The town of Steenwijk, in the province of Overijssel in the north east of the Netherlands will play host to the start of this year’s Eneco Tour, the race organiser announced today. The race will start with a 5km prologue around the old fortified town on Tuesday August 17th, with the team presentation taking place the evening before.
"It’s fantastic that we can get this to Steenwijk," said Peter Van Der Terp, Deputy Mayor of the town. "The Steenwijk area will also be clearly put on the map by the TV coverage."
As the Eneco Tour is officially the Tour of the Benelux it takes in both Belgium and the Netherlands and so it is rare for the race to venture this far north. Race organiser Rob Discart is confident that the trip is well worthwhile.
"We know that Steenwijk a long cycling tradition,” he said. “Conversations with the mayor and members of the local council have given us a good feeling."
As well as the race there will be a number of events and activities organised, including a Kids’ Ride with Dutch cycling legend Leontien Zijlaard-Van Moorsel.
The Eneco Tour was created in 2005 as part of what was the International Cycling Union’s (UCI’s) new flagship ProTour series. Last year’s edition was won by Norwegian Edvald Boasson Hagen, then riding for Columbia-HTC.
The race will run between August 17th and 24th, further stage details are expected to be announced soon.