Land of hollow roads
When you leave the province of Limburg after the village of Velm, you hardly notice from the landscape around Landen that you are no longer in Hesbaye, but in the Hageland. Fruit is also grown in abundance here, but a typical landscape element pops up more and more on your route: hollow roads. Beautiful, but treacherous! After all, these hollow roads are often steeply downhill or - if you are less fortunate - uphill, as is the case in Sint-Katarina-Hauthem.
Home of the G.O.A.T.
Whoever says Hageland also says the G.O.A.T., Eddy Merckx. The Cannibal may have spent much of his youth near Brussels, but he was born in Meensel-Kiezegem and they are still quite proud of that in the borough of Tielt-Winge.
At café 't Klein Verlet, right across from Merckx's birthplace, it is mainly the huge 'mural' on the side wall of the café that is worth a selfie.
World Cup fever
Leuven's Grand Place is slowly coming into view. You have already completed 125 kilometers and the Ramberg is an ideal end to the first day. This viciously sloping alley in the city center of Leuven was another sadistic inspiration from the course builder of the World Gravel Championship in 2024.
Leuven, by the way, also hosted the 2021 World Road Championships, one of the most atmospheric world championships ever! The slopes the riders were presented with then are now on your menu too.
Playtime is over
The Brabantse Pijl may not be the most talked-about of all spring classics, but the slopes of that race are hardly inferior to those of Ronde, Omloop or E3. It is raking around Huldenberg, Tervuren and Overijse. A road sign indicates a gradient of 17 percent.
Before diving into the woods, however, you are encouraged by the effigies of Merckx, Boonen, Vos, Cavendish and Sagan. This is the first, but not the last time you will be able to enjoy the work of street art collective Puncheur...
Natural beauty near Brussels
Between puffing and sighing, don't forget to take your eyes off the five meters of asphalt in front of your bike and take a good look around. It is hard to believe that here you are just a stone's throw from the center of Brussels. Even though you are so close to the capital, in the café 'In den Congo' in Vossem you drink - as we say in Flanders - a refreshing pint for 'an apple and an egg' while sitting on a terrace of white plastic garden furniture. This too is Flanders!
The inspiration for the pub's name is not hard to find: the Africa Museum in Tervuren is one of the most famous museums in Belgium. However, 'In den Congo' you won't find stuffed lions or African art, but you will find a few jerseys by Remco Evenepoel. This is one of his supporters' jerseys.
Cathedral of nature
Almost as iconic in Belgium as the Africa Museum, is what follows: the immense Sonian Forest. From Hoeilaart, the crossing to Sint-Genesius-Rode is fairly straightforward, but this is a unique piece of trail to be enjoyed to the fullest.
In the forest, brand new asphalt suddenly turns into champagne gravel, while the ancient beech trees all around you seem like pillars in a cathedral of nature.
Local Gods Drink
Time for a local beer? The region southwest of Brussels is the Pajottenland and that's where you need to be for a very typical, Belgian beer: geuze. There are dozens of geuze distilleries in the region, each more famous and traditional than the next.
If you want to taste the local drink of the gods with its sour taste and extremely long shelf life, you had better click off the pedals at 3 Fonteinen in Lot.
Notorious cobblestone trinity
Halle Basilica is the destination of quite a few pilgrims in the spring, but your pilgrimage is not over yet. Despite its rolling nature, it's an easy passage through the Pajottenland. You pass by the Rustberg in Schepdaal, where Remco madness prevails for 365 days.
After climbing the Congoberg and the Bosberg, you arrive at the iconic Muur van Geraardsbergen. By now you have cycled through the entire province and continue your tour through East Flanders.
525 km a little too much of a good thing? Discover here our sporty cycling routes in loop form along the same legendary roads:
