Until last week, the 1997 Elfstedentocht was the absolute highlight in the career of Herbert Dijkstra from Vries as a NOS commentator, but the European Cycling Championships in Drenthe can now be added to this list. “It’s great that you can cover this match in your own province.”
Dijkstra had no shortage of course knowledge in recent days. He cycled up the VAM mountain himself last Sunday and Friday. “That makes the work easier, you know every bend and every road of the course.”
“It’s quite nice to have your work so close to home,” says Dijkstra. He regularly flies around the world for skating or cycling, but for a change the competition was just a stone’s throw from his home. “I also think it is important to be present at an event. During the time trials I was able to have a chat with the riders and team leader. You can still smell the massage oil.”
“You love the province, you love cycling, you love work”, this event had everything Dijkstra could ask for. “I thoroughly enjoyed it both from the commentary position and outside of it.”
The week started for Dijkstra on Wednesday with the time trials and in the evening he received the Castle Book, which contains the cultural highlights of the province of Drenthe. A tool for the international commentators who were present in Drenthe this week. “During my commentary in the Tour de France, I once asked my colleague Maarten Ducrot to indicate the castle book, so that I had a reason to say something about a bridge, castle or museum.”
Many cycling viewers asked if they could also get such a castle book. “But this does not exist at all,” says Dijkstra. For the European Cycling Championships he contributed to the Castle Book for Drenthe, where his knowledge came in handy. “And I helped put it on paper from the commentator’s perspective.”
Then to the course in Drenthe, which Dijkstra is very pleased with. “I already knew the route from the Ronde van Drenthe and the Dutch Championship that was held here a few times.” And according to Dijkstra, the tour through the province is extremely suitable for a championship. “It is becoming increasingly difficult to turn everything off, but there is no traffic on the VAM mountain. It is important to climb the VAM mountain more than once, because then it is really grueling. You have that in the I saw last weekend’s matches.”
Dijkstra has been present at the biggest cycling events for almost thirty years, starting with the 1995 World Cup in Colombia. And at the world championships he has seen courses that are less attractive than the tour through Drenthe. “This course is certainly World Cup worthy.”
When the Vriezenaar looks back on the past few days, an image of the match remains in his mind. “The view from the helicopter on the Dak van Drenthe was impressive. The helicopter flew just a little lower than the riders, the weather was great. That produced very beautiful images.”