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It’s not in the race anymore, but the Muur van Geraardsbergen helped make the Tour of Flanders what it is. We still get to see it in other races, but it’s one you have to ride to really understand it. Often referred to simply as the Muur, the climb became part of the Tour of Flanders in 1950. It stayed for three years, then the organisers switched between The Muur and the then cobbled Kloosterstraat, which crosses the same ridge. Muur means wall, so it’s the Geraardsbergen Wall in English. Geraardsbergen was once a fortified city called Adrienopolis, an important place in the Land van Aalst, a country that pre-dated the 11th century foundation of Flanders. The Muur became the penultimate climb of the Tour of Flanders, so the selections would build towards it as the other cobbled climbs sifted out the riders, leaving just the best. It was often how riders judged their Tour of Flanders, whether they made it to the Muur in the first group or not. Being there was the mark of a classics contender. It climbs in stages, changing direction, surface and gradient along the way. Cobbled from bottom to top in the early days, only the top sections are cobbled now. The route through Geraardsbergen starts climbing after the Dender Bridge and doesn’t let up until the top. The way up flicks left then right through the market place, then there’s a sharp left into Vesten, a wide cobbled highway. Sharp right and the gradient really bites along the narrow Oudbergstraat. A bronze statue representing Flemish bike fans called Wielervolk stands by the road. Further up there’s a poem to Eddy Merckx carved into a huge stone written by a famous Flemish author. No cars are allowed up the final section, except on race days. The cobbles are vicious here but new, laid in 2004 by the town council at a cost of 250,000 euro. The old stones were dug up and sold for 2.5 euro each. The gradient is viciously steep at 19.8 percent. Then the climb eases, a moment to breathe before the final pitch up a man-made mound called Kapelmuur. That’s the last bit of the hill. From there you can descend to climb the Bosberg, which used to be the last climb in Flanders. 📸 John Pierce Photosport International 🖊 Chris Sidwells #tourofflanders #eddymerckx #merckx #muurvangeraardsbergen #cobbles #cobblestone #cycling #cyclinghistory #retrocycling #cyclingstory #cyclingstories #cyclinglegends #themuur #climb