200 kilometers of slogging through the Drenthe mud: ‘It’s super tough!’

2023 may be the wettest year ever measured, but the organization of the Drenthe 200 doesn’t care. This morning, hundreds of cyclists started again in pitch black Roden, only to finish tonight after 200 kilometers of mountain biking. The 2023 edition is the wettest yet and, according to the cyclists themselves, ‘super tough!’

A drop falls from Luigi’s nose as he concentrates on cleaning his bike. In Schoonloo (what’s in a name?) a small queue is created in front of the high-pressure sprayer. Excess mud on your steel horse only makes slogging through the Drenthe mud more difficult.

Luigi can still laugh, although his laugh sometimes resembles that of a farmer with a toothache. He still has 120 kilometers to go, but he has already been on the road for almost six hours. “Will I make it? I think so. I still have all evening.”

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