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Tour of Flanders

Tour of Flanders (Ronde van Vlaanderen) 2023

Date TBF

Itinerary

Day 1

Bike collection (bikes need to be boxed) and board the Eurostar before driving to accommodation in Oudenaarde, Belgium.

Day 2

Recon ride and bike shakedown (literally) exploring some of the cobbled delights of the Flandrian wilderness. Tape down your bottles and drop the tyre pressure. Time to double- wrap your handlebars!

Day 3

Ride the Tour of Flanders Sportive!

2022 sees the 105th edition of the Ronde van Vlaanderen (or Tour of Flanders in English), one of cycling's legendary Spring Classics. The day before the pros battle it out a sportive is held to allow the public to share the experience of riding the famous cobbles.

Entries for the 2022 edition of the Tour of Flanders will open in November.

You will need to arrange your own sportive entry.

The 2022 edition returns to Antwerp for cyclists riding the 237km and 200km long routes, with four options on offer in total: 237km, 200km, 141km, and 74km.

There is a shuttle service provided by the sportive organisers from Oudenaarde to Antwerp.

Each route features a generous helping of the trademark Belgian cobblestones to tackle. How tough the route is depends largely on the weather - it can be anywhere from close to freezing to 18 degrees in Belgium in early April and bad weather can make the Tour of Flanders pretty tough for even highly experienced riders.

There are feed stations roughly every 30km along the route, stocked with energy bars, waffles and fruit.

Cobbled highlights to look forward to include:

Molenberg: Molenberg, Zwalm. Climbs 32m from 24m to 56m. Maximum 17 per cent.
Oude Kwaremont: Broekstraat, Kwaremontplein, Schilderstraat, Kluisbergen. Climbs 93m from 18m to 111m. Maximum 11 per cent.
Koppenberg: Steengat, Koppenberg, Oudenaarde-Melden. Climbs 64m from 13m to 77m; Maximum 25 per cent at inside of bend, otherwise 22 per cent.
Taaienberg: Taaienberg, Maarkedal-Etikhove. Climbs 45m from 37m to 82m. Maximum 18 per cent.
Berg ter Stene: Stene, Horebeke. Climbs 68m from 32m to 100m. Maximum 9 per cent.
Leberg: Leberg, Brakel-Zegelsem. Climbs 39m from 60m to 9m. Maximum 15 per cent.
Berendries: Berendries, Brakel-Sint-Maria-Oudenhove. Climbs 65m from 33m to 98m. Maximum 14 per cent.
Valkenberg: Valkenbergstraat, Brakel-Nederbrakel. Climbs 53m from 45m to 98m. Maximum 15 per cent.
Muur-Kapelmuur: Abdijstraat, Ouderbergstraat, Oudeberg, Gerardsbergen. Climbs 77m from 33m to 110m. Maximum 20 per cent.
Bosberg: Kapellestraat, Geraardsbergen-Moerbeke. Climbs 40m from 65m to 105m. Maximum 11 per cent.
Tenbosse: Olifantstraat, Brakel. Climbs 28m from 45m to 73m. Maximum 14 per cent.