Veenendaal-Veenendaal
Veenendaal-Veenendaal is a semi classic professional cycling 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. The event is part of the 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 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 UCI 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 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
| Date | Winner | Nationality | Team |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Paul Van Schalen | Netherlands | AXA |
| 2004 | Simone Cadamuro | Italy | De Nardi-Colpack |
| 2003 | Leon Van Bon | Netherlands | Lotto-Domo |
| 2002 | Bobbie Traksel | Netherlands | Rabobank |
| 2001 | Steven De Jongh | Netherlands | Rabobank |
| 2000 | Steven De Jongh | Netherlands | Rabobank |
| 1999 | Tristan Hoffman | Netherlands | TVM-Farm Frites |
| 1998 | Frank Hoj | Denmark | Palmans-Ideal |
| 1997 | Jeroen Blijlevens | Netherlands | TVM |
| 1996 | Andrei Tchmil | Ukraine | Lotto |
| 1995 | Olaf Ludwig | Germany | Telekom |
| 1994 | Viatcheslav Ekimov | Russia | Wordperfect |
| 1993 | Rob Mulders | Netherlands | Wordperfect |
| 1992 | Jacques Hangraaf | Netherlands | Panasonic |
| 1991 | Wiebren Veenstra | Netherlands | Buckler |
| 1990 | Wiebren Veenstra | Netherlands | Buckler |
| 1989 | Jean-Paul Van Poppel | Netherlands | Panasonic |
| 1988 | Ronny Vlassaks | Belgium | Superconfex |
| 1987 | Johan Capiot | Belgium | Roland |
| 1986 | No Race | ||
| 1985 | Joop Zoetemelk | Netherlands | Kwantumhallen |