Although the Tour de France stage on the Alpe d’Huez is not scheduled until Thursday, John from Boxtel is already celebrating at the place known as ‘the Dutch mountain’. The cycling fan is relieved that he left early. Anyone who wants to stand in the middle of the festivities on Thursday will no longer be able to join. “The beautiful places along the way are gone.”
“I see someone naked who has probably already had a lot to drink. The music is on, there are flags and it smells like a party,” cycling fanatic John describes the atmosphere at the Alpe d’Huez in Afslag Zuid on Omroep Brabant radio.
“We left on Sunday otherwise we would be late.”
“We left on Sunday. If we arrived one day before the stage, we were too late. All the beautiful places along the road are full of fans.” John’s group is ready for the stage at Turn 5. “Turn 7 is the corner where most Dutch people are. It is not so massive here, but at least as cozy.”
The Boxtelnaar was also part of the party four years ago. The Tour de France and the stage to Alpe d’Huez never bore him. “That mountain is of course known as the Dutch mountain because eight Dutchmen came first in the past.”
He expects that the thousands of fans along the side will not wait quietly for the riders to pass. “We are on the road to celebrate a party, then the advertising caravan comes and when we see Dutch riders we start cheering like crazy.”
“We would have given Van der Poel better legs.”
Mathieu van der Poel will in any case not pass, because he left on Wednesday afternoon. “Unfortunately, we would have given the boy better legs, but it was not possible this Tour”, says John about the retirement of the rider from Hoogerheide.
He does have a prediction for his compatriots. “We will be the first to see Steven Kruijswijk pass by, but we are cheering for all Dutch people. It will be a pleasant day, a big international party.”
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