Rick Ottema was not allowed by his team to claim his fourth overall victory in the Wielermeerdaagse Noordenveld Westerkwartier. Then next year? Then something really needs to be done at an organizational level, says Ottema. Chairman Hindrik Aalders agrees with him.
On the front of the program booklet of the Amysoft Wielermeerdaagse Noordenveld Westerkwartier is a photo of a cyclist who goes through the bend in full focus. Mouth half open, hands loose on the brake levers. The color of his jersey is yellow, with the letters of main sponsor Amysoft on it in blue. The name of that rider: Rick Ottema. In recent years he lived in that yellow leader’s jersey. He won the last three editions of the Wielermeerdaagse Noordenveld Westerkwartier; was only beaten by Covid in 2019, when no Cycling Day was scheduled.
Turbo Edition
This year’s is unintentionally a turbo edition with only two games; Leek and Nieuw Roden dropped out compared to last year. And so, after Friday in Peize, there will be the traditional final day in De Wilp on Saturday evening. Ottema would have loved to take his fourth overall victory there, which would be unique. On the honors list of the Wielermeerdaagse, which includes names such as former skating hero Piet Kleine and former professional cyclists Lieuwe Westra, Bobbie Traksel and Marc de Maar, only Edwin Veen has three overall victories to his name, in addition to Ottema.
But that fourth will not come in De Wilp, because strangely enough, in addition to Covid, his own team Allinq can beat him. They have the rule that riders are not allowed to ride any criteriums the day before a ‘real’ race and with the Midden-Brabant Poort Omloop there is one on the program one day after De Wilp.
Manon de Boer and Iris Schultinga
Ottema is present in De Wilp. He encourages his girlfriend Manon de Boer. She destroyed the entire women’s peloton in Peize on Friday, but one day is not the other; in De Wilp, Iris Schultinga has wonderful legs. Just like De Boer, she rides for NWVG Uplus and squeezes out a long solo, which not only gives her the stage victory, but also the victory in the general classification.
The bred Muntendammer acts as a flower holder after the race and when Schultinga has some difficulty opening the bottle of champagne on the podium, Ottema gives a short champagne spraying clinic with a big smile on his face as the winner. ,,Thumb up and then shake!”, he shouts towards the stage with a laugh.
Bjorn Koster
The smile is also a bit like that of a farmer with a toothache, because he is disappointed that he is not allowed to participate. ,,I had asked for an exception from the team, because it is such a special one for me with that possible fourth, but unfortunately.” So no Ottema as an eye-catcher, but he has managed to find a nice replacement: Olympic champion Kjeld Nuis makes an appearance in De Wilp. He does not play a leading role during the race. That is for Bjorn Koster from Roden. He wins after an animated race in which Sjors Dekker and Mark Prinsen lead the way for a long time. The final classification goes to the Frisian Klaas Poortinga.
Ottema may be able to go for his fourth overall victory next year. ,,But then something really has to be done, because with only two days it’s really nothing. Last year they said they wanted to go back to six days and now it’s two. That’s not going well. Maybe we as riders should do something too. I don’t know exactly what, but I want to pick it up.”
‘We are thinking of a different formula’
It must be music to the ears of Hindrik Aalders, chairman of the organisation. And he agrees with Ottema ,,Yes, things really need to change now. We are struggling with a lack of volunteers at the organizations, you see that not only in organizing cycling races, but in society as a whole. We are now thinking of a slightly different formula in which we become a ‘touring cycling circus’ with a team of permanent volunteers, a little Tour de France, if you will. Perhaps we should also consider villages outside Noordenveld and Westerkwartier, but that would require an amendment to the statutes. We’re going to get to work!” Aalders concludes. Hopefully to be continued, end of June/early July 2024.