Flanders

Part of Belgium

If you want to get close to the cycling scene, Flanders is probably one of your best options. In Flanders, cycling is not just a sport, but a religion. The first weekend of April marks a moment of silence in Flanders for the race, due to the Tour of Flanders. In the Flemish Ardennes, between Oudenaarde and Geraardsbergen, the slopes and gravel roads that make up the Tour of Flanders, as well as many other Flemish classics, are breathtaking. Every Sunday you see clubs training there, and in the spring, the pros are out on their training rounds. And in the winter? There’s the cross-country race.

But for cyclists like you and me, Flanders is mostly about struggling, suffering pain, and sometimes feeling like a pro for a moment.

For the sake of clarity: Flanders is actually the name for the ‘Flemish Region’, which consists of the provinces of East Flanders, West Flanders, Limburg, Flemish Brabant and Antwerp. When people talk about ‘Flanders’ or ‘Vlaanderen’ abroad, they are usually referring to the entire area. The Belgians themselves are a bit more precise on that point. Also in terms of the local language, West Flanders is not comparable to Limburg or Brabant.

Why cycle in Flanders?

Do we really have to explain why you want to start cycling in Flanders? Well, let’s do it anyway. Because there are always people who are new to this very enjoyable hobby/sport and who have never heard of ‘The Wall’ or ‘The Pater’ and for whom Oudenaarde is a town with a nice old center.

Here they are in a row:

• The Oude Kwaremont, the Paterberg, the Koppenberg and the Muur van Geraardsbergen. These are perhaps the most famous climbs of the Tour of Flanders, although the Muur is now more associated with the Omloop het Nieuwsblad and with many photo opportunities for wannabe pros and other cycling enthusiasts.
• If you’re ever there, you have to do it once: ride over cobblestones. Then the cobblestones like the Paddestraat and Haaghoek are your place to be: feel what the pros feel.
• Cafés with a TV channel on and a portion of Flemish fries after the ride. Dive into a good deep-fried snack and you’ll never want anything else. Fries with stewed meat, always good.
• The West Flemish hills around the Kemmelberg for a slightly different day and also a deeper connection to the history of the First World War

Five reasons for a cycling trip to Flanders

“By taking to the bike, you get to know the contours of a country best,” wrote Ernest Hemingway. Cycling in Flanders, the cycling platform of the Flemish tourism service, thinks he was talking about Flanders. Here are their five reasons, supplemented with our own experience.

1. Look at the spring classics

The Flemish spring can be summed up in three words: course, course, course. The Omloop Het Nieuwsblad kicks off the season at the end of February. Then come weeks of classics, with the E3 and Gent-Wevelgem, which lead up to the holiest Sunday of the year: the Tour of Flanders. People are out all day long along the course with a pint and a fritter, and the pros pass by several times in a few hours. Anyone who has stood on the Oude Kwaremont once as the peloton speeds by knows why the Tour is not a cycling race here, but a piece of culture.

2. Drive your own course

If you want to feel what the pros feel, join a tour. Almost every spring classic organizes one on its own course, with distances for every level. That way, on the day before the pros, you ride over exactly the same slopes and gravel sections, among thousands of other cyclists. For those who want it differently: at the RetroRonde you ride on an old steel racing bike and in a woolen sweater. And for those who just want to ride themselves, without a number on the back: there are signposted loops all over the Flemish Ardennes along the most famous slopes. On cyclinginflanders.cc Do you find them with GPX?.

3. Experience the history

The Greeks have Achilles and Hercules, Flanders has Briek Schotte, Eddy Merckx and Tom Boonen. Especially in East and West Flanders you will encounter statues, monuments and plaques commemorating the heroes of the race along the way. If you want to learn more about it, visit KOERS, the museum of cycling in Roeselare, or the Ronde van Vlaanderen Centre in Oudenaarde. The latter is the perfect starting and finishing point for a tour through the Flemish Ardennes.

4. The mythical slopes and ridges

As if the short, steep slopes weren’t already steep enough, they are also full of gravel in Flanders. For those who aren’t from Flanders, it’s hardly understandable, but these are the foundations of the sport. Don’t go home without the four K’s of Flemish heritage: the Koppenberg, the endless Kwaremont, the Chapel Wall in Geraardsbergen and the Kemmelberg in the Heuvelland. After that, you’re KO, and that’s the fifth K.

5. First the gravel, then a pint

Good food and drink are as deeply rooted in the Flemish DNA as the race itself, so they go perfectly together. Try one of the beer for cyclists, such as the Kwaremont, the Giesbaarg Muurken or the Koerseklakske (the ‘race hat’), in one of the many cycling cafés along the route. A tip from Cycling in Flanders: start with the victory of Eric Vanderaerden in the 1985 Tour, and you have a conversation for an hour.

Flanders in regions

Flanders is more than just the Flemish Ardennes. Each region has its own character:

• The Flemish Ardennes: the heart of the Ronde, between Oudenaarde and Geraardsbergen. Hills, cobblestones and bike cafés, with Oudenaarde as a logical starting point.
• The Heuvelland and the Westhoek: in the extreme west, around the Kemmelberg and the Monteberg. The setting of Gent-Wevelgem, and at the same time the landscape of the First World War, with cemeteries and monuments along the way.
• Flemish Brabant and LeuvenAround Leuven, the city of the 2021 World Championships, and the rolling Hageland, which is becoming increasingly popular with gravel enthusiasts.
• Limburgforests, meadows and the Hoge Kempen National Park, with special cycling trails through the water and through the trees.
• The KempenFlat, green and quiet, with plenty of bike paths through forests and along canals. Ideal for a relaxing weekend or a first gravel ride.

From our stories

• The ultimate ‘Flanders experience’: a 525-kilometer bikepacking route through all of Flanders.
• Cycling through the trees: The public prize for the bicycle route of the year.
• Cycling in Belgian Limburg from Landal Park Eksel

Flanders Bikepacking 525

The Flanders 525 brings together the highlights of cycling in Flanders: from Tongeren via the Hageland, the Pajottenland and the Flemish Ardennes to the Westhoek. We rode it partly and adjusted it here and there; this is the version in three long days.

The classics from Monte Marcella

In January, we stayed at the high-altitude resort of Monte Marcella in West Flanders. From there, the slopes of the Ronde, the roads of Gent-Wevelgem and the gravel roads of Paris-Roubaix are within easy reach. Seven routes.

When are you leaving?

March to October. Around the Ronde (beginning of April) it is busy, but the atmosphere is unique. In the summer it is very pleasant to be there. In the autumn it can sometimes be slippery and slippery.

How do you get there?

Flanders is generally easily accessible by car. In two to two and a half hours from Utrecht you are in the heart of the circuit. Of course you can also use public transport; then you take the train to Oudenaarde, Ghent or Kortrijk. From there you can then continue to your destination. Other public transport connections are less reliable. Always check beforehand how and what, because the SNCB sometimes does not work as expected.

Events in Flanders

Watch all 21 events →