Oude Kwaremont
Climb · Flanders
Checked
part of: The cobbled bergs of Flanders
Oude Kwaremont is a 1.8 km cycling climb averaging 4.5% (+82 m), rising from 23 m to 105 m in Flanders.
The spine of the modern Ronde: the longest cobbled climb in Flanders, ridden three times since the 2012 redesign, the final passage working as the crux of the race. Terpstra in 2018 and Bettiol in 2019 both made the winning move on its exposed upper half.
1.8 km · +82 m · 4.5% avg · ~10.3% max · 23 → 105 m
Stats computed from OpenStreetMap and satellite elevation data — approximate.
Download GPX ↓Navigate to the foot ↗
Gradient by colour: ● <3% ● 3–6% ● 6–9% ● 9%+
Where it bites
Steepest 250 m: 10.0% (km 0.5–0.7).
Road: 1.1 km of cobbles, the rest asphalt
| section | to | avg |
|---|---|---|
| 0–250 m | 32 m | 3.8% |
| 250–500 m | 44 m | 5.7% |
| 500–750 m | 71 m | 9.4% |
| 750–1000 m | 80 m | 3.9% |
| 1000–1250 m | 84 m | 1.7% |
| 1250–1500 m | 90 m | 2.4% |
| 1500–1750 m | 101 m | 4.5% |
What it’s like to ride
The first 600 metres are narrow asphalt and feel civil enough, then the cobbles start and the next 500 metres are the steepest and narrowest of the whole climb, a bad, very uneven surface touching 11%. Stand up here for extra leverage and the back wheel starts to bounce and all grip goes, so you stay hard in the saddle and heave the pedals round seated. Level with the church on the Kwaremontplein, about halfway, the gradient slackens from 11% to roughly 2%, and that is where it actually hurts: a cobbled kilometre still to run, legs already full, no chance to recover, and open ground near the top where the wind keeps a grip on you. Peter Van Petegem's verdict is that the steep part is fine and it is being exposed near the top, heading back for the main road, that makes it really hard. The village square is the obvious stop, with In De Zon beside the small church on the Kwaremontplein and 't Juiste Verzet sitting right on the climb, its bar decorated with cycling artefacts. It is the longest cobbled climb in Flanders, and the Ronde van Vlaanderen goes up it three times.
History
The Oude Kwaremont is the old cobbled back road over the Kwaremontberg, recorded in the Flemish heritage inventory as the former Pontstraat (now Schilderstraat and Broektestraat), the paved way that linked the hilltop village of Kwaremont with Berchem in the valley below; its setts were listed as a protected monument in 1995. It entered the Ronde van Vlaanderen as a replacement: the parallel main road up the same ridge, today the N36 and known as the Nieuwe Kwaremont, had its cobbles surfaced over in the late 1960s, so the organisers went looking for something rougher and put this lane into the race in 1974. The 2012 redesign that moved the finish to Oudenaarde made it the spine of the route, with the men's race climbing it three times and the last ascent, followed within minutes by the Paterberg, functioning as the crux of the day. Alberto Bettiol attacked on that final passage in 2019 with 17 km to go and rode the flat run to Oudenaarde alone for the first win of his career, and Niki Terpstra had shaken off the last of his rivals on the same stretch on the way to winning in 2018. E3 in Harelbeke and Dwars door Vlaanderen also send the peloton up it, and on race day the banks beside the cobbles stand three and four rows deep.
Worth stopping near the climb
More climbs in Flanders
Common questions
- How long and steep is Oude Kwaremont?
- Oude Kwaremont is a 1.8 km cycling climb averaging 4.5% (+82 m), rising from 23 m to 105 m in Flanders.
- Where is Oude Kwaremont steepest?
- The steepest 250 m averages 10.0%, between km 0.5 and km 0.7 of the climb.
- Is Oude Kwaremont cobbled, and for how far?
- Yes. 1.1 km of Oude Kwaremont's 1.8 km are laid in sett or cobblestone (1.1 km of cobbles, the rest asphalt), measured from OpenStreetMap surface tags along the climb.