Koppenberg (literally "Heads Mountain") is a high

hill A hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain. It often has a distinct summit. Terminology The distinction between a hill and a mountain is unclear and largely subjective, but a hill is universally considered to be not a ...

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, H ...

, 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 la ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

. "Koppen" is an abbreviation for cobblestones which in Dutch slang language are called ''kinderkoppen'', or "children's heads". This climb is part of the route of 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 orga ...

professional

cycling race Cycle sport is competitive physical activity using bicycles. There are several categories of bicycle racing including road bicycle racing, cyclo-cross, mountain bike racing, track cycling, BMX, and cycle speedway. Non-racing cycling s ...

and feared by many because of its steepness (22% on the trickiest parts) and because of its

cobblestones Cobblestone is a natural building material based on cobble-sized stones, and is used for pavement roads, streets, and buildings. Setts, also called Belgian blocks, are often casually referred to as "cobbles", although a sett is distinct fr ...

. This makes the Koppenberg difficult even for top professionals. Quite often, riders slow to the point of losing their balance, especially those at the back of the

peloton In a road bicycle race, the peloton (from French, originally meaning 'platoon') is the main group or pack of riders. Riders in a group save energy by riding close ( drafting or slipstreaming) to (particularly behind) other riders. The reducti ...

who have to dismount and scramble to the top on foot. In the 2006 Tour of Flanders, it was on km 185 of 259. Even if a breakaway forms on the Koppenberg it is difficult for riders to hold off the peloton in the finishing stages. In the

2012 Tour of Flanders The 2012 Tour of Flanders was the 96th edition of the Tour of Flanders single-day "Monument" cycling race. It was held on 1 April 2012 over a distance of – between Bruges and Oudenaarde – and was the eighth race of the 2012 UCI World Tour se ...

the Koppenberg was moved to 60 km from the finish line and raising its importance.

Koppenberg history

Koppenberg was first climbed by the Tour of Flanders riders in 1976 and featured annually until 1987. In that year,

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...

rider

Jesper Skibby Jesper Skibby (born 21 March 1964 in Silkeborg, Denmark) is a retired professional road racing cyclist. He won at least one stage at each of the major tours. He was one of the most popular in Denmark, not only because of his talent, but also be ...

broke away from the peloton early in the race and had been riding by himself when he approached the Koppenberg. With a lead of nearly two minutes, he began the climb but when started to slow, the race commissaire following close behind in his car - pressured by the encroaching peloton - ordered his driver to move so they knocked Skibby who fell to the ground then the car ran over his back wheel, just narrowly missing his leg and ending his race. After the incident, the Koppenberg was excluded for 15 years. Following renovations, which included widening the road and re-paving it, the climb was re-introduced in 2002. The Koppenberg was again excluded from the Tour of Flanders because of its deteriorating and unsafe conditions in 2007. Following further renovations that year, it was again included in the 2008 edition of the race, and has been featured in each edition since. The Koppenberg hillside is also used for the annual

Cyclo-cross Koppenberg The Cyclo-cross Koppenberg is a cyclo-cross race held in Oudenaarde, Belgium, which is part of the X²O Badkamers Trophy. The cyclo-cross race uses the Koppenberg climb that has been used many times in the Belgian Classic the Tour of Flanders. Th ...

race. The cyclo-cross course follows only part of the cobbled road, using some of the surrounding fields and roads for the other sections of the course.

Gallery

File:Koppenberg5063.jpg, The Koppenberg from the bottom of the hill File:Koppenberg_hill_1.jpg, The Koppenberg during the 2009 Tour of Flanders File:Koppenberg_hill_2.jpg, The Koppenberg during the 2009 Tour of Flanders File:Koppenberg_cobbles.jpg, Closeup of the Koppenberg's cobblestones File:Melden - Koppenberg - View.jpg, View from the top of the hill

References

External links

Koppenberg race photos on grahamwatson.com
{{coord , 50.81057, N, 3.5823, E, region:BE_type:mountain, display=title Climbs in cycle racing in Belgium Tour of Flanders Mountains and hills of East Flanders Oudenaarde