Oude Kwaremont cobbled climb map

by Sidney van den Boogaard

The Oude Kwaremont doesn't break you with steepness; it grinds you down with length. The first six hundred metres from the Broektestraat are tarmac, then come more than 1.5 kilometres of rattling cobbles. It averages only around four percent, peaking near eleven, but the stones drain your legs, and whoever can't find a line along the gutter pays for it at the top. On race days the crowds stand several deep. Since 2012 the biggest Flemish spring classic has tackled it three times in its finale, paired with the Paterberg. The cobbles have been protected since 1993. For everyone who heads to Flanders each spring.

This work is part of the Legendary Climbs collection: the most famous climbs in road cycling, from the Alps and the Pyrenees to the short, steep hills of Flanders and Limburg. Each climb is drawn from the real road, with the elevation profile coloured per kilometre and, along the bottom, the length, elevation gain, average and maximum gradient and the summit.

The road is drawn from OpenStreetMap data (© OpenStreetMap contributors) and the profile from Copernicus elevation data (EU-DEM). A great gift for any cyclist, to hang next to the bike or as a goal for next season.