Elevation 56 m (184 ft) Altitude 32 m (105 ft) Average gradient 7 % Start Zwalm | Location Flanders, Belgium Length 463 m (1,519 ft) Maximum gradient 14.2 % | |
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The Molenberg (English: Mill Hill) is a hill in the municipality of Zwalm, in the Belgian province of East Flanders, with its top at 56 m. It is the one of the many hills in the Zwalm region, just north of the Flemish Ardennes. The road of the Molenberg has a roughly-paved cobbled surface, which is classified and protected as a landscape monument. At the foot of the hill there is a 13th-century water mill, the Moldergemmolen, from which the hill takes its name.
Contents
Map of Molenberg, 9620 Zottegem, Belgium
Cycling
The hill is best known from cycling, where it is a regular climb in the Flemish races in spring, most notably the Tour of Flanders. It is one of the most iconic climbs in the region, because of its steep slopes and narrow badly-surfaced cobbled road. Its average gradient is 7% with its steepest point, 14.2%, in the middle of the climb in a right-hand bend.
The climb is also regularly included in the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and the Tour of Flanders for Women.