425km mountain bike circuit to be inaugurated along Belgian coast

Mountain biking enthusiasts will be able to benefit from a new 425km course along the Belgian coast, from the Dutch border to the French border, which will be officially inaugurated this Sunday.

Many mountain bike courses have been opened or renovated in recent years on the coast. Westtoer - the West Flanders tourist board - Sport Vlaanderen and the coastal municipalities have now linked them together to form an extensive continuous network. It is accessible to everyone, from amateur cyclists to trained sportsmen and women.

Additionally, a new 107km marathon course between De Panne, Koksijde, Nieuwpoort and Middelkerke has also been launched, but it is for the more expert cyclists as it includes significant drops and tricky passages.

The coastal zone is densely populated and also includes many protected natural areas, so developing new circuits with enough kilometres off road is a challenge. However due to the collaboration between the Flemish sports administration, the provincial tourist office and the coastal municipalities, 178 off-road kilometres were identified and added to the existing routes.

Flanders now has more than 7,000km of mountain bike circuits.