Muur van Geraardsbergen VS Oude Kwaremont

“The mayor staged a mock funeral”

First included on the route of the Tour of Flanders in 1950, it wasn’t until 1981 with the addition of the Kapelmuur at its summit that this climb took the form cycling fans know today. From 1981 through to 2011, the Muur was the penultimate climb on the race route and where the champions would almost always deliver their fatal blow. In 2010, when the then two giants of the peloton, Tom Boonen and Fabian Cancellara, arrived in tandem at the base, it was left to the Muur to separate them like only it could. Starting in the centre of Geraardsbergen, the cobbles begin as the road rises past the church, but here the slope is shallow and the stones neatly packed. Turning left, the surface then improves to resemble a nice paved driveway, but as the climb turns right, here is where the real Muur starts. Twisting between houses and under trees, the pitch constantly increases, as does the chaos of the stones, and it was here in 2010 that Cancellara turned the screw on his way to victory. Just two years later, though, tragedy struck the Muur as the race organisers removed it while switching the finale to the town of Oudenaarde. Such was the shock and outpouring of grief that the mayor of Geraardsbergen staged a mock funeral and marched a coffin up its slopes to signify the town’s disgust. After a gap of five years it did return to the race, but at 95km from the finish it no longer played a decisive roll. It’s again dropped for 2020.

Oude Kwaremont wasn’t included in the Tour of Flanders until 1974 when it replaced the parallel climb of the New Kwaremont, which had been paved. At over two kilometres long, this beast has long been pivotal in destroying the legs and hopes of riders, but its role in the race was significantly enhanced in 2012. When Flanders Classics moved the finish of the race to Oudenaarde, it dumped the Muur and installed this climb as the focus of the race and the penultimate challenge, (it’s followed by the Paterberg). Both climbs create a great spectacle for fans, but only the Oude Kwaremont has lots of land either side for huge lucrative corporate hospitality tents. The climb itself is a war of attrition and like all Hellingen, the race to reach the base first and ensure good position is almost as important as the race to get to the summit. The slope begins to rise before the stones start, then suddenly the transition from smooth asphalt to pandemonium arrives. Boasting a pronounced camber and large uneven cobbles, the first section into the village of Kwaremont is the toughest, but it’s rarely this stretch that does the damage. After a lull in elevation gain, it’s when the climb ramps up for a second time that the strongest legs make their move. It’s here the fans line either side all hoping to catch sight of the moment the elastic snaps.

VERDICT

The winner here must be the Muur. There’s no denying the significance of the Oude Kwaremont or the challenge it presents, but for pure drama, for 20 per cent slopes on jagged rocks, topped with the most iconic of summits past the Chapel, the Muur takes it.