La Vuelta a Drenthe.

August 29, 2009 - Assen.

It's a typical Dutch day when I visit the prologue of La Vuelta 2009. The sun is peeking through the grey clouds. A soft breeze blows through my hair, but any Dutch person knows it could be raining by the end of the day. I don't want to think about that and forget to pack my umbrella.

The hectic day begins at the train station of Assen. When I arrive, tons of people are waiting for the special buses to bring them to the TT course. I didn't know so many people loved cycling too!

To refresh your memory, the Vuelta started in a 'remote' part of the Netherlands, called Drente. `Remote´ makes it sound like there are no people, but what I mean is that there is no big city like Amsterdam (Giro) or Rotterdam (Tour) nearby. Assen itself is not that big. The prologue was held at the famous auto racetrack called TT Circuit Assen.

In the bus to the TT, we were in a huge traffic jam. Next to us, on the other lane, was the Astana bus. Everyone was trying to see something but unfortunately, the windows were blinded. The driver of the Astana bus looked very pissed. They were probably late and weren't expecting to end up in a traffic jam with all the normal people. Then it was time to get off the bus and walk to the TT parcours.

It was the first time I had ever visited a race, so I didn't know where to go. I took a friend with me, but she didn't know anything about cycling at all. So we just followed the crowd. We got a Vacansoleil hat, a Vuelta pen and some other goodies. We walked to the buses and stopped at the SaxoBank bus. They had a great line up, with Fabian, Andy, Frank and Jakob. I had seen pictures of people visiting TT's where all the bikes were standing next to the bus with the riders doing their warm up... But I saw no bikes, no riders. We left and walked to the tribunes and tried to find a good seat. The race had already started!

The best seats were taken by VIPs or lucky winners of a ticket for those seats. We took a seat near the last corner before the finish. It was a tricky corner, so most of the riders slowed down. So we could see them quite well. On the other side of the road was a big screen which made it possible to see the race on TV as well.

My friend had a great camera, so she was busy taking pictures of all the riders. I tried it too, but the riders were too far away. It was busy on the tribunes. It surprised me how many people came to watch this race. Soon I realized that most of those people didn't know anything about cycling. They were just there because something was happening in their region. Finally. It was nice to see how they enjoyed it. Whenever there was a Dutch guy riding by, they got very enthusiastic and they started to clap their hands and cheer for them.

When one of the Schleck brothers was riding, a buzz was going among the people. It's a Schleck brother! Who? Schleck! Yeah they're good! Oh okay.. Slek, you say? Yeah! Schleck! He's good!
Unfortunately, my thoughts earlier that day were right. Rain. The clouds were gathering... And the rain started to fall. Suddenly, everyone took their umbrellas and the whole tribune was covered with umbrellas and nice colors. Except me and my friend. We felt stupid. But, the riders were getting wet too! So we were not alone. The road got extremely slippery. All the riders needed to slow down a lot, because of that tricky corner. To my surprise, not many riders crashed. The rain stopped and the road could dry a little.
When the last ten men started, I had to pee so badly. I missed Tom Boonen riding the best time so far. Stupid me. Let's say it was my first race, so beginners mistake.

After that, we didn't want to walk all the way back to our seats, so we had a look at the VIP tribune. No one checked to see if we were allowed to go there, so we just went there. The atmosphere was great. The riders started and finished right before us. We were just standing next to all the other people, because of course there were no seats. At this place we could see Fabian Cancellara starting and finishing. Simply great, he's a machine. So smooth.. He won the race eventually!

After the race, everyone went back home immediately. I suggested watching the ceremony, and Fabian in his golden jersey. My friend had to go home, so I had to go with her. Deep in my mind, I didn't care. The rain made all my clothes wet. And I really mean ALL my clothes. We managed to jump in the first bus that brought us back to the train station. Oh what a lovely feeling to be in a warm bus. Then I knew how do the riders feel after a day in the rain.

- Written by Mar.