- If you look purely at the statistics,
the climbs in the Flanders region of Belgium are not hard.
And yet they are, very hard, brutal in fact.
- Why? Because of these.
Cobblestones.
Now you won't see lightweight climbers flying up these
in the Tour of Flanders.
No, you'll see big bruises, muscling their way up.
Fighting with their bikes.
- Today though, it'll be two middle aged men
grinding up them rather slowly.
As we seek out the top five toughest cobble climbs
in the Flanders region.
(heavy metal music)
- Straight onto our list at number five is this.
The Paterberg.
It didn't quite used to be as pivotal as it is these days,
in the Tour of Flanders, as it used to come
with around 80 kilometers to go.
But nowadays, it's the final climb,
coming just after the older Kwaremont
and it can be decisive.
Of course, it's also covered on the three occasions.
It's now the maker or the breaker of dreams.
- Yeah, there's no dilly dally about the Paterberg, is it?
You come screaming at warp speed down that sinuous asphalt
at speed which you now have to scrub off
as you take a 90 degree right hand turn into this.
And then, it hits you like a brick.
You're immediately into a 10% cold climb.
- A brick, or a cobble, Dan.
- Ah, that's true.
That's true, that.
- [Matt Voiceover] And that is as good as it gets.
This is one of those climbs that can be so destroying
because you can see the top,
not far from the bottom of the climb.
It may only be 360 meters long, but the gradient average
is just under a whopping 13%.
- [Dan Voiceover] There are two small consolations
here on the Paterberg.
And firstly, the cobblestones are in good condition.
Still pretty bumpy, but evenly laid.
And secondly, there's a nice smooth gutter
on the left hand side of the road
which you'll often see the pros using in the smaller races.
However, the big one, Tour of Flanders,
it's blocked off with barriers.
- [Matt] I'm sticking to the road this time.
- [Dan] It's a lot faster here.
- [Matt] Looks of it, oh well.
I'll tell you what, Dan.
It's easy to forget how hard this climb is.
- [Dan] Yeah, you're totally right.
Well, I think what makes the Paterberg even harder
is what you have to face before it.
- [Matt] Yeah, that'll be climb number four.
- [Dan] Oh yeah, let's head there.
(heavy metal music)
- The Oude Kwaremont is like the main dish
to the bitter dessert of the Paterberg.
And like the Paterberg, it's on the menu
at the Tour of Flanders three times.
What a feast of a race.
- It is, yeah.
Back when I was racing, this was kind of seen
as the start of racing proper.
Now it's a bit less in your face than the Paterberg.
But in some ways, it lures you
into a bit of a false sense of security.
Because the beginning of it is very flat.
You're on this narrow, asphalt road and then at one point,
it just gradually starts to rise ever so slightly.
- And then, it hits you hard.
- Like a cobble.
- Yeah.
(heavy metal music)
- [Matt Voiceover] The cobbles are flawless even here
and combined with the 11% gradient, it's a real legacy.
The short sections of gutter on the side of the road
can be alluring, but in reality,
it can get you into more trouble than it's worth.
The climb is super tough, plain and simple.
So you just have to embrace the pain and get on with it.
- I wanted to get to the cross loads at the top.
You're over the worst of the gradient,
but what comes next can be just as hard.
It's almost a kilometer more of cobblestone like this.
It's a horrible false lap, trying to accelerate
when you get onto here after what you've already done.
It's just so hard.
- The hardest bit for me, comes near the top of this climb.
We've already got five minutes of pain in your legs
and then the road starts to pick up just a little bit
and the cobbles get even rougher.
Shaving off your speed.
It's frankly, demoralizing.
- It's nasty, but we've done it now.
Just have to go downhill.
Now overall, this Oude Kwaremont is 2.6 kilometers long.
An average gradient of 3.5%.
And I have to say, the road you come out of at the end,
couldn't be more contrast to this narrow cobble street
that you come out from.
It's the N-36 that runs here and once you get there,
it's quite a relief.
Although, I did once crash in a race when I was on the hoods
and my hand slipped off as I hit that gutter.
(exhales deeply)
In at number three, it is the Kemmelberg.
- The Kemmelberg.
Now the Kemmelberg doesn't actually feature
in the Tour of Flanders,
but it is essentially the cornerstone
of the Tour of Flanders' younger sibling, Gent-Wevelgem.
Now the climb itself is situated just outside
the village of Kemmel, quite near to the border with France.
- [Dan Voiceover] Gent-Wevelgem is often referred to
as a sprinter's classic but don't be fooled,
it's far from easy.
There are three ways up the Kemmelberg,
but we're using the traditional one
which is from the east side.
Coming from this side does make it particularly hard
because the road rises steadily on the Berg Straat
so you're already tired as you make that famous right turn.
- [Matt Voiceover] At which point,
the gradient and the cobbles really begin to bite.
8% here, but the worst, well, that's yet to come.
- Yeah, it most definitely is.
In fact, the profile of this climb is a little bit like a
half of a half pipe really and then it gets
- Are you calling the course a pipe?
- I guess I do, and then it gets steeper and steeper
and steeper and steeper and steeper.
Until this final little bit is a whopping 23%.
I can certainly feel that in my legs right now.
Anyway, Matt, once we get over this,
we can give ourselves a pat on the back
because right here is actually the highest point
in the Flanders region.
- Well I guess high five.
(hands clap)
- Oh yeah, such good high five I almost came off.
- Albeit 156 meters above sea level.
Now before we move onto our next climb, Dan,
we should actually talk about what the riders had to face
when coming over the top of this one.
- Yes, a descent, isn't it?
- Yeah, no ordinary descent.
Straight over and down there.
Equal percentage, over 20% descent down the other side.
Cobbled all the way.
- Yeah, we actually both raced down
this in the past, haven't we?
And it was at 2007 is when I last did it.
And there was a monumental crash there
in which riders lost teeth and broke bones.
That prompted the race organizers
to re-route it down the shallower tarmac descent
around the edge of these trees.
And quite a wise decision, wasn't it?
- I reckon so, but were you one of the ones that crashed?
- No, stayed up right believe it or not.
- I'm quite surprised actually, Dan.
- Yeah.
- Very surprised.
- I'm not surprised that you're surprised.
I do crash a lot.
And the runner up in our top five hardest climbs in Flanders
is the Muur, sometimes referred to Kapelmuur
or Muur-Kapelmuur or Muur van Geraardsbergen.
Or in French, the Muur de Grammont.
But we should stick to the Muur.
- Yeah and for decades, it was the centerpiece
of the Tour of Flanders.
And we're gonna call it epic because let's face it,
it saw some absolutely epic battles.
Cancellara versus Boonen.
Museeuw versus van Petegem.
Merckx versus Verbeek.
And now Stephens versus Lloyd.
- Ah, bring it on!
- Should we have a cup of tea first?
- Yeah, it's surly.
It's truly turned Flandering weather.
It's a bit cold for riding.
- I know, yeah, let's just go in here.
I'm fine.
(heavy metal music)
- [Dan Voiceover] The gradient begins to rise
as soon as you exit the Center de Geraardsbergen.
The road is initially wide and it's on very smooth,
very neatly paved cobbles.
But it's set pretty steep and it's little bit
like the Kemmelberg from that respect
in that it's what comes before the rough cobbles
that makes that rough part even harder.
Now when you first hit the roughest section of cobbles,
the road is still reasonably wide.
But then, when you see these steps in front of you,
you swing around to the right
and that is where the pain starts.
Or at least, gets a little bit worse.
That section of this climb is barely wider than a car.
- Now the main part of the climb is 750 meters long
with an average of 9% but just here
reaches a brutal maximum of 20%.
Hence our faces right now.
- That's mental.
(heavy metal music)
- Now just after that steep section,
the gradient does relent albeit briefly
and then shortly afterwards, just over there,
on top of a mound, is that iconic chapel.
The Kapelmuur.
And that was introduced to the race in 1981
and is one of the most famous parts about sports cycling.
(breathes deeply)
Alright, bike, this is you.
- Come on, Dan, let's go mate.
- Lloyd versus Stephens.
(heavy metal music)
(heavy breathing)
- Well done, mate.
- Oh my God.
That's really tough.
It's time, Matt, for the big reveal.
The hardest cobble climb in Flanders,
in our opinion as least, you've probably guessed it.
It's the Koppenberg.
- Yeah, it's a climb that's so tough,
that race organizers actually avoided using it
for decades because it became so unpopular with the riders.
And it's one of those few climbs in the world of cycling
that you'll actually see people,
paid to ride their bikes for a living,
actually wheeling their bikes up it.
I mean, it's hard enough in the dry,
but if it's wet or muddy, well the chances are,
you won't actually make it up.
- It's wet today, Matt.
- I know.
- There's no mucking about with the Koppenberg, is there?
- Nope.
- I mean they had a big, quite steep hill here
which they needed a road on, so they just chucked down
a load of cobblestones in the shortest distance possible.
I mean, just bosh!
- Just look at it!
It's like a proper Muur, a wall, a Muro.
- I'm not looking forward to riding it.
- I might just watch you.
(dramatic music)
- [Dan] Here we go then.
I'm quite intimidated.
Thank God for comeback gears.
- [Matt] I've only got 39.
- [Dan] You're joking!
- [Matt] I know, I'm gonna lead you off with a straver.
(dramatic music)
Come on, Dan!
(bike pedaling)
- [Matt] Oh I've made a mistake here on the degree.
I don't think I'm gonna get the straver.
(heavy breathing)
I'm almost at a walking pace.
(dramatic music)
(heavy breathing)
- So, on the steepest part here.
Some key stats about the Koppenberg.
It's 600 meters long.
Averages 10.5% but at it's steepest,
which is around here, over 20%.
But what makes this climb so, so hard are the cobbles.
- You quickly realize don't you.
As you're riding around Flanders,
how different the cobbles are from one stretch to the next.
And when you look at the cobbles that are used here
on the Koppenberg, and believe it or not,
this has been fairly recently been re-laid.
They're completely random in terms of their shape
and their surface and their size.
I mean, there's huge gaps between them.
Look at these ones down here.
- Yeah, I tell you what.
If this was in hackle budge of the week,
somebody would budge this climb, wouldn't it.
- I think it would be a budge.
- It would be budge of the week actually.
Well, I'm really glad we saved
the steepest, hardest climb till last.
- Yeah, I'm absolutely shattered.
We drove between all the climbs as well.
They are tough aren't they?
- They are absolutely, super tough.
But, weirdly, I still think it's great.
I really, really enjoyed it.
And they even, put a bench at the top for me and you, Dan.
- Yeah.
- How cool is that?
- Which we kind of need, don't we?
In fact, I think we deserve a beer.
- Have you got the cafe in order?
- Yes. - Let's do it.
(breathes deeply)
- Don't know if we're gonna make it down there.
(grunts)
We'll give it a go.
- [Matt] I got dis-brakes, I'll be fine.
Just take my time.
- I don't know about you Matt, but I could not think
of a better and more appropriate way
to finish a day like that, then in the
Ronde van Vlaanderen Museum of this new refurbed bar,
drinking Kwaremont beer. - Kwaremont beer.
It's perfect isn't it.
- [Dan] Enchante.
- Look at, look, little cobbles on the bottom of the glass.
- Yeah, it's perfect.
- Now for a closer look at one of the climbs we've been up,
the Koppenberg, how about clicking just down here.
Our iconic climb video.
- And if you've enjoyed watching us going rather slowly up
cobble climbs here in Flanders, give us a thumbs up
just below this video.
- Enchante again, Dan.
(glasses clink)