The Taaienberg is a hill in the municipality of

Maarkedal Maarkedal () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of East Flanders East Flanders ( ; ; ; ) is a Provinces of Belgium, province of Belgium. It borders (clockwise from the North) the Netherlands, Dutch province of Zeeland and t ...

, in the Belgian province of

East Flanders East Flanders ( ; ; ; ) is a Provinces of Belgium, province of Belgium. It borders (clockwise from the North) the Netherlands, Dutch province of Zeeland and the Belgian provinces of Antwerp (province), Antwerp, Flemish Brabant, Hainaut (provinc ...

. With its top at 90 m, 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 slopes of the hill are paved in cobbles; in 1993 they were repaved with the original stones. The cobbled climb is one of the regular sites in Flemish cycling races in springtime. In 1995 the road of the Taaienberg was classified as a protected monument.

Cycling

The site 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 is a regular climb in 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 Taaienberg was first included in the course in 1974 and has remained a fixture in the race, with the exception of 1993, when construction works prevented the race from passing. The Taaienberg is of strategic importance in the Tour of Flanders, depending on its position in the route. It is one of the steeper hills in the course, but its position changes from time to time. From 1976 to 1981 the climb was part of a notorious trio of climbs in the race, situated between the renowned Koppenberg and Eikenberg, and until 1987 between Koppenberg and Berg Ten Houte. From 2002, when the Koppenberg returned, until 2011 it was usually climbed between the climbs of Steenbeekdries and Eikenberg. In 2012, unprecedented, it was the first difficulty of the day early in the race. In recent years the Taaienberg comes in the finale of the race, at 35 km from the finish. Taaienberg is also a fixed location in

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 ...

. It is also occasionally included in the

Omloop Het Nieuwsblad , previously Omloop Het Volk, is a one-day road cycling race in Belgium, held annually in late February. It is the opening event of the Belgian cycling season, as well as the first race of the year in Northwestern Europe, and holds significant pre ...

, 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 ...

and

Dwars door Vlaanderen ''Dwars door Vlaanderen'' ('Across Flanders') is a semi-classic road bicycle race in Belgium, held annually since 1945. The race starts in Roeselare and finishes in Waregem, both in West Flanders. Since 2017 the event is included in the UCI Wor ...

. The status of the Taaienberg among other hills has grown in the last 15 years, as it is the favourite climb of Belgian cycling icon

Tom Boonen Tom Boonen (; born 15 October 1980) is a Belgian former road bicycle racer, who competed as a professional between 2002 and 2017 for the and teams and a professional racing driver who currently competes in Belcar, having previously competed in ...

. It was the place where he made his decisive move in four of his five wins in the E3 Harelbeke and often the place where he accelerated in the Tour of Flanders. Commentators started calling the Taaienberg ''Boonen Hill''.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Taaienberg Trajectory on Google Maps
Climbs in cycle racing in Belgium Tour of Flanders Mountains and hills of East Flanders