Relive the 1963 and 1988 UCI World Championships in Ronse
The route step by step
Start
The official courses
Ronse oozes cycling history. The pearl of the Flemish Ardennes has twice hosted the UCI Road World Championships. And that resulted in two extraordinary tales:
'the fall of Claudy' (1988) and 'The betrayal of Ronse ' (1963).
Three: that’s how many times riders must climb the famous Oude Kwaremont during the Ronde. The Oude Kwaremont is the longest cobbled climb of Flanders at 2200 meters long, and 92 meters of climbing. While it averages a nice “easy” 4% gradient it’s maximum gradient of 11.6 % lies in the middle of the climb – it’s not an easy feat to recover from that over cobbles. Indeed, if you fail to recover from it in time, you can consider a pause at In 't Palet on the corner of the village square.
The Hotond - Hoogberg ascent is 2.7 km long. Over this distance, you climb 107 heightmeters. One of the longer climbs in the area.
Ronse '88 Worlds mural
Ronse is a town of modest size, but with an enormous reputation. The city is located in the heart of the Flemish Ardennes, a Valhalla of the cycling world. Ronse is traditionally part of the Ronde van Vlaanderen course and has twice hosted the UCI Road World Championships. Both in 1963 and 1988, the rainbow jersey was awarded there. One time a Belgian won, one time a Belgian hit the ground in the dying seconds of the race. Both events resulted in exceptional tales.
Nieuwe Kruisberg
The Nieuwe Kruisberg was the start and finish of the World Championships in 1963 and 1988. Here the riders sprinted uphill to the finish. It is a place of tragedy and heroism. Pictures "Collectie Koers. Museum van de Wielersport (Roeselare).
Kanarieberg or 'canary hill' situated in Ronse is a tough one. The steepest section of this long climb peaks at 14 %, with an average incline of 9.2 %. The left turn at the top takes through some beautiful woodland.
This hill lives up to its name. Taaienberg literally means ‘tough hill’ and the reason for this name will become clear when you ascend its 530m stretch of cobblestones. This wasTom Boonen’s favourite hill to test his early season form on with an annual attack in Omloop Het Nieuwsblad earning it the name of 'Boonenberg'.
The Jagerij is a 730m long cobble section that lies just outside Oudenaarde. The stones are regular and well set, which means a comparatively smooth ride across them before a fast descent down to the Smarre before you take on the Molenberg.
2.550 meters of gently rising cobbles. The cobbles are not that nasty as their neighbouring sections but the grade of 3% will definitely hurt. This stretch is remembered for a moment in the 2015 Tour of Flanders where almost the entire favourites group took to the pavement amongst the spectators, except Ian Stannard who ploughed on through the middle of the cobble, oblivious. Attention Flandrien Challenge hunters: the markings on the road are currently wrong, but the Strava segment as integrated in our route is correct.
Halfway along the Kerkgate is the cafe of De Witte Hoeve, which is one of the liveliest places to spectate Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, with the race passing twice and team staff handing up bidons on the pavement outside. Sometimes soigneurs can be seen sneaking a quick beer between passages.
Finish
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