Race Around the Netherlands (2018)

The start and finish is in the village of Amerongen, located at the Utrechtse Heuvelrug at the famous cycling cafe De Proloog. The route takes us first along the rivers Neder-Rijn and the Waal to the historic cities of Nijmegen and Arnhem (known from the film “A Bridge Too Far” about the Operation Market Garden). Next you leave the beautiful river landscape and the historic cities behind and the route takes you through the National Park Veluwezoom. The National Park is known for its endless heath fields, imposing country estates and of course one of the most famous hills in the Netherlands, the Posbank.

You will pass through the heart of Enschede and along the Dolmens in the province of Drenthe, prehistoric burial chambers where the cycle route passes by. After which the route leads you through the city of Groningen.

The wind starts to get stronger and you get closer to one of the icons of the Dutch flood defense, the Afsluitdijk. A dam that closes off the Waddenzee from the IJsselmeer which is 32 kilometers long.

The route takes you south along the Dutch coast. Beautiful beaches and dunes with little to no buildings, towards the port of Rotterdam, the largest port in Europe. First you will cycle through the city of Rotterdam and across the Erasmus bridge towards the Maasvlakte.

The route takes you further south over the Delta Park Neeltje Jans, which is part of the Dutch flood defense, in the direction of Vlissingen. A historic city due to its strategic location. In the Eighty Years’ War between the Netherlands and Spain, the city was in Spanish hands for a while.

You cycle along the Belgian border towards the hills in the province of Limburg. Where you hit one of the iconic Dutch hills, the Keutenberg with a maximum gradient of 16%.

If you have conquered the hills you cycle back through the beautiful river landscape of the Maas towards Nijmegen. Via the southern side of the rivers over the dikes you will finish at the cafe De Proloog.