The route of the 2017 Tour of Flanders was announced today at a press conference in the city hall of Geraardsbergen. The race which will start in Antwerp for the first time will include three climbs not covered in recent years.

On Sunday 2 April the riders will face a total of 259.5 km, 18 climbs and five cobbled sections. Once through Oudenaarde, the convoy heads to Oude Kwaremont for the first time (1st climb, at 115 km). The route takes them up the Kortekeer, the Eikenberg, the Wolvenberg, Holle Weg (a cobble section, at 138km), the Haaghoek (cobble section, at 144km), the Leberg and the Berendries.

Three climbs have been omitted from the 2017 route which had been included in this year’s race 2016: the Molenberg, the Valkenberg and the Kaperij.

In their place the riders tackle Ten Bosse (the 7th climb of the day, at 154 km), the Muur van Geraardsbergen/ Kapelmuur (the 8th of 18 climbs, at 164 km) and the Pottelberg (the 9th, at 181 km). The attention-grabber is of course, the Muur van Geraardsbergen. After five years of absence, the decision to include the Muur on the route once again has met with a warm welcome both at home and abroad.

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The Muur – the eighth of 18 climbs, 95 kilometres from the finish line – could prove to be an important point on the route. Riders feeling strong will be able to test their legs on this legendary hill with its 9.5% average gradient: and it could be an important indicator of how the race might unfold.

The Muur van Geraardsbergen is the third most frequently climbed hill section in the history of the Tour, after the Oude Kwaremont in Kluisbergen and the Kruisberg in Ronse. At de Muur, thousands of fans saw Eric Vanderaerden pull away from the rest in 1985, watched an unrivalled Johan Museeuw extend his gap on its cobblestones in 1995 and witnessed the legendary battle between Fabian Cancellara and Tom Boonen in 2010.

The return of de Muur will undoubtedly be celebrated by thousands of fans at a huge party in Geraardsbergen. The city council and the race organisers, Flanders Classics, anticipate a huge influx of people, from home and abroad, and are putting all the necessary measures in place.

As the riders pass through the centre of Geraardsbergen, fans can follow the elite men, elite women and Juniors live from this iconic location. A huge fan village will be set up at the Vesten and a big screen will be provided, so that the fans don’t have to miss a single second of the final stretches of the 101st Tour of Flanders.

“The walk to the Muur is a pilgrimage; awaiting the riders an intense ritual,” says Mayor Guido De Padt of Geraardsbergen, revealing his great satisfaction with the return of this Flemish race monument. “The Muur is a sacred place for race lovers and exerts a tremendous pull, at home and abroad. The Muur is an ambassador for Flemish cycle racing.”

“The Muur van Geraardsbergen is monumental in the world of cycle racing, and far beyond,”
adds race director Wim Van Herreweghe of Flanders Classics, the event organiser. “The return of this iconic climb is a win-win-situation for both parties: the Tour brings prestige to the city of Geraardsbergen; the Muur adds allure to ‘Flanders’ Finest’”.

The last 9 climbs and the last cobble section of the 101st Tour of Flanders remain as they were in previous races. After the Kanarieberg (the 10th climb), the riders take on the Oude Kwaremont (the 11th climb, 55 km from the finish) and Paterberg (the 12th climb, 51 km from the finish).

After this, the riders face the Koppenberg, and following that, they head via Mariaborrestraat (cobble section), to Steenbeekdries, the Taaienberg and the Kruisberg/Hotond. The ultimate knock out combination is then the Oude Kwaremont, (17th climb), 17 km from the finish, and the Paterberg (18th and final climb), 13 km from the finish.

“These last six climbs on the modern day route are typical Tour of Flanders climbs – they are all inclines on cobblestones. They produce an instantly recognisable and intense rhythm, which has yielded memorable finals in recent years. The most recent highpoint was only last year, in the jubilee 100th edition, when world champion Peter Sagan triumphed, forcing Fabian Cancellara to miss out on an absolute record. We just want to keep the last 75 kilometres as a feature of the race. Its instant recognisability should become a real race tradition,” concludes race director Wim Van Herreweghe.

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