For a moment the tears shot in his eyes. Former cyclist Rini Wagtmans (78) was appointed honorary citizen of the municipality of Rucphen by Mayor Marjolein van der Meer Mohr. Shortly thereafter, the Yellow Jersey Classic, a tour organized by him, started, in which several former pros participated, who once wore the yellow in the Tour de France. “What the municipality has conjured up from the top hat is impressive.”
Unsuspectingly, Wagtmans from Sint Willebrord was listening to an explanation of the eighth edition of the Yellow Jersey Classic in a packed council chamber in the town hall. The cycling tour that he organizes in collaboration with volunteers and the municipality of Rucphen.
When the mayor brought him forward and family members secretly reported, he received the title of Ereburger. This makes him the third ever in the history of the municipality of Rucphen. “I didn’t know what happened to me, it’s wonderful. This honor is also important for my family. Dad was often away from home, but it has had social-social use.”
It is the last time that the former cycling pro organizes the Yellow Jersey Classic. “I have come at an age that certain things are possible and no longer possible. We have always managed to organize the trip in Rucphen with many volunteers. I stop the organization, it is very difficult because you are dealing with so many people. But if someone else wants to continue it, I will certainly support.”
Various acquaintances took part in the tour, including Frank Lammers, but also several former geltry diaries. Erik Breukink, for example, Henk Lubberding, Mieke Havik, Johan van der Velde and Jan Janssen and Stephen Roche.
“I recently spoke Rini in Roosendaal and asked me if I could be there in Rucphen,” says Roche, the Irish former winner of the Tour de France and Giro d’Italia and former world champion. “An honor for me to be here and a great opportunity to meet old cycling friends. I haven’t seen them in real life for a long time, but it immediately felt like I had spoken to them yesterday.”
During the trip the peloton stopped in Sint Willebrord. There a monument was unveiled with tiles on which the Dutch male and female gene jersey carriers are. Wagtmans looked proudly.
He will stop the organization of the Yellow Jersey Classic, he does not have to get bored. The cycling enthusiast living in Florida and Breda is busy with the arrival of a cycling museum. In the summer of 2026 the doors of the museum in the old town hall in Etten-Leur will open. “A lot of work is being done behind the scenes. I think we’ll succeed.”
