Paddestraat

The 2.260 meter long cobblestone road ‘Paddestraat’ is Flanders’ most well-known cyclist’s ‘scourge’. This present day bone rattler was once part of a Roman ‘Via’ between Boulogne-sur-Mer and Cologne. The Paddestraat became a well-deserved national monument in 1995. Here you will find the ‘Ronde van Vlaanderen Monument’, which lists the names of all Ronde winners since 1973, the year in which the Paddestraat was added to the parcours. The right hand bend after the railway crossing where you enter the cobbles was where Frank Vandenbroucke lost his bid for glory in 1999 after a brave attack with 150km to go in the company of teammate Philippe Gaumont. "Fresh" from a night out in Bruges that lasted until the early hours, Gaumont slid out on the bend and broke his wrist. VDB still managed to take second in the sprint.