The Vuelta a España 2009 was the first opportunity we got to visit one of the Grand Tours and the fact that it started in our own country made it even more special. So on Friday the 28th of August 2009 we went to the team presentation in Assen by train. Looking back on that, there are two particular things that come to mind: swans and hail. The podium was built on water and there were fake swans floating in the water. Also, during the presentation there were dark clouds approaching us and when Team Euskaltel-Euskadi entered the podium there was a short hailstorm and we got quite wet. We didn’t care about that though, because it got dry pretty quickly and the atmosphere was great. There were also people standing behind us who had some interesting comments about certain riders. For instance, we will never forget that after Ivan Basso’s introduction to the crowd a man behind us said “That little rascal Basso!”. He said it with a smile and it made us laugh. During the whole presentation, we were standing on the left side of the podium and it was only afterwards that we realized that the right side would have been a better position, because all the riders were going on and off the podium there. Well, we learned that the more races you visit, the more you know about the best places to stand!
The next day we travelled to Assen again by train. This time we had to wait a while at Station Assen for a bus that would take us to the TT circuit. These buses were especially arranged for this event and there were even motorcycles driving along to get us through the long queues of cars. When we got at the circuit we were still able to stand under the roof of the gallery and later on, when there was a rain shower, we were very thankful for that. However, when one of us had to go to the toilet, she couldn’t get back in afterwards because you needed a VIP pass. So we went to one of the open galleries and watched the last riders finish in the sun. The winner at the end of the day was Fabian Cancellara from Team Saxo Bank.
On Sunday our parents took us to Drenthe again by car. They also like cycling and we went to three places to see the cyclists go by. Lieuwe Westra tried to stay away, but eventually the peloton caught him. Gerald Ciolek won the sprint of the peloton in Emmen. On the way back to our hometown in the Achterhoek we were surrounded by team cars who were all heading to the east of Holland. Most of them even drove through our hometown, which we thought was pretty cool and not something you get to see every day.
Then our last day of the Vuelta in Holland was there. The riders had to ride from Zutphen to Venlo and during the first part of the stage they got to ride through the neighbourhood we grew up in. We decided to go to Zutphen, so we could see the start and the peloton passing twice. It was really crowded at the parking lot where all the team buses were standing, but we were still able to make a few decent photos. When they finally left Zutphen in the direction of Venlo, our Vuelta days were over and we had to follow it on the television from then on. It all went by so quickly, but we enjoyed every moment of it.
For more photos you can go to our blog Ride On!.
- Written by Marleen and Tien
Ik kende jullie blog helemaal niet joh, wat leuk! :D
ReplyDeleteDankjewel Malou! :D
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