It’s back, and it’s darker and longer than ever for Wafflers… Just after the second feed zone and a lovely respite along a freshly paved road, riders will be confronted with The Zwartenberg—a decidedly dirty 3-mile ascent over washboards, sand and gravel only made worse by the two-mile descent after, which requires going slower going down than one was forced to going up. To make matters even worse (read: BETTER), at the bottom begins the longest, most big, black and beautiful climb of the day lasting 11-kilometers of the purest dirt. This climb will take many more than 45 minutes to ascend… good thing it’s a remarkably pristine place to feel completely alone. Sadly, riders will barely notice anything more than the few feet in front of them…
This part of the Zwartenberg is the second KOM segment. At this point, riders still have another 73 miles to go and the headwind will only get stronger each minute after they reach the summit of the KOM segment. This dark and lonely course feature adds the lovely touch of MORE DIRT to the BWR in an emphatic and definitive swoop, helping to make this year’s route dirtier than a rubber toilet seat.
