stage race
A race stage, leg, or heat is a unit of a race that has been divided in several parts for the reason such as length of the distance to be covered, as in a multi-day event. Usually, such a race consists of "ordinary" stages, but sometimes stages ...
held in the
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
.
History
A.S.C. Olympia was founded in Amsterdam on 27 November 1898. It ran one-day races but wanted a race through all the Netherlands. The first Olympia's Tour was in 1909, with three stages and one rest day. The second in 1910 went to
Maastricht
Maastricht ( , , ; li, Mestreech ; french: Maestricht ; es, Mastrique ) is a city and a municipality in the southeastern Netherlands. It is the capital and largest city of the province of Limburg. Maastricht is located on both sides of the ...
and
Groningen
Groningen (; gos, Grunn or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen province in the Netherlands. The ''capital of the north'', Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of the northern part of t ...
. It was 17 years before the third race, partly because races on public roads were forbidden in the Netherlands during the
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
and
Luxembourg
Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...
and around 40 Dutch riders left the
Rembrandtplein
Rembrandtplein (English: Rembrandt Square) is a major square in central Amsterdam, Netherlands, named after Rembrandt van Rijn who owned a house nearby from 1639 to 1656.
History
The square has its origins in the defensive walls constructed in ...
on 17 August 1927. The Dutch were mainly amateurs, the Germans sponsored riders who rode for bicycle manufacturers such as Opel and Diamant which provided material and a support team. The German Rudolf Wolke won after four stages and 800 kilometres ahead of Janus Braspennincx. It was the last race until 1955.
The race resumed on 17 June 1955, with 93 riders leaving Stadionplein in Amsterdam South for a stage of 212 km to
Hoogeveen
Hoogeveen (; nds-nl, 't Ogeveine or '' 't Oveine'') is a municipality and a town in the Dutch province of Drenthe.
Population centres
Elim, Fluitenberg, Hoogeveen and Noordscheschut, which still have the canals which used to be throughout ...
. The race was a battle until the end, when 26-year-old Piet Kooyman won. After 1955 the race was held every year except 2001, when it was stopped by a
foot-and-mouth disease
Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) or hoof-and-mouth disease (HMD) is an infectious and sometimes fatal viral disease that affects cloven-hoofed animals, including domestic and wild bovids. The virus causes a high fever lasting two to six days, followe ...
crisis, and the
COVID-19 pandemic in the Netherlands
The COVID-19 pandemic in the Netherlands has resulted in confirmed cases of COVID-19 and deaths.
The virus reached the Netherlands on 27 February 2020, when its first COVID-19 case was confirmed in Tilburg. It involved a 56-year-old Dutchman ...
cancelled the 2020 and 2021 editions of the race.
Some winners have become successful professionals. They include
Henk Nijdam
Henk Nijdam (26 August 1935 – 30 April 2009) was a Dutch road and track cyclist. His sporting career began with Fortuna Zundert. On track, he finished in fifth place in the 4 km team pursuit at the 1960 Summer Olympics. He also won a gold and ...
Cees Priem
Cees Priem (born 27 October 1950) is a retired Dutch professional road bicycle racer. After his cycling career, Priem became team manager of TVM. He competed in the individual road race and team time trial events at the 1972 Summer Olympics.
...
Leo van Vliet
Leonardus Quirinus Machutus ("Leo") van Vliet (born 15 November 1955) was a professional racing cyclist from 1978 to 1986. He came in 40th in the road race at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.John Talen,
Servais Knaven
Henricus Theodorus Josephus (Servais) Knaven (born 6 March 1971) is a Dutch professional road bicycle racer, currently a directeur sportif for Team Ineos. He rode at the 1992 Summer Olympics and the 2004 Summer Olympics.
As a rider, Knaven w ...
,
Danny Nelissen
Daniel ("Danny") Wilhelmus Maria Nelissen (born 10 November 1970 in Sittard, Netherlands) is a Dutch former professional road bicycle racer and former sports commentator at Eurosport. He won the 1995 amateur world championship and was named ''D ...
,
Matthé Pronk
Matthé Pronk (born 1 July 1974 in Warmenhuizen) is a Dutch former professional road bicycle racer.
He grew up in a family of cyclists: Mattheus Pronk was his father, Jos Pronk is his brother and Bas Giling is his cousin.
Major results
;1 ...
,
Joost Posthuma
Joost Posthuma (born 8 March 1981) is a Dutch retired professional road bicycle racer, who competed as a professional between 2004 and 2012. Born in Hengelo, Posthuma was known for his time-trialling and he wore the white jersey for the best youn ...