De Klijte is one of the eight villages that make up Heuvelland, and it sits directly at the base of the region's defining climb — the Kemmelberg, the decisive ascent of Gent–Wevelgem (renamed In Flanders Fields from 2026) since 1955.
From the village, the road climbs first to the Scherpenberg, a modest rise topped by the café In De Zon — once the training base of Frank Vandenbroucke and Serge Baguet, and still filled with cycling memorabilia from that era. The route continues past Kemmel toward the Kemmelberg's steepest, cobbled side, the Ossuaire approach, with ramps reaching 23%.
The annual Hellingenroute Heuvelland, a 115-kilometre, 40-climb route designed for the 15th of August, passes directly through De Klijte on its way around all eight Heuvelland villages — a fitting local counterpart to the professional race staged on the same roads each March.
For a base, De Klijte offers the quietest possible approach to the Kemmelberg — a single-street village with none of the crowds that gather on race day, and the climb itself just minutes from the front door.
