50°46′56″N 3°32′48″E / 50.782343°N 3.546659°E
Paterberg | |
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Location | Flanders, Belgium |
Start | Kluisbergen |
Gain in altitude | 48 m (157 ft) |
Length of climb | 400 m (1,300 ft) |
Maximum elevation | 80 m (260 ft) |
Average gradient | 12.5 % |
Maximum gradient | 20 % |
The Paterberg is a hill in the municipality of Kluisbergen, in the Belgian province of East Flanders. With its top at 80 m, it is one of many hill formations in the Flemish Ardennes, close to Wallonia. The slopes of the hill were unpaved until 1986, when a local farmer paved the road in cobbles because he wanted the Tour of Flanders cycling race to pass by his house. The cobbled climb became one of the iconic sites of Belgian cycling, and in 1993 the road of the Paterberg was classified as a protected monument.