Part of the cycling festival is the road race of the professionals (men), with the starting shot on Sunday 24 September in Assen. And according to the alderman, this is an excellent opportunity to put the city on the map. “We have had a professional cycling event in the city before. And we know that it attracts a huge crowd. So this event, together with the Van Gogh exhibition in the Drents Museum, is good for Assen’s publicity.” In 2009 the Vuelta, the Tour of Spain, started in Assen and visited several places in Drenthe.
Prior to the cycling spectacle, there are also other events in the city, such as a children’s festival, sporting clinics and cultural events and activities in the neighbourhoods. The municipality is busy with the final preparations. “The work has been properly mapped out and the safety aspects and everything related to it are under control. But we are not ready until the starting shot has been given,” laughs Smit.