Jupille-Banneux-Soiron-Jupille 73 km

This cycling tour takes you from the Meuse valley along the Vesdre valley to Banneux and back and includes several steep côtes (“kuitenbijters” in Dutch). See the Dutch websites www.klimtijd.nl and www.kuitenbijters.com for more information. The steepest and hardest climbs are Haute Folie and Rue Tesny (16% and 8 % more difficult than the famous Redoute; the latter with an average of 12% and a steepest 100 m section of 19%).
The tour starts in Jupille at the foot of the Rue de la Forêt, near the motorway. There are some parking spaces along the road here. You cycle to the center of Jupille and then soon encounter the first climb: the Côte de Trixhes. This takes you through the urban area along a quiet climb until you get to the Ravel 38 cycling path. You follow this cycling path on a former railway track all the way down to Vaux-Sous-Chèvremont. Here, the steepest climb of the day awaits you: the Haute Folie. It is not a beautiful climb, between houses, but on the bright side: you do not have time to enjoy the view. In Romsée you turn back down to the Vesdre valley at Chaudfontaine on a winding and smooth descent. Down below you follow the N61 through the valley for almost 3 km until you turn left at Trooz across a small bridge. Here you are immediately immersed in a quiet forest and you start your climb on the recently paved Rue Rys des Chenaux, a beautiful climb taking you to Gelivaux. You ascend a bit more, and then descend again to Nessonvaux with good views of the Vesdre valley. In Nessonvaux you take the N61 back to Fraipont where another steep climb awaits you: Rue sur Steppes. This is again a beautiful climb through forest and pasture. From the top you descend back to Fraipont to climb the Transenster Ouest climb to Banneux, the pilgrimage site. Here you will find enough places for a break, and then you continue on the N666 down to Pepinster. In this town on the Vesdre you will find the Côte de Cornesse, another steep climb largely between houses. From the top, you descend to the picturesque town of Soiron and then further through the Bola valley. A less demanding climb takes you of the valley to Olne. From here you cycle to Fleron, passing Ayeneux on the way with a slight descend and ascend through the La Magne valley. In Fleron, you take a short stretch of the Ravel 38 cycling path and then descend to the foot of the Rue des Heids, another steep climb. In Queue-du-Bois you descend through Bellaire. Here you come to a short climb on a badly asphalted road (Rue Nifiet, not for cars). Now you are in Xhavée, and could return left to the starting point. However, there is a nice desert in the form of a descent on the Rue Bois-la-Dame and a steep ascent on the infamous Rue Tesny getting you back to the same crossroads in Xhavée, before you ride down the winding Rue de la Forêt through the forest back to the starting point
The most convenient place to find something to eat or drink on the way is Banneux.