The Oude Kwaremont (

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

: ''Old Kwaremont'') is a road in

Kluisbergen 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 ...

, a municipality 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 languag ...

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 ...

. The Oude Kwaremont, contrary to popular belief, is not the name of a hill, but the name of one of the

cobbled 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 ...

roads leading up the Kluisberg hill. The Kluisberg is one of several 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 ...

in the south of East-Flanders, close to the border with

Wallonia Wallonia (; french: Wallonie ), or ; nl, Wallonië ; wa, Waloneye or officially the Walloon Region (french: link=no, Région wallonne),; nl, link=no, Waals gewest; wa, link=no, Redjon walone is one of the three regions of Belgium—alo ...

. The climbing road is best known for its presence in many

Flemish Flemish (''Vlaams'') is a Low Franconian dialect cluster of the Dutch language. It is sometimes referred to as Flemish Dutch (), Belgian Dutch ( ), or Southern Dutch (). Flemish is native to Flanders, a historical region in northern Belgium; ...

professional cycling races, such as 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 ...

E3 Harelbeke E3 Saxo Bank Classic, previously known as E3 BinckBank Classic, E3 Harelbeke, Harelbeke–Antwerp–Harelbeke and E3-Prijs Vlaanderen, is an annual road cycling race in Flanders, Belgium. The race starts and finishes in Harelbeke, covering 203 kil ...

and

Dwars door Vlaanderen Dwars door Vlaanderen ''( en, Across Flanders)'' is a semi-classic road bicycle race in Belgium, held annually since 1945. The race starts in Roeselare and finishes in Waregem, both in West Flanders. Since 2017 the event is included in the UCI ...

Characteristics

The lower 600 m of the climb consist of a narrow asphalt road, the upper 1600 m are paved with cobblestones. The first 500 m of cobbled section are particularly difficult, it is the steepest and narrowest part of the climb with a bad, very uneven cobbled surface. Halfway up the climb, near the church of Kwaremont village, the gradient gradually levels out from 11% to just 2%, but with still a cobbled kilometer to go to the top. The top is situated just after the cobbled section, at 111 m, after a 93 m altitude gain. Despite its iconic status in Flemish cycling, the climb was only first included in the

in 1974. Before, the hill was climbed via the main road from Berchem to Ronse (N36), running in parallel, whose cobbled surface was replaced in the late 1960s by an asphalt road. Since 1974 the ascent of this road from Berchem is called ''Nieuwe Kwaremont'' for distinction. When the parcours of the Tour of Flanders was restyled in 2012, the Oude Kwaremont, together with the nearby

Paterberg The Paterberg is a hill in the municipality of Kluisbergen, in the Belgian province of East Flanders. With its top at 80 m, it is one of many hill formations in the Flemish Ardennes, close to Wallonia. The slopes of the hill were unpaved unt ...

, became the cornerstone of the race. The Oude Kwaremont is now climbed three times, being the first and penultimate of the serious climbs, and often the one that forces the greatest selection. For instance,

Niki Terpstra Niki Terpstra (; born 18 May 1984) is a Dutch racing cyclist, who rides for UCI ProTeam . He is the brother of fellow racing cyclist Mike Terpstra. He is the third Dutch cyclist to have won both of the cobbled Monument spring classics, Paris–R ...

in 2018 and

Alberto Bettiol Alberto Bettiol (born 29 October 1993) is an Italian professional road racing cyclist, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . Bettiol turned professional in 2014, with his first professional win coming at the 2019 Tour of Flanders. He competed a ...

in 2019 shook off their last remaining competitors on the Oude Kwaremont to win solo in Oudenaarde. The cobbles of the Oude Kwaremont have been classified as monuments by Flemish decree since 1993.

Gallery

File:Boonen & Pozzato.jpg,

Filippo Pozzato Filippo "Pippo" Pozzato (born 10 September 1981) is an Italian former road racing cyclist, who rode professionally between 2000 and 2018 for the , , , , , , and two spells with the / teams. A northern classics specialist, Pozzato finished in se ...

and

Tom Boonen Tom Boonen (; born 15 October 1980) is a Belgian former road bicycle racer, who competed as a professional between 2002 and 2017 for the and teams and a professional racing driver who currently competes in Belcar, having previously competed in ...

riding up Oude Kwaremont in the 2012 Tour of Flanders File:Ronde van Vlaanderen 2015 - Oude Kwaremont (16847245047).jpg,

Bradley Wiggins Sir Bradley Marc Wiggins, CBE (born 28 April 1980) is a British former professional road and track racing cyclist, who competed professionally between 2001 and 2016. He began his cycling career on the track, but later made the transition to r ...

leads a small group at Oude Kwaremont during the 2015 Tour of Flanders File:Ronde van Vlaanderen 2015 - Oude Kwaremont (16847294157).jpg, The women's peloton during the 2015 Tour of Flanders for Women File:Ronde van Vlaanderen 2015 - Oude Kwaremont (16868453899).jpg,

Elisa Longo Borghini Elisa Longo Borghini (born 10 December 1991) is an Italian professional road cyclist, who rides for UCI Women's WorldTeam . During her career, Longo Borghini has won two bronze medals in the road race at the Summer Olympic Games, taking third- ...

on her way to victory in the 2015 Tour of Flanders for Women File:Ronde Van Vlaanderen 2018 Tour of Flanders 2018 (40281536725).jpg,

Michael Valgren Michael Valgren Hundahl (né Andersen; born 7 February 1992) is a Danish professional road racing cyclist, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . In 2018, Valgren won Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and the Amstel Gold Race. Career He became a professio ...

Peter Sagan Peter Sagan (; born 26 January 1990) is a Slovak professional road bicycle racer who currently rides for UCI ProTeam . Sagan had a successful junior cyclo-cross and mountain bike racing career, winning the junior cross-country race at the 2008 ...

Philippe Gilbert Philippe Gilbert (born 5 July 1982) is a Belgian former professional road bicycle racer, who is best known for winning the World Road Race Championships in 2012, and for being one of two riders, along with Davide Rebellin, to have won the three ...

and

Wout Van Aert Wout van Aert (born 15 September 1994) is a Belgian professional road and cyclo-cross racer who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . He won the men's elite race at the UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships in 2016, 2017 and 2018. He joined in M ...

at 2018 Tour of Flanders

External links

Oude Kwaremont Trajectory on Google Maps
{{Authority control Climbs in cycle racing in Belgium Tour of Flanders Mountains and hills of East Flanders Cobbled streets