The Kruisberg, also known as Oude Kruisberg or Oude Kruisens, is a hill and road in the city of

Ronse Ronse (; ) is a Belgian city and a municipality in the Flemish province of East Flanders. The municipality only encompasses the city of Ronse proper. History Early settlements to 14th century The hills around Ronse show clues of human a ...

, in

Flanders Flanders ( or ; ) is the Dutch language, Dutch-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, la ...

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

. With its top at 122 m altitude, it is one of many hill formations in the

Flemish Ardennes The Flemish Ardennes (Dutch language, Dutch: ''Vlaamse Ardennen'') is an informal name given to a hilly region in the south of the province of East Flanders, Belgium. Highest summit is the Hotondberg (151 m). Main characteristics of the region ar ...

, in the south of East-Flanders. The road starts going gently uphill from the center of Ronse. The upper and steepest part of the climb consists of 450 m of cobbled surface. Kruisberg is the unofficial name of the ''Oudestraat'' and ''Oude Kruisens'' roads, which run parallel to Ronse's actual Kruisberg, a broad concrete road. Hence the climb is frequently referred to as ''Oude Kruisberg''. In Flemish media the climb is often erroneously called ''Oude Kruiskens'' – with k. The Kruisberg should not be confused with the Kluisberg, a nearby hill and forest in the neighbouring municipality of

Kluisbergen Kluisbergen () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of East Flanders, along the Scheldt river. The municipality comprises the towns of , Kwaremont, and which fused in 1971. In 2021, Kluisbergen had a total population of 6,682 ...

Cycling

The climb is best known from

road bicycle racing Road bicycle racing is the cycle sport discipline of road cycling, held primarily on Road surface, paved roads. Road racing is the most popular professional form of bicycle racing, in terms of numbers of competitors, events and spectators. The ...

, as it regularly features in the

spring classics The classic cycle races are the most prestigious one-day professional road cycling races in the international calendar. Some of these events date back to the 19th century. They are normally held at roughly the same time each year. The five most ...

, most notably the

Tour of Flanders The Tour of Flanders () may refer to the following cycle races: * Tour of Flanders (men's race) The Tour of Flanders (), also known as ''De Ronde'' (''"The Tour"''), is an annual road bicycle racing, road cycling race held in Belgium every spri ...

. The 1.000 m 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. After the cobbled section, the road continues on a 23 m elevation on a broad gently-sloped asphalt road to the top of the Hotond hill which overlooks the city. In the Tour of Flanders roadbook, the climb is categorized as ''Kruisberg–Hotond''; the total distance of the double climb is 2.500 m at an average gradient of 5%. The climb was first included in the Tour of Flanders route in

1973 Events January * January 1 – The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 14 - The 16-0 19 ...

and has become a fixed location in the route since the race's restyling in

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

. In recent years, it comes at 26 km from the finish in

Oudenaarde Oudenaarde (; ; in English sometimes ''Oudenarde'') is a Belgium, Belgian City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region, Flemish Provinces of Belgium, province of East Flanders. The municipality ...

, as the last climb before the iconic

Oude Kwaremont The Oude Kwaremont ( English: ''Old Kwaremont'') is a road in Kluisbergen, a municipality in the Belgian province of East Flanders. The Oude Kwaremont, contrary to popular belief, is not the name of a hill, but the name of one of the cobbled ro ...

and

Paterberg The Paterberg is a hill in the municipality of Kluisbergen, in the Belgian province of East Flanders. With its top at 80 m, it is one of many hill formations in the Flemish Ardennes, close to Wallonia. The slopes of the hill were unpaved un ...

climbs. The Kruisberg is also regularly included in the

Three Days of De Panne 3 (three) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious and cultural significance in many societies ...

E3 Harelbeke E3 Saxo Bank Classic, previously known as E3 BinckBank Classic, E3 Harelbeke, Harelbeke–Antwerp–Harelbeke and E3-Prijs Vlaanderen, is an annual road cycling race in Flanders, Belgium. The race starts and finishes in Harelbeke, covering 203 ki ...

and the

Tour of Flanders for Women The Tour of Flanders (), formerly the Tour of Flanders for Women, is the List of women's road bicycle races, women's sister edition to the Tour of Flanders (men's race), men's Tour of Flanders. It is an annual road bicycle racing event in Flander ...

References

External links

Kruisberg Trajectory on Google Maps
{{coord, 50.7577, 3.5905, region:BE_type:landmark, display=title Climbs in cycle racing in Belgium Tour of Flanders Mountains and hills of East Flanders