View source for Veenendaal-Veenendaal

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[[Image:Veenendaal_banner.jpg|thumb|right|260px|Official race banner (Courtesy: Race Organisers).]]


'''Veenendaal-Veenendaal''' is a [[List of important cycling events|semi classic]] professional [[cycling]] [[Bicycle racing|race]] in the [[Netherlands]] starting and finishing in the town of [[Veenendaal]] with a route based around the [[Veluwe]] National Park and the [[Nederrijn]] river valley in the south east corner of [[Utrecht (province)|Utrecht]] province. The event is part of the [[Union Cycliste Internationale|UCI]] Continental calendar of events with a ranking of 1.HC and is the second biggest cycling race in the Netherlands after the [[Amstel Gold Race]].

The race only came into being in 1985 so it is very young by European cycling standards, it was instigated by the Royal Dutch Cycling Union (KNWU) who wanted to create a preparation race in August just before the [[World Cycling Championship|World Championships]]. In 1994 the event was moved to mid April and given a date on a Thursday, the day after [[La Flèche Wallonne]] and a few days before [[Liège-Bastogne-Liège]]. The race organisers were never happy with this because it reduced the quality of the field with the top teams unwilling to race three times in four days, however in 2004 the UCI agreed to a date change to a less intense week on the Friday after [[Paris-Roubaix]] and two days before the Amstel Gold Race.

In 2005 Veenendaal-Veenendaal benefited from the creation of the new [[Union Cycliste Internationale|UCI]] [[UCI ProTour|ProTour]] structure when it was elevated to 1.HC standard bringing to the same level as Belgium's [[Omloop "Het Volk"]] and Germany's [[Rund um den Henninger Turm]], thus bringing more sponsorship and publicity. In 2001 the race looked like being cancelled as the [[Foot and mouth disease|Foot and Mouth]] outbreak hit the Netherlands but the race eventually went ahead as the organisers modified the route to avoid sensitive areas.

The race itself takes place on winding roads through the Veluwe National Park over a distance of roughly 209 km which is interspersed with little steep cobbled climbs, the most significant of which are the Grebbeberg at the town of [[Rhenen]] and the Posbank. The list of winners includes some top class riders such as [[Joop Zoetemelk]], Jean-Paul van Poppel, [[Olaf Ludwig]], [[Viatcheslav Ekimov]], Andrei Tchmil and Jeroen Blijlevens. 

==Results==
<table BORDER=1 CELLSPACING=1 CELLPADDING=3 style="font-size: 95%">
<caption>'''Veenendaal-Veenendall Winners'''</caption>
<tr BGCOLOR="darkred">
<th>Date</th>
<th>Winner</th>
<th>Nationality</th>
<th>Team</th>
<tr>
<td>2009</td><td>[[Kenny Van Hummel]]</td><td>{{flagiconNED}}</td><td>[[Skil-Shimano]]</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>2008</td><td>[[Robert Förster]]</td><td>{{flagiconGER}}</td><td>[[Team Gerolsteiner|Gerolsteiner]]</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>2007</td><td>[[Steffen Radochla]]</td><td>{{flagiconGER}}</td><td>[[Team Wiesenhof-Felt|Wiesenhof-Felt]]</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>2006</td><td>[[Tom Boonen]]</td><td>{{flagiconBEL}}</td><td>[[Quick Step-Innergetic]]</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>[[2005]]</td><td>[[Paul Van Schalen ]]</td><td>{{flagiconNetherlands}}</td><td>AXA</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>[[2004]]</td><td>[[Simone Cadamuro]]</td><td>{{flagiconItaly}}</td><td>De Nardi-Colpack</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>[[2003]]</td><td>[[Leon Van Bon]]</td><td>{{flagiconNetherlands}}</td><td>Lotto-Domo</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>[[2002]]</td><td>[[Bobbie Traksel]]</td><td>{{flagiconNetherlands}}</td><td>[[Rabobank (cycling)|Rabobank]]</td></tr>
<tr>
<td>[[2001]]</td><td>[[Steven De Jongh]]</td><td>{{flagiconNetherlands}}</td><td>[[Rabobank (cycling)|Rabobank]]</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>[[2000]]</td><td>[[Steven De Jongh]]</td><td>{{flagiconNetherlands}}</td><td>[[Rabobank (cycling)|Rabobank]]</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>[[1999]]</td><td>[[Tristan Hoffman]]</td><td>{{flagiconNetherlands}}</td><td>TVM-Farm Frites</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>[[1998]]</td><td>[[Frank Hoj]]</td><td>{{flagiconDenmark}}</td><td>Palmans-Ideal</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>[[1997]]</td><td>[[Jeroen Blijlevens]]</td><td>{{flagiconNetherlands}}</td><td>TVM</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>[[1996]]</td><td>[[Andrei Tchmil]]</td><td>{{flagiconUkraine}}</td><td>Lotto</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>[[1995]]</td><td>[[Olaf Ludwig]]</td><td>{{flagiconGermany}}</td><td>Telekom</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>[[1994]]</td><td>[[Viatcheslav Ekimov]]</td><td>{{flagiconRussia}}</td><td>Wordperfect</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>[[1993]]</td><td>[[Rob Mulders]]</td><td>{{flagiconNetherlands}}</td><td>Wordperfect</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>[[1992]]</td><td>[[Jacques Hangraaf ]]</td><td>{{flagiconNetherlands}}</td><td>Panasonic</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>[[1991]]</td><td>[[Wiebren Veenstra]]</td><td>{{flagiconNetherlands}}</td><td>Buckler</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>[[1990]]</td><td>[[Wiebren Veenstra]]</td><td>{{flagiconNetherlands}}</td><td>Buckler</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>[[1989]]</td><td>[[Jean-Paul Van Poppel]]</td><td>{{flagiconNetherlands}}</td><td>Panasonic</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>[[1988]]</td><td>[[Ronny Vlassaks]]</td><td>{{flagiconBelgium}}</td><td>Superconfex</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>[[1987]]</td><td>[[Johan Capiot]]</td><td>{{flagiconBelgium}}</td><td>Roland</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>[[1986]]</td><td>No Race</td><td></td><td></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>[[1985]]</td><td>[[Joop Zoetemelk]]</td><td>{{flagiconNetherlands}}</td><td>Kwantumhallen</td>
</tr>
<tr>
</table>

[[category:Cycle races]]
[[category:Cycle racing in the Netherlands]]