The rain check edition, to be precise. Last year in November, the traditional National Championships Headwind Cycling were going to be big, with lots of wind predicted. But the wind developed into a storm, named Ciarán. Now this championship needs fierce wind in the first place to even take place, but there are certain limits. Safety limits in this case and with wind speed reaching 130 kilometers an hour, the safety of the participants could not be guaranteed. Unfortunately for all the participants who had gathered already at 7.00 am at Neeltje Jans in the province of Zeeland, the event was cancelled and postponed until further notice. And although Holland is used to a lot of wind, this event can only take place when the conditions are perfect and to be foreseen within three days prior to the event.
Last year's edition got cancelled at the very last minute
One year later, December 5th, the big news is shared. On Saturday Dec 7th, winds of 6 to 7 Beaufort will be on the menu, the official green light for a championship. Back to Neeltje Jans it is, a small island in the province of Zeeland. Due to a disastrous flooding in the 50s, with more than 1800 people killed and so much land and houses destroyed, action needed to be undertaken for this part of Holland. A storm surge barrier was built in the late 70s and the island of Neeltje Jans was being set up as a working island, from which the operation of building was undertaken. The Oosterscheldekering, the name of this hydraulic operated barrier, forms, together with twelve other constructions, the biggest surge barrier in the world (Deltawerken) and started operating in 1986. From that moment on, the south west of Holland is protected from future flooding. This particular dam is nine kilometers long, with a three kilometer barrier that can be shut in case of high water. That barrier closes approximately once a year, when nature gives it a test.
No high water today - the cyclists are good to go. For a championship like this, there is no need to proof yourself in earlier editions to make your way to the start line. Just register quickly (places are limited to 200 individual riders and 25 groups of four riders and get sold out in no time) and show up, at 6.00 am. Off to the start by busses. All the participants are driven to the start, from which they will do the race back to the beginning of the barrier. The parcours is 8,7 kilometers long. Just like a time trial, there are 30 seconds in between the start of each rider. You can dress the way you want, but the bikes are the same for everybody and are handed out at the start. Adjusting of the saddle is allowed, but that’s about it for these plain Dutch city bikes. They come with a coaster brake and up until this year, with only one gear. But modern times are slowly making their way to this championship. New for 2024 is the luxurious choice of gears: easy, medium & hard. We are still hoping to hear from riders who have used that last one and actually finished.
Lau and Steef were excited for this year’s edition, after last year’s deception. Not competing for a spot at the podium, but invited by the sponsor to help promote the event, they would do this parcours on a tandem, with a personal challenge to fulfill. Every rider they would pass, would count as an extra shot of whipped cream on the traditional cookie ‘Zeeuwse bolus’, they would get after the finish. When overtaking, they would do a mini-interview with the rider. In reality, not a lot of words were exchanged, except for a long 'how you're holding up?' because after a while, even on a tandem, you will be gasping for air. The pictures say more than words.
What a succes, this late 2024 edition. The perfect weather - a nice steady strong wind blowing and no rain- made this year's event just fun to attend. Even former vice premier of the Netherlands and current King's commissioner for Zeeland, Hugo de Jonge, took the plunge. In the end, he also could not beat the time of 19.36 by Jurjun van der Velde, who took the first place in the men’s category with an average speed of almost 27 kilometers per hour and Ingrid van de Wijngaard for the women’s in 23.11. Well done and enjoy that jersey. We hope to see you next year again to defend your title.
