If you want to make some altimeters in beautiful surroundings in the eastern Netherlands, the Salland Ridge the place you must have been. This national park is a must for almost every cyclist. You'll find a wonderful combination of climbs here, with Holterberg as the highlight, of course. We were already in the area once during our collaboration with Landal Sallandse Heuvelrug but then we had the gravel bike with us. Combined with the nearby Lemelerberg, this stretch of Overijssel pure enjoyment. We take you on a tour.
Puffing and sweating
Back in 2020, we rode a beautiful route along all the highlights of the Netherlands. This for a good cause, which included Amerongse Berg, Lemelerberg and Holterberg. Even for the practised event organiser, there was something to learn in the end. Because game tip one when organising a simple cycling event: start and finish in the same place. Nevertheless, the explained route was one to write home about. Because when do you ride past Amerongse Berg, Radio Kootwijk, the bridge over the IJssel near Zwolle as well as Lemelerberg and Holterberg? The answer is: never!
Woody climb
We have now created a nice lap that takes in some of the highlights of the aforementioned route. So we will go over Lemelerberg and Holterberg, and eventually take the Sanatoriumlaan for a bit. We skip the Archemerberg, partly because this is a narrow cycle path uphill and, especially in summer, very busy with e-bikers. Nothing against e-bikers, but if you like to ride on, especially in a group, the combination of narrow cycle path and e-bikers is not a good combination.
Driving across the country
In our route that we now have starting at Landal Sallandse Heuvelrug, we ride to the bottom of Holterberg and then up towards Lemele via the park. We take Lemelerberg from the difficult side (i.e. west-east). The easy side is also quite a challenge, but the percentages are less there. We take the Sanatoriumlaan along the way and turn back towards the park after the Lemelerberg. You can also easily start this route from Holte, Lemele or Ommen, for example.
Lemelerberg
Lemelerberg is often snowed under in all the Dutch 'climbing violence'. For runners it is a well-known mountain, also because events are often organised on it. For cyclists it is less well-known. But in the 1200-metre climb you gain 20 altimeters. With a maximum of 3% you won't break down completely. It is a nice sprint climb in the woods. After the descent, which is fairly straightforward, we turn right towards the next calf bite.
Lemelerberg, Lemele, Netherlands
- Distance: 1.1 km, Height difference: 31 m, Average slope: 2.9 %
Spacer
The stretch between Lemelerberg and the Sallandse Heuvelrug National Park can be bridged in various ways. You can choose to include the Sanatoriumlaan climb. This is a winding, undulating approach to a short climb of a few hundred metres. The maximum is about 5%, but it is still a nice calf bite.
Holterberg
Once you reach the Sallandse Heuvelrug National Park, you have a lot of opportunities not only to take in altitude metres, but also to enjoy beautiful views. If you drive via the village of Haarle, you can stop at WR Bikes, a nice thing, grab some more water and prepare for the climbs to come. It really is a bit more painful than previous challenges. So the mountain road from Haarle is a nice warm-up for the final 'deep hell', which you also have to overcome. Here it is heading towards 10% towards Holten. If you pick up from Holten via Motieweg uphill, you also have to go deep to get anything done. You then descend towards the visitors' centre on the Nijverdalseberg. There you can also get to Herman Experience Cycling stop for water, coffee, a chat or if something is wrong with your bike.
All in all, this is a beautiful area, where you can have a good time, whether on a racer or a gravel bike. Certainly the trails on and around the national park offer plenty of relief, as you can see in this item can read. The Bergweg from Haarle has a dirt track next to the asphalt. Also on the north side of the park you have some nice 'strade bianche' strips. Around Lemelerberg, you can also 'go into the woods' nicely. So the Sallandse Heuvelrug is really a place where you must have been
