Ardennes road cycling

Road Cycling: Huy-Mur de Huy, La Roche en Ardenne-Col de Haussire (Ardennes, Belgium)
Distance: 40k
The legendary Mur de Huy is the climax of the Fleche Wallonne, a spring classic in the Walloon Ardennes that is one of my favourite races. As we were passing en route to Arlon, I took the bike for a spin round the town and along the Meuse river. Some steep cobbles were a nice reminder of April's Tour of Flanders and led up to the right turn on to the Mur de Huy. This is hallowed turf: a steepish but comfortable initial section leads up to the infamous hairpin bend which ramps up to 25% on the left-hand side. Out of the saddle, I pushed on through the bend. The angle eases slightly but the hill stays relentlessly steep - punishing weakening cyclists on the pro race - until it reaches the chapel at the top. The 'Huy' logo is painted all the way up the route: great to add this iconic Walloon climb to the Flemish classic climbs I enjoyed so much in April. After lunch, we drove through lovely wooded hills to Roche en Ardenne, the Belgian Betws y Coed. After a walk round the town, I cycled along more cobbles to begin the Col de Haussire, ranked as Belgium's hardest climb. That is a fairly relative descriptor - as it just seemed a bit longer (6 or 7k) than the short but viciously steep climbs that feature on the Spring Classics. The Koppenburg, Muur, Patterberg and Mur de Huy all seemed harder to me, albeit far shorter. Still, it was a delightful quiet ascent in warm evening sunshine. It goes up cobbles then a steep tarmac street reminiscent of the famous St Roche on Liege-Bastogne-Liege, then curves very steeply left through dappled woodland to a church and short descent. Then more climbing to a final dip before a long 3k drag up a poorly surfaced road, beautifully tranquil, to the wooded summit.