Halfway through the first block of UCI women’s races in Belgium, the Omloop van het Hageland offers a route with less cobblestones than the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, yet equally as demanding because of the inherent difficulty of racing on Flemish roads.
East from Leuven and quite far from what’s tipically known in cycling as the ‘Flemish ardennes’ -though quite closer to, for instance, Liège-, the 132km route comprises an early point-to-point section of nearly 60km, with a long cobbled sector (Desselhaegenveld – 1,700m) and a climb with ‘kasseien’ (Sint Laurentiuskerk, 700m), before reaching Tielt and starting the final circuit.
At each of its five laps, the riders will have to climb two little ascents, the most demanding of which will be the Roeselberg: 700m at 4%, last crested 7km from the end, with still one gentler climb remaining just before the finish.
