Geraardsbergen has a thing for cycling. The town can call itself the cradle of fairground races. The country's first carnival race was held here more than a hundred years ago. More than a century later, cycling is still very much alive in Geraardsbergen. For 104 editions, the City Prize for professional cyclists has coloured the kermis week. Mathieu van der Poel closed the fine list of winners as the last winner, now it is up to the Muur Classic to continue the long racing tradition.
It was the wish of the Sports Association that the oldest fairground race in the country could grow to UCI level, as was also suggested in the book '100 years of kerremeskoers in Giesbaargen'. The city council had ears for it and, together with an enthusiastic working group, put their backs into a new cycling project as a fully-fledged successor to the City Prize: the Muur Classic.
That Geraardsbergen breathes race should come as no surprise. A jagged cobbled ridge, which rises steeply against the Oudenberg flank to the Oudenbergkapel, is partly responsible for that. The Muur van Geraardsbergen gained iconic allure at home and abroad, the Muur Classic puts the famous cycling monument centre stage. First as a UCI 1.2 race, then as 1.1, the ultimate goal.
Although the new race will have a different character to its predecessor, with large initial lap supplemented by local laps and passages over Muur and Bosberg, the Muur Classic will also remain true to the popular ingredients that made the City Prize popular with riders and public alike. Cycling is experience, meeting, relaxation, atmosphere; the Muur Classic aims to build on this success formula.
On Wednesday 30 August 2023, the starting gun will be fired for the first Muur Classic. The finish is no longer in the middle of the historic setting of the Market Square, where the City Prize was at home, but one floor higher, at the top of the famous Vesten. The final climb guarantees an exciting finale, as has been the case on several occasions on the Vesten.
One more reason not to miss the Muur Classic Geraardsbergen appointment!
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