde'') is a Belgian municipality in the Flemish province of East Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Oudenaarde proper and the towns of Bevere, Edelare, Eine, Ename, Heu ...

, in the

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct language ...

province of

East Flanders , native_name_lang = , settlement_type = Province of Belgium , image_flag = Flag of Oost-Vlaanderen.svg , flag_size = , image_shield = Wapen van O ...

. With its top at 80 m, it is one of the many hill formations in the

Flemish Ardennes The Flemish Ardennes (Dutch: ''Vlaamse Ardennen'') is an informal name given to a hilly region in the south of the province of East Flanders, Belgium. Highest summit is the Hotondberg (145 m). Main characteristics of the region are rural hilly lan ...

. The top of the Edelareberg is in the village of Edelare, from which the hill takes its name. Colloquially, it is also called ''Kerselareberg'', after Kerselare, the small hamlet which is now part of Edelare. The road was asphalted in the late 1960s and is now a broad and gently rising road, part of the N8 road connecting Oudenaarde and

Brakel Brakel () is a municipality in the Belgian province of East Flanders in the Denderstreek and the Flemish Ardennes. The name is derived from a Carolingian villa ''Braglo'' first mentioned in 866 and located in the center of Opbrakel. Since 1970, t ...

. The steepest slopes are 7% towards the top of the climb.

Cycling

The hill is best known from

cycling Cycling, also, when on a two-wheeled bicycle, called bicycling or biking, is the use of cycles for transport, recreation, exercise or sport. People engaged in cycling are referred to as "cyclists", "bicyclists", or "bikers". Apart from two ...

, as it is one of the many climbs in the Flemish Ardennes featuring in the

spring classics The classic cycle races are the most prestigious one-day professional road cycling races in the international calendar. Some of these events date back to the 19th century. They are normally held at roughly the same time each year. The five most ...

. The climb has been included 35 times in the

Tour of Flanders The Tour of Flanders ( nl, Ronde van Vlaanderen), also known as ''De Ronde'' (''"The Tour"''), is an annual road cycling race held in Belgium every spring. The most important cycling race in Flanders, it is part of the UCI World Tour and organi ...

. In the early years of the race it was one of a classic trio of climbs, together with the

Kwaremont Kluisbergen () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of East Flanders, along the Scheldt river. The municipality comprises the towns of , Kwaremont, and which fused in 1971. In 2021, Kluisbergen had a total population of 6,682. The ...

and

Kruisberg The Kruisberg, also known as Oude Kruisberg or Oude Kruisens, is a hill and road in the city of Ronse, in Flanders, Belgium. With its top at 122 m altitude, it is one of many hill formations in the Flemish Ardennes, in the south of East-Flande ...

, called the ''dromedaries''. The climb had a roughly-cobbled pavement with a sharp

hairpin turn A hairpin turn (also hairpin bend or hairpin corner) is a bend in a road with a very acute inner angle, making it necessary for an oncoming vehicle to turn about 180° to continue on the road. It is named for its resemblance to a bent metal hai ...

and a steep gradient at the end. In 1970 the road was asphalted, and the hairpin and steepest part were leveled out. Ever since, the climb was less of a difficulty and lost its strategic importance in races. Subsequently it has not been included in the Tour of Flanders sinds 1973. In other races, such as

Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne is an annual single-day road cycling race in Belgium. It is held one day after Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, on the last Sunday of February or the first of March, and completes the opening weekend of the Belgian cycling season. ...

Nokere Koerse Nokere Koerse is a European semi classic single day cycle race held in the Belgian region of Flanders. Since 2005, the race has been organized as a 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour. Starting in 2016 it was a 1.HC event. The Nokere Koerse was c ...

and the

Three Days of De Panne 3 is a number, numeral, and glyph. 3, three, or III may also refer to: * AD 3, the third year of the AD era * 3 BC, the third year before the AD era * March, the third month Books * ''Three of Them'' (Russian: ', literally, "three"), a 1901 n ...

, it still features regularly.

References

External links

Edelareberg trajectory on Google Maps
{{Authority control Climbs in cycle racing in Belgium Tour of Flanders Mountains and hills of East Flanders Oudenaarde