Relive the 1957 World Championships in Waregem

The Kluisberg can be climbed from different directions but this one, via the Bergstraat, would be the classic route. The climb from Ruien was tackled 11 times (1955, 1966, 1997-2003, 2007, 2010 in ) the Tour of Flanders. Until the 1960s this was a wide cobbled road, after which it became paved. Also other races such as Dwars door Vlaanderen and the E3 Prijs and Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne Kuurne included this climb in the parcours as well as the Women's Tour De France in the early 2000s where Nicole Cooke launched a solo attack that won her the second stage.

On your right just as the climb begins is Jowan, one of the best-known bike shops in the region.

The 750m climb starts going gently uphill from the center of Ronse. The upper – and steepest – part of the climb has a roughly-paved cobbled surface, totaling 450 m of cobbles. The climb was first included in the Tour of Flanders route in 1973 and has become a fixed location in the route since the race's restyling in 2012. In recent years, it comes at 26 km from the finish in Oudenaarde, as the last cobbled climb before the iconic Oude Kwaremont and Paterberg climbs. The Kruisberg is also regularly included in the Three Days of De Panne, E3 Harelbeke.

The Kortekeer, a hill in Maarkedal, first featured in the Tour of Flanders in 1988 when the Koppenberg was removed from the route due to its condition at the time and the danger it posed. The Kortekeer, however, earned a long-standing place in the Tour of Flanders but faded into obscurity when the Koppenberg was once again included into Flanders’Finest in 2008. 1 km long, with an average incline of 6.4 % and an incline of 17 % at its steepest point, the hill is now a valuable addition to the middle of the race, being climbed after the first ascent of the Oude Kwaremont, the steep corner near the summit seems to serve as a launchpad for a doomed breakaway every year.

Berg ten Houte is our newest cobbled climb in Flanders. This tough formerly paved climb was included 9 times in the Ronde van Vlaanderen between 1982 and 1990 and also part of the E3 Harelbeke, most recently in 2013.The local authority had Berg ten Houte rebuilt with cobblestones in spring 2018, for extra challenge!The Berg ten Houte is actually one of the oldest 'stone roads' in the Flemish Ardennes. Ever since Roman times this has been a connection between Wallonia and the Valley of the Schelde north of Maarkedal. Hopefully Berg ten Houte will be included again in the course of the Tour of Flanders, and this time as a cobblestone hill!