We Ride the Muur 2008

The road to the top of the Muur (Wall) runs through the town of Geraardsbergen and is a point of high drama when the Tour of Flanders Spring Classic reaches it, drawing to it a huge crowd that lines the route from the busy shopping area to the box seats in sight of the summit.

The church spire comes into view and where often the winning attack is launched

Click to see more Muur pictures

We joined Ben and Patrick from Pinnacle Cycles for another homage at a place of cycling devotion.

The ascent begins amongst the shops climbing via the town square through a series of steps in gradient, and short plateau's, taking you past the strangely unnerving museum of the 'Mannequin Piss' and then onto the tighter steeper cobbled finals sections, before hitting the now pedestrianised final stretch to the church.

The layout of the hill, and the staggered road lined with pavements makes for a great theatre to witness the pivotal moment in the Tour of Flanders which has 16 kilometres to go at this point. It is near the top, with the steeple of the church poking into the sky, where the crowds are at their most vocal and eager to catch the moment when a rider will launch an attack, as Alessandro Ballan did in 2007 and so many others have done before.

Once over the top they turn right and toward the big chain ring climb of the Bosberg and then the run to the finish some ten kilometres down the road. The crowd, with most hemmed in by numbers, will now cheer the domestiques, who must muster what remains of their reserves to battle the average gradient of 9.3% and at times 19.8%.

First used in 1950 the ride up Muur is an uplifting experience, the town has obviously worked developed up from the river crossing at its' foot and all doors and windows seem to have been orientated to look out on the race.

Where? - Google Map
- Oudenarde (Home to quite a few Brit's) is to the West and which hosts the Flanders Cycle Musuem
- Like so many of the West Flandrian sites of cycling folklore you can travel from the Channel Ports along the Lille Motorway (E42), on through Lille, onto the E429, turning North onto the N57 and then the N42.

Patrick	Ben	David

Patrick - "this must be it, but boy are you wrong!"
Coming into Gerardsbergen the anticipation builds as you can see the hill but can’t really judge how steep it is. As you hit the cobbles in the middle of the town square, the road rises past the cathedral you think this is going to be easy as the cobbles are very smooth and the road not very steep. The tiny kick past the cathedral going back on to the tarmac wakes you up and then its false flat past the houses and you are starting to realise it’s not as easy as it looks.

The road turns sharp right at the end of the row and into a narrow tarmac climb. This rises steeply and then you think, this must be it, but boy are you wrong! As you climb round to the left you suddenly become worried as the road disappears and you know there’s going to be trouble. The road swings round to the right at 90degrees onto a super narrow cobbled section. This is where you get into real trouble as the gradient and cobbles combine to make it as hard as possible, your legs are hurting and you are constantly fighting to keep the pedals turning over the slippery cobbles. Position on the bike is crucial at this point as out of the saddle the wheels spin and in the saddle you get a pounding and have to mash the gear. As you swing round to the left the road flattens but as you hit the restaurant the road turns right to bring you over the last little section of cobbles to the top of the climb past the church.

This is the best and worst bit of the climb. Your legs are shot by this stage as the gradient and cobbles have taken their toll and you’re fighting for breath. However this is the top of the infamous Muur so you are spurred on by the images of past winners attacking over this bit as they go on to win and you try to forget about the pain as you imagine yourself going on for the win. I can’t imagine what it’s like hitting this climb after 240km of racing. It was bad enough doing it once but after riding all day over the previous hills at race pace, this must be brutal. Although just a glimpse, it’s a real insight into what the pro’s go through and makes you appreciate their strength and skill.

The atmosphere in the town on race day is legendary, they put a big screen up in the square so you can watch the race live before it comes through, and the ladies race going through earlier in the day is a perfect way to build the crowd up. The race is absolutely massive in Belgium and you can see why the Belgian riders really want to win this as practically the whole country turns out to see it. I‘m doing the 140 km sportive the day before the race this year and can’t wait. Whether my enthusiasm will still be as strong by the time I hit the Muur come the day will remain to be seen but I certainly know where I will be watching the race from the next day!’

David - "an impressive climb no matter how you look at it"
Steep, narrow and cobbled, the Muur is an impressive climb no matter how you look at it.

As I grip the bars and push over the gear, I can almost sense the huge crowds that will line the course come race day, cheering me on. The town is particularly picture-postcard and makes for a beautiful backdrop to the action on the cobbles, but alas once the heart rate rises all concentration turns to the cobbles.

The top of the climb is the highlight, with the road narrowing and the final few turns and gradient increasing adding to the challenge. The top is a much earned reward for the effort expended over the cobbles. I’ll be back for another pilgrimage.

Ben Spurrier - "The climb builds in equal proportion to the lactic acid in your legs"
The Muur lures you into a false sense of security as you begin the ascent; the initial kick up to the town square isn't that hard and the section through the square is quite pleasant in fact.

Past the town square there is a further kick, but again this and the brick road are still OK and you can keep the pace up. Next up the Muur climb twists through houses and the road 'closes in on you', here there is a small section of tarmac and although all seems OK at this point, your legs become aware that you have been climbing for about a minute and a half.

The breaking point for many is as you exit this section through a dead right hand turn through some bollards. The difficultly here is that as well as turning you are faced with a change in road surface from asphalt to (slippery) cobbles along with a significant change in gradient. This section bends around to the left at the top and as you creep through the corner, you are faced with the real sting in the tail.

From here you can see where the top is although it is obscured by a large grassy hill top with a church on it. As you round the final corkscrew the lactic acid in your legs builds at approximately the same rate as the gradient as you try your best to drive up over the final and steepest part of the climb, knowing that for the racers is downhill almost all the way to finish.