We Ride the Kemmelberg

The Kemmelberg is one of a string of bergs that look over the flat lands of Western Flanders and for centuries it has acted as a bastion for Roman's, Belgians, Germans, the French and Cold War warriors alike. We joined Ben and Patrick from Pinnacle Bikes for a ride on the feared Kemmelberg.

Riders crash down the Kemmelberg in 2007

The melancholy nature of the Kemmelberg is underlined by the 'Monument Soldats Aux Francais' atop the climb and the Ossuary containing French World War One dead, situated on the Huevelland side of the berg. This berg was a true charnel house of violent death and suffering during the 'Great War'.

From the top of the Kemmelberg you can scan the horizon for miles and you soon realise why so many lives were lost here.

We honestly admit to being a little scared of the Kemmelberg. We climbed the cobbled, rutted and steep ascent from the Kemmel Village direction, as the the professional racers did in 2007, and although the first section was not so bad, our opinions quickly changed as the road turned and became steeper and steeper.

Once over, a tarmac road leads you passed a cafe and hotel toward a Cold War Bunker and then onto the 'Monument Soldats Aux Francais'. This monument catches your eye enough to distract you from the road ahead and when you do look back, the World seems to have disappeared into an abyss as the road dives down past the Ossuary and onto Huevelland. In 2007 Jimmy Casper and a number of riders suffered appalling injuries and hospitalisation when rider after rider fell on the descent. The reaction from many was to call for the Kemmelberg to be pulled from races as it was too dangerous, and in so many ways we would concur as it scared us to death.

More pictures from the Kemmelberg

In 2008 Ghent Wevelgem will take a detour over a specially prepared road to avoid this deadly plunge into the seeming void. Nonetheless big risks remain with a tight turn to now be negotiated and the the characteristic off camber cobbles will still pull the riders off line and like us be drawn toward the the dangers of the roadside. Like so many cobbled climbs you need to ride on the crown of the road, easier said than done of course..

On another occasion when we visited the Kemmelberg it was pounding with rain and was pitch dark - a place for ghosts to wander. The climb from Kemmel forced the wheels of our car to spin on the cobbles. At the top we looked down and gulped, the climb looked just plain evil and unrideable, but out of the murk two young riders came toward us on their mountain bikes, one made it whilst the other falterd. To our amazement he went back down and rode to the top.. No wonder the Belgians make great bike riders !

Where?
- The Kemmelberg is North of the E42 Lille Motorway - see Google map
- Wevelgem is in the East and the town Ypres is North of Kemmel Village, whilst Huevelland is in the south
- We were able to easily reach the Kemmelberg in a few hours.
- Look out for the many small military cemeteriess in the area.
- The French town of Roubaix is south of the Huevelland Ridge
- There is cafe and a hotel that offers food atop the Kemmelberg, but both were closed each time we visited.

Patrick	Ben	David

Patrick Trainor thought it looked easy
The Kemmelberg looks quite tame on TV and I’ve often wondered what the fuss was, this soon changes the second you get there.

The cobbles are in good condition and overhanging trees means that it's often slippery and position on the bike is crucial. On the descent you keep thinking just 'stay of the brakes' but its so steep and speed builds up too quickly that all you care about is crashing.

Great place to watch the race go by as there are two bars on the Berg and the stmosphere must be incredilble, but don't think I’d care to be in a speeding bunch racing it!

Ben Spurrier also senses the ghosts
The Kemmelburg is a foreboding place, seemingly haunted by ghosts of the past. As you ascend the climb, you marvel at how anyone could race up such a fierce section of pave as you struggle to keep your rear wheel planted to the cobbles. As you reach the summit you start to see the first evidence of the ferocious fighting that took place here in the World War, manifested by cratered and pock-marked ground in the trees.

As you start your descent, you immediately see the war memorial on your left but this quickly pales into insignificance as you cling to your handlebars and struggle to stay upright as you bounce from cobble to cobble down the hill. If you are not racing, your attention is immediately then drawn to the Osierey on your left where the bodies of the dead are stored underground. The local countryside is peppered with military graveyards, some housing ten men, some a hundred.

The impact I felt is the soberness of the environment has on the hill itself. Everywhere you go there is evidence of fighting still which I feel you can sort of sense in the air, still. A kind of somber quietness or stillness which when combines with the history of the racing which takes in the Kemmelburg, creates a tremendously evocative atmosphere that almost makes you feel like you can’t wear your hat at all, out of respect for the dead – both soldiers and racers.

David Arthur - "It's a section of cobbles that wreak havoc"
Wednesday afternoon, sometime in November. With heavy grey clouds scudding across the sky, the temperature chilling the extremities of the body and surrounded by an unnerving silence, we unpacked our bikes in preparation to ride the Kemmelberg.

There’s little in the way of silence when the Gent-Wevelgem, a 214km semi-classic race in the early part of the European race calendar, races over the cobbles. And not once, but twice do the riders hammer over the cobbles.

Just before the road drops down the cobbled descent that has seen so much spilled blood, sits a large, magnificent memorial to those soldiers who last their lives during the First World War. The riders in the Gent-Wevelgem will hardly notice though, as they grit their teeth and fight the lactic now filling their legs in their own personal battles.

It’s a popular spot for spectators too, and for good reason. The cobbles can split a peloton, and while it doesn’t tend to decide a race, a successful and safe negation of the cobbles can make a large difference. There’s usually a good chance of a crash too.

For the riders the climb is approached from a fast flat run in, with a tight right hand bend onto the cobbles losing them all their speed. The ascent takes its toll, even on our fresh legs – the riders however will have completed a considerable distance by the time they reach the cobbles – it’s tough. For us it’s mostly dry, save for a few damp patches, best avoided. Can’t imagine it in the rain though.

The bike juggles around underneath, as each successive cobble pitches the bike upwards. The cobbles aren’t all evenly laid either. There are sections that drop away to the gutter, and the camber of the road is a novelty that catches out any novice. A loose grip of the bike is best, and a smooth, but powerful, input of power required to reach the top. Climbing out of the saddle is possible, but the risk of rear tyre slippage increases, so a seated approach is favoured. The climb suits the strong riders in the peloton.

A short section of flat road follows, taking the peloton to the base of war memorial, and the beginning of the decent. For the pros, a position near the front in clear space is best, so a choice of lines can be picked from. It’s the riders near the middle and back that have to chance their luck, watching out for fallen bidons that have spilled their contents across the cobbles.

Riding this descent, it’s easy to see how there’s so many crashes. It’s quote narrow, and the cobbles, though mostly even, display dips and rises. Easy to pick a line when you’re one of four riders, but in the middle of a raging peloton, it must be like the most terrible roller coaster ride imaginable.

Thankfully, it’s not very long, and it’s mercifully short. It’s steep though, about 1 in 4. Tom Boonen, when questioned about how he approaches the descent last year, said “don’t brake.” Easy for him to say though, but dangerous, as Frenchman Jimmy Casper discovered last year, when, during a crash involving a dozen riders, he ended his day in a local hospital with a fractured eye socket. Ouch!

It’s hard to imagine being in the middle of the peloton as it races over the climb, and hard to imagine how there aren’t many more crashes. Riding the climb is challenging enough with out having to jostle for position and the best line too, which on this quit midweek afternoon presents no problems.

It’s a section of cobbles that wreak havoc, yet despite this the riders still bravely approach it with mainly disdain for its dangers. Here’s to the Kemmelberg, a scary but strangely exciting road.

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