Citadel van Diest / Allerheiligenberg

Short climb in the Hageland over cobblestones towards the citadel of Diest. From the center, the road rises gradually. Halfway there is a hairpin bend on cobblestones, then it continues for a while until the top of the domain of the citadel.

Scherprechter as the last climb in Dwars door het Hageland. I had never done this climb before, so first I did some searching on this site to find out how to ride. On Google Maps (in 2009) there is a sign that you are not allowed to pass, as it was military domain.

Start is in the busy centre of Diest. After some watching out for people crossing the first part of the climb. Cobblestones are very good here and you can pace yourself.
At the chapel you can smoothly pass 2 poles placed on the road surface and the climb "really" begins. Cobblestones are less good here and "bump" more. Here you can still pace yourself.
Then suddenly a hairpin bend to the left. I don't come across many hairpins with cobblestones, so I lost some speed here even though I tried to take the corner as wide as possible. The slope is nowhere too steep so I was able to get back up to speed straight away. I did have to watch out for some walkers here.

Almost at the top you have to slow down completely because there is a gate on the lane. On the left there is an opening in the gate for pedestrians (width of a door) which you have to go through.
Then another little sprint up to the citadel, where the car park gives you a nice view of the surrounding area.

Very fun, unique climb to do. Cobblestones are certainly not too bad. This climb would have had 5 stars from me, had that gate not been there. I find it a bit of a bummer as you can't give your all until the top.

It is not really steep and therefore not that difficult, were it not for the cobbles. In winter it is very slippery, and then shifting gears is really important. Otherwise it's wobble and run.

A steep slope and also the end of the race "Dwars door het Hageland".
In itself not the steepest hill in the region. The combination of cobbles and a hairpin bend (on the cobbles) make this a pretty tough slope.
In wet winter weather, it is extremely slippery, so there is a lot of sliding.

The message that is mentioned (that it is largely closed), is not correct anymore since a year or two. You can drive on it now. The slope in itself is not that bad. It's the cobblestones that do it. That's why this is the last climb of Dwars door het Hageland.

Delicious climb, so you can't miss this one either in my opinion. It's part of Dwars door het Hageland and will take you to the Citadel of Diest. On cobblestones and under trees with a hairpin bend, what more could you want? I thought I'd turn it on, but if you stand up, there's a chance you'll fall on your knees, haha.