page_title: Tour of Flanders
section_title: Cobbled roads
hierarchical_section_title: Tour of Flanders / Race characteristics / Cobbled roads
caption_attribution_description: Nederlands: Kasseiweg Haaghoek in Sint-Kornelis-HorebekeEnglish: Haaghoek cobblestone road in Sint-Kornelis-Horebeke. Sint-Kornelis-Horebeke, Horebeke, East Flanders, Belgium This is a photo of onroerend erfgoed number 200836
context_page_description: The Tour of Flanders, also known as De Ronde, is an annual road cycling race held in Belgium every spring. The most important cycling race in Flanders, it is part of the UCI World Tour and organized by Flanders Classics. Its nickname is Vlaanderens Mooiste. First held in 1913, the Tour of Flanders had its 100th edition in 2016.
  Today it is one of the five monuments of cycling, together with Milan–San Remo, Paris–Roubaix, Liège–Bastogne–Liège and the Giro di Lombardia. It is one of the two major Cobbled classics, anticipating Paris–Roubaix, which is on the calendar one week after the Tour of Flanders. The event had its only interruptions during World War I and has been organized without hiatus since 1919, the longest uninterrupted streak of any cycling classic.
  Six men hold the record of most victories, making the Tour of Flanders unique among the major classics. Belgians Achiel Buysse, Eric Leman, Johan Museeuw and Tom Boonen, Italian Fiorenzo Magni and Swiss Fabian Cancellara each have three victories.
  Since 2004, a women's race, the Tour of Flanders for Women, is organized annually on the same day as the men's but on a shorter distance.
context_section_description: Additional to the hills, the course traditionally includes a number of flat sections of cobbled roads. Recent editions included the Paddestraat (2400m), Mater-Kerkgate (3000m), Haaghoek (2000m) and Mariaborrestraat (2400m). Only the Mariaborrestraat comes in the race finale, as it also comprises the climbs of the Steenbeekdries and the descent of the Stationsberg. Unlike the fearful sections of pavé in Paris–Roubaix, these roads are in excellent condition nowadays as they are part of a busy traffic network. They haven't been the decisive sites of the race for decades, but many "purists" of the Tour of Flanders want to keep them included because of their value as symbols of Flemish landscapes.
  Until the 1950s the many dirt roads and cobbled roads were crucial sites in the race. Historian Tom Van Laere states that the Tour of Flanders had never set out to use poor roads – cobblestoned roads were all that were available if the race were to be long enough. In the Interwar period, Belgium's infrastructure was severely scarred by war and only the intercity roads were smooth. Roads were laid in cobblestones, simply because it was the cheapest material at the time. After the Second World War, Belgium picked itself up from devastation and provinces began asphalting roads.
  When some of the iconic hills were asphalted, cycling fans and organizers were alarmed by the disappearance of cobbles. Organizer Van Wijnendaele could no longer rely on many of the traditional roads as they were not difficult enough. His staff began searching for alleys and footpaths in maps and talked to people in bars who knew the local roads. "It was either that or risk the race ending in a mass sprint, and that's the last thing organizers wanted," said Van Laere. Most back roads happened to be in the low hills between Ronse and Geraardsbergen, the region that became the heart of the race.
  Over the years the mileage of cobbles decreased but the number of cobbled hills rose. The climb of the Paterberg was unpaved until 1986, when its cycling-mad owner paved the road in cobbles because he wanted the race to pass by his house. The site was immediately included by race organizers and has become a fixture in the course.
  Several of the remaining cobbled roads in Flanders, including the Paterberg, are now protected sites and classified as part of Flemish cultural heritage.
caption: Winding Haaghoek cobbled road in Sint-Kornelis-Horebeke
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