inCycle Tour de France 2015: Cycling in the Netherlands

At the Tour de France we use the Grand Depart in Utrecht to take a close look at cycling in the Netherlands

when UT was announced as the grandar for this year’s tour to France few batted an eyelid cycling’s biggest race was coming to one of its true heartlands the arrival of the tour in Holland this year has however served to remind some that no Dutchman has won a grand tour since 1980 with such a long absence from the top of the podium passion for cycling in Holland still seemingly thrives off the past in 1968 we had the first to the France win which was Yan jansson if I look to myself why is cycling at this moment so popular in Holland that comes because of the 70s and the 80s then you had really a lot of good Riders like yob suik like Hy ker Yan Ras har Kon the famous T rally team from Peter POS who made cycling really really popular because at that point I got to say the Dutch and T RI that were the heroes of the Pilon with those names now part of a distant past questions as to where the new heroes are have inevitably surfaced the simplest answer it would seem is part of a wider Trend in cycling cycling has changed it’s becoming more and more a global sport before we only saw Riders out four five countries and now you see from all the different countries even from Costa Rica that coming Riders uh who are on a good level so that makes it more and more difficult to win big stages in the past you were 30 40 riders in the patal Navy even more yes then also in terms of numbers you you are better of course the sport has become more and more Global much much more uh people participate so it’s clear that then then the more people participate the more difficult it is to to yeah to distinguish yourself which is GL from a Global Perspective only good for the sport what has been good for the sport seems to only have been bad for Dutch cycling a decline in Dutch riders in the peltin has been mirrored by a decline in Dutch sponsorship following rabber Bank Sun ceremon ious exit from cycling in 2012 the withdrawal of Belin at the end of last season left the Netherlands on the brink of no World Tour team for 2015 we saw already that uh fansai couldn’t find a new uh sponsor so that team disappeared we saw that Aro Shimano changed in two years from a Dutch team to a German team and now we only have lotto jumbo and also when you look to the budget of Lotto jumbo it’s not that they have big money so it’s really a problem in yet the tour’s arrival in utre coincides with a sense that a corner is being turned one of its most consistent Grand Tour performers over recent years is sensing such change amongst the Riders and cycling fans of Holland when I started my first tour in 2008 you know I was 20th in GC and I was the main man for Holland and I don’t think the public is satisfied with that anymore and we we’re not either so we’re Miss I think we’re we’re competing again for GC you know maybe there four guys already in this team and then you got M and some other guys who can do top 10 maybe so we we showed who did top 10 before and uh that’s a big defense strong Dutch performances in recent years have arguably Fallen foul of OV expectation since 2010 the likes of Balon mmer and Robert hazin have delivered nine grand tour top 10 meanwhile in 2014 a 13-year drought on the monument Classics was ended by Nikki tedster at pyu Bay and L bone clinged to First Dutch stage win in nine years at the tour with 20 Riders having made the start in utre the highest number of Dutch participants since 1990 there’s a sense that Holland’s breakthrough Act is waiting in the wings I do really believe that there a a group of very young talents coming who who will be uh who I don’t want to say dominant but who want to be more um yeah they want to achieve more sport they will achieve more sporting results I mean in our team Tom Mulan who’s doing well in in in the smaller GCS and for sure in the time trials one of the best of the world and in Lotto yumbo they have wico kman which is in my opinion a great great uh talent and in the slip stream there is more guys coming so I do believe uh that there will be good times ahead for Dutch