Maarkedal, a rural municipality formed from several small villages in the Flemish Ardennes, holds two of the Tour of Flanders' recurring cobbled tests: the Taaienberg, first climbed by the race in 1974 and rising to 18% at Etikhove, and the Eikenberg, a longer but shallower cobbled drag averaging 5.8% that's been part of the route on and off since 1956.
When the Koppenberg was pulled from the race in 1988 over concerns about its condition, organisers found a replacement close by: the Kortekeer, a Maarkedal climb used four times between 1998 and 2001 before the Koppenberg's eventual return restored the old order.
The flat cobbled Mariaborrestraat, just before the town, adds another 2.4 kilometres of pavé to the mix — a stretch that tests suspension and concentration as much as legs, arriving after riders have already absorbed several of the Ronde's sharper hills.
Maarkedal's climbs rarely draw the crowds of the Kwaremont or the Muur, but for riders retracing the full Tour of Flanders route, they're unavoidable — the connective tissue between the race's more famous landmarks.
