Live: Utrecht difficult to reach by Vuelta, possibly wet course tonight and farmers are preparing action in Woudenberg

Live Utrecht difficult to reach by Vuelta possibly wet course

At the Jaarbeursplein. © Submitted
Utrecht – After an atmospheric team presentation in Utrecht, the time has finally come: the Tour of Spain will start in Utrecht. Follow the ins and outs in this live blog.

3.41 pm Course closed

Like here on the Blauwkapelseweg.
Like here on the Blauwkapelseweg. © RTV Utrecht
Fences at Eykmanplein.
Fences at Eykmanplein. © RTV Utrecht
The Agterberg company is busy with it.
The Agterberg company is busy with it. © RTV Utrecht

3.02 pm City of Utrecht largely locked

Utrecht is difficult to reach from 3 p.m. because through roads are closed in connection with the Vuelta. The team time trial goes through the inner city, Southwest, East, Northeast, Overvecht, Northwest, West, Leidsche Rijn and Vleuten-De Meern districts. So getting in and out of the city can be tricky. Here you will find the measures per district.

Traffic services and the organization advise visitors to make the last part of their journey towards the city center by bicycle or public transport. People arriving by car are advised to park outside the center of Utrecht. The riders will explore the course from 4 p.m. The ‘green’ caravan leaves the Jaarbeurs at 5.30 pm. At 6.30 pm the first team starts the time trial. The last Jumbo-Visma team arrives around 8.30 pm.

2:34 pm That’s bad luck, Strava record gone

If you don’t manage to break through as a professional, there is a nice consolation prize for the amateur cyclist: you can be crowned King of the Mountain (KoM). To do this, you have to drive the fastest time on a defined piece of road in the Strava sports app. Now that the Vuelta riders are training in Utrecht, many a ‘Kommetje’ is being cut to pieces. Amateur cyclist Arnold Gaasenbeek, among others, has lost his record. The 50-year-old Maarssenaar was the fastest on March 28, 2021 on a piece of almost 3 kilometers near Tienhoven. Until a few Vuelta riders came to make a training round…

Arnold loses his Strava records to the Vuelta riders

2.03 pm Police get help from Guardia Civil Tráfico

13.56 Sam Oomen fans at Maliesingel

Maliesingel 62 in Utrecht is decorated with Sam Oomen banners. The rider of the Dutch Jumbo-Visma has just come from the Tour of Poland and has some problems with his ribs. Can his team win the time trial today and if so: who will put on the red leader’s jersey?

Sam Oomen banners on the Maliesingel.
Sam Oomen banners on the Maliesingel. © Samba 99

1.30 pm Former rider Stef Clement: ‘Team time trial is a scary part’

“I found the team time trial a scary part. You have to expose your buttocks for your teammates and you are very vulnerable,” said former rider and cycling analyst Stef Clement van,iddag on Radio M Utrecht. “The team time trial is great when you win, but I also screwed up sometimes. I took my whole team on a wet ride. It’s one of the hardest parts of cycling. It’s about exploring the track, dividing the roles , setting goals and clear agreements.”

Rain will also be an important factor tonight. “On a dry course, the average speed will be 54 to 55 kilometers per hour, although that decreases somewhat if the roads are wet. But on the wide roads in Utrecht you can reach very high speeds with eight riders. is a nice track.” Clement currently lives in Utrecht and was at the start of the Tour in the Domstad in 2015. He also talked about this today on Radio M Utrecht.

Stef Clement about the team time trial in Utrecht

Stef Clement: ‘Tour in Utrecht made a huge impression on me’

13.00 Angry farmers write with straw bales along the course in Woudenberg

Today the team time trial is in Utrecht, tomorrow a large part of the stage will take you through the province. Between 2000 and 4000 farmers are expected to come to a protest meeting in Woudenberg. They gather at an ‘action area’ along the course. In several places, the farmers are trying to draw attention to their fight against the government’s proposed nitrogen measures. There will be no blockages, assures chairman Bart Kemp of organizer Agractie.

In the morning, the activists arrive at the location on the Rumelaarseweg in Woudenberg. Kemp expects hundreds of tractors. They have to be in around 12 noon, because then many roads around the course will be closed. There are several speakers and there is music. At 4 pm the cyclists pass the location and the farmers hope that they will get a good picture. “We discussed a text with the Vuelta that they will read aloud in five languages. This explains why we are campaigning for farmers,” says Kemp.

The farmers have planned playful actions over a length of approximately 10 kilometres, between Scherpenzeel and Woudenberg. There are flags, tractors with banners and with straw bales they have written ‘sos Dutch farmers’. Everything to “make a statement en masse”.

The straw bale text of the farmers.
The straw bale text of the farmers. © Teus van der Wind

12.53 pm Rain or no rain?

12.35 pm A piece of trail at the Westplein in Utrecht

11.18 am Spanish cycling team starts with one cyclist less

The Spanish cycling team Burgos-BH has already lost a rider before the start of the Vuelta in Utrecht. Spaniard Manuel Peñalver has tested positive for the coronavirus and is therefore not allowed to participate in the stage race. It starts with a team time trial over more than 23 kilometers with start and finish at the Jaarbeurs.

Burgos-BH, with the Dutchman Jetse Bol, will be the first team to start the time trial at 6.30 pm. That happens with seven instead of eight riders.

11.10 am The course on Biltstraat is being built

10.39 am Koenestraat in Amerongen closed on Saturday

The municipality of Utrechtse Heuvelrug warns its residents against closures during tomorrow’s stage in Amerongen, among others. For example, the southern part of Koenestraat that runs to the N225 will be closed tomorrow from 14.14 to 17.00, the northern part that turns into Bergweg has been closed from 7 a.m. on Saturday morning and remains closed to motorized traffic until 5 p.m.

10.05 am Bullfight = bullshit

09.48 am ‘Let’s go!’

09.50 a.m. Employees help cyclists and pedestrians to cross the trail

The city of Utrecht is today and tomorrow a lot less accessible for cars: the routes of the stages are even closed to car traffic. But it is different for cyclists and pedestrians, because they can move about normally in many streets. “For some roads, cyclists have to get off because only the footpath is accessible,” the municipality said.

Employees of La Vuelta Holanda are standing along the course to help people cross the road: on this map can be seen where exactly this is possible.

09.22 hours The course is in great shape

08.43 am Vuelta activities in Leusden

All kinds of activities are planned in Leusden this weekend because of the arrival of the Vuelta to the municipality. Mayor Gerolf Bouwmeester told this morning on Radio M Utrecht. “What is most striking is that in front of the town hall we have a combined performance by Leusden Jazz and Stichting Opera Leusden and a performance by Hans Dulfer. That happens with Spanish snacks and drinks, so it promises to be a big party.”

Bouwmeester: “And on Saturday there is plenty to do in shopping center De Hamershof regarding music and Spanish activities. After that, everyone will move towards the Doornseweg around 4.30 pm because they will then cycle through the most beautiful part of the Netherlands between Den Treek-Henschoten and Leusderheide. “

Listen back to the interview below:

Mayor Bouwmeester van Leusden: ‘It promises to be a great party’

08.30 What you need to know about tonight’s team time trial

The start and finish are at the Jaarbeurs. The riders will start training on the track at 4 pm and there will be a green advertising caravan. The Spanish team Burgos BH starts at 6.30 pm. The teams start every four minutes. The finish of the last, 23rd team is expected around 8.22 pm. That is the Dutch Jumbo-Visma with three-time Vuelta winner and defending champion Primoz Roglic in its ranks.

08.20 Accessibility city of Utrecht

The municipality of Utrecht is less accessible for car traffic during the Vuelta and there are closures and diversions. From 3 p.m. to 11 p.m. at the latest, the route of the first stage is closed to car traffic: the stage passes through the inner city, Southwest, East, Northeast, Overvecht, Northwest, West, Leidsche Rijn and Vleuten-De Meern districts. Here you will find the measures per district.

08.15 am Where should I go and watch the team time trial?

Of course you have to know that yourself. But we do have a number of tips for you, such as the Langerak Bridge, Maliebaan and Einsteindreef. You can find more tips here.

08.05 am You don’t know anything about cycling? Check out our Vuelta for dummies

08.00 Enjoy the team presentation for a while

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