Maarkedal

The Taaienberg is a hill in the municipality of Maarkedal, in the Belgian province of East Flanders. With its top at 90 m, its is one of many hill formations in the Flemish Ardennes, in the south of East-Flanders. The slopes of the hill are paved in cobbles; in 1993 they were repaved with the original stones. The cobbled climb is one of the regular sites in Flemish cycling races in springtime. In 1995 the road of the Taaienberg was classified as a protected monument.

Kerselare (also Kerzelare) is a hamlet and pilgrimage site in Edelare, a village belonging to the municipality of Oudenaarde in the province of East Flanders, Belgium. Kerselare is located on the Edelareberg, the highest point of EdelareKerselare is host to a pilgrimage chapel, which origins goes back to the 15th century. A Mary statue had been placed underneath a cherry tree (Kerselaar in Dutch), and several miracles had occurred. Later inns were later built to the north and east of the site.A new chapel in Gothic Revival style was constructed in 1614. This chapel underwent renovation in 1887, but was destroyed by a fire in 1961. A new, post-modernic chapel building arose in 1966.

The Eikenberg (English: Oak Hill) is a hill and road in the municipality of Maarkedal, in the Belgian province of East Flanders. With an 82 m altitude top, its is one of many hill formations in the Flemish Ardennes, in the south of East Flanders. The slopes of the hill are paved in cobbles, with a road gradually winding upwards from the Maarke brook to the top in Kerzelare village, 3 km east of Oudenaarde. The top of the climb is on the intercity road between Brakel and Oudenaarde. The cobbled climb is one of the regular sites in Flemish cycling races in springtime. In 1995 the road of the Eikenberg was classified as a protected monument.

Edelareberg is a hill in Oudenaarde, in the Belgian province of East Flanders. With its top at 80 m, it is one of the many hill formations in the Flemish Ardennes. The top of the Edelareberg is in the village of Edelare, from which the hill takes its name. Colloquially, it is also called Kerselareberg, after Kerselare, the small hamlet which is now part of Edelare. The road was asphalted in the late 1960s and is now a broad and gently rising road, part of the N8 road connecting Oudenaarde and Brakel. The steepest slopes are 7% towards the top of the climb.

Koppenberg (literally "Heads Mountain") is a 77 m (253 ft) high hill in Oudenaarde, the Flemish Ardennes, Belgium. "Koppen" is an abbreviation for cobblestones which in Dutch slang language are called kinderkoppen, or "children's heads". This climb is part of the route of the Tour of Flanders professional cycling race and feared by many because of its steepness (22% on the trickiest parts) and because of its cobblestones. This makes the Koppenberg difficult even for top professionals. Quite often, riders slow to the point of losing their balance, especially those at the back of the peloton who have to dismount and scramble to the top on foot. In the 2006 Tour of Flanders, it was on km 185 of 259. Even if a breakaway forms on the Koppenberg it is difficult for riders to hold off the peloton in the finishing stages. In the 2012 Tour of Flanders the Koppenberg was moved to 60 km from the finish line and raising its importance.

Louise-Marie is a hamlet partly belonging to the municipality of Ronse and partly to the municipality of Maarkedal. It is located in the Flemish Ardennes, the southern part of the province of East Flanders, Belgium. The parish dates from the early 19th century. At first plans to create a proper village with a church were postponed. The plans were revived in 1845, but no longer as an independent municipality.The hamlet Louise-Marie was officially established in 1850, and was named after the first queen of Belgium, Louise-Marie d'Orleans, who died in the same year.

The Town Hall (Dutch: Stadhuis ) of Oudenaarde, Belgium, was built by architect Hendrik van Pede in 1526–1537 to replace the medieval Schepenhuis (Aldermen's House) that occupied the same site. Another older structure, the 14th-century Cloth Hall, was retained and now forms a sort of extension at the back of the Town Hall proper. In 1999, the town hall was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List as part of the Belfries of Belgium and France site, because of its representation of the civic influence of the town and its architecture.

Liefmans is a Belgian brewery which produces oud bruin and other Belgian beers. It was founded in 1679. The company went bankrupt in 2008 and was acquired by Duvel Moortgat. Liefmans' wheat beer, Dentergems Wit, and a Belgian ale, Lucifer, were subsequently taken over by Het Anker Brewery.

The Kruisberg, also known as Oude Kruisberg or Oude Kruisens, is a hill and road in the city of Ronse, in Flanders, Belgium. With its top at 122 m altitude, its is one of many hill formations in the Flemish Ardennes, in the south of East-Flanders. The road starts going gently uphill from the center of Ronse. The upper and steepest part of the climb consists of 450 m of cobbled surface. Kruisberg is the unofficial name of the Oudestraat and Oude Kruisens roads, which run parallel to Ronse's actual Kruisberg, a broad concrete road. Hence the climb is frequently referred to as Oude Kruisberg. In Flemish media the climb is often erroneously called Oude Kruiskens – with k. The Kruisberg should not be confused with the Kluisberg, a nearby hill and forest in the neighbouring municipality of Kluisbergen.

The 1963 UCI Road World Championships took place from 10 to 11 August 1963 in Ronse, Belgium.

Ronse (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈrɔnsə] (listen); French: Renaix, French pronunciation: ​[ʁənɛ]) is a Belgian city and a municipality in the Flemish province of East Flanders. The municipality only encompasses the city of Ronse proper.

The 1988 UCI Road World Championships took place in Ronse, Belgium. As this was an Olympic year all the Olympic cycling events served as World Championships, leaving just the Professional road race and the Women's Team Time Trial to be contested. The men's road race was decided in a sprint involving three riders, Maurizio Fondriest, Claude Criquielion and Steve Bauer. 200 meters from the uphill finish, Bauer began the sprint and Fondriest was unable to respond. However, Bauer realised his gear was too heavy, quickly sat down, and shifted down gear. As a result, his speed temporarily dropped, and Criquielion accelerated to the right of Bauer, close to the barriers. Unfortunately, at exactly that place, the barriers on the right hand side of the road (from the riders' perspective) were set up in an irregular manner by the organisers of the race, narrowing in width for about 1-1.5 meters. The riders were aware of this, since the championship consisted of 18 laps over the same circuit, and the riders had already passed that point 17 times before during the race. It is quite common for UCI world championship road races to have several laps over the same circuit. As a result of Criquielion's temporarily higher speed and the sudden narrowing of the barriers, Criquielion had effectively trapped himself. Bauer did not alter his course after he started sprinting and kept his line. However, since the frontal TV camera was placed at an angle at the left side of the road (from the riders' perspective) and not perpendicular, it seemed from that point of view as if Bauer moved to the right to block Criquielion. This impression was strengthened by the narrowing of the barriers, which was at a similar angle as the angle of the camera. As a result of his slightly greater speed and Bauer keeping his line, Criquielion came into contact with the back of Bauer's right elbow, pushing it out. Consequently, Criquielion veered a bit to the right, and his head hit against the body of a police man who has standing before the barrier. Next, Criquielion's bike hit the concrete block at the bottom of the barriers, and he fell. Bauer was able to "jump" his bike about a meter to the left, a remarkable manoeuvre of riding skills, but as a result of this lost much speed, making it easy for Fondriest to overtake him and claim the world title. Criquelion's bike was damaged too much to cycle again and he was passed by the pursuing group while walking to the finish line. Bauer finished second but was a couple of minutes later disqualified after the race.Criquielion was later convinced to press criminal charges for voluntary and involuntary battering against Bauer. His first lawyer who pressed the criminal charges on his behalf was Orphale Crucke, who was also the president of the organising committee of the race, and therefore directly responsible for the irregular placement of the barriers, and, incidentally, also the mayor of the locality where the race took place (Ronse/Renaix), and running for re-election in the communal elections scheduled two months later. The case came before the criminal court of Oudenaarde, where Bauer was cleared of all charges. Criquielion appealed before the court of Appeal of Ghent, which re-ran the case in all full details, as is normal in Belgian criminal law, and also fully cleared Bauer. In these criminal cases, even an involuntary push by Bauer would have been sufficient for establishing a criminal fault in principle (even if no intent was shown), and thus liability. No such fault was proven on the basis of detailed analysis of the TV coverage (including helicopter images), and Bauer was completely cleared.