The Eikenberg ( English: ''Oak Hill'') is a hill and road in the municipality of

Maarkedal Maarkedal () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of East Flanders East Flanders ( ; ; ; ) is a Provinces of Belgium, province of Belgium. It borders (clockwise from the North) the Netherlands, Dutch province of Zeeland and t ...

, in the Belgian province of

East Flanders East Flanders ( ; ; ; ) is a Provinces of Belgium, province of Belgium. It borders (clockwise from the North) the Netherlands, Dutch province of Zeeland and the Belgian provinces of Antwerp (province), Antwerp, Flemish Brabant, Hainaut (provinc ...

. With an 82 m altitude top, it is one of many hill formations in the

Flemish Ardennes The Flemish Ardennes (Dutch language, 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 (151 m). Main characteristics of the region ar ...

, in the south of East Flanders. The slopes of the hill are paved in cobbles, with a road gradually winding upwards from the Maarke brook to the top in Kerzelare village, 3 km east of

Oudenaarde Oudenaarde (; ; in English sometimes ''Oudenarde'') is a Belgium, Belgian City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region, Flemish Provinces of Belgium, province of East Flanders. The municipality ...

. The top of the climb is on the intercity road between Brakel and

. The cobbled climb is one of the regular sites in Flemish cycling races in springtime. In 1995 the road of the Eikenberg was classified as a protected monument.

Cycling

The site is best known from

road bicycle racing Road bicycle racing is the cycle sport discipline of road cycling, held primarily on Road surface, paved roads. Road racing is the most popular professional form of bicycle racing, in terms of numbers of competitors, events and spectators. The ...

, as it is a regular climb in the

Tour of Flanders The Tour of Flanders () may refer to the following cycle races: * Tour of Flanders (men's race) The Tour of Flanders (), also known as ''De Ronde'' (''"The Tour"''), is an annual road bicycle racing, road cycling race held in Belgium every spri ...

. The Taaienberg was first included in the course in 1956, and has since often been included, although occasionally it is not run. It is a fairly long climb at 1200 meter, relatively shallow at 5.8% average, but its cobbled surface is the main difficulty of the climb. In total the Eikenberg has been included in the Tour of Flanders route 40 times (1956-2015). In 2014 and 2015 it was the third climb of the day, situated between the Kortekeer and Wolvenberg. Eikenberg is also a fixed location in Omloop Het Volk and is sometimes included in

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 ki ...

, Dwars door Vlaanderen and Three Days of De Panne.

Gallery

File:Maarke - Eikenberg 1.jpg File:Maarke - Eikenberg 3.jpg

References

{{Reflist

External links

Eikenberg Trajectory on Google Maps
Climbs in cycle racing in Belgium Tour of Flanders Mountains and hills of East Flanders