On y va! The Tour de France will start in the Basque Country on Saturday afternoon. It will immediately start for our riders Teunissen, Van Poppel and Van der Poel, because in week one the Pyrenees beckon. Reason enough for cycling-loving Brabant to join the group, get on the bike and watch a beautiful mountain stage in a cycling café. This is what the Brabant bases organize and predict for you.
Bikes ‘n Coffee, Tilburg
In Tilburg, at Bikes ‘n Coffee, owner Hendrik ten Haven is already having a good time. To get in the mood, he will be serving French breakfast all day this weekend. There, too, the Tour is on the screen in the afternoon, but Ten Haven notices that his customers prefer to climb into the pedals themselves. The race fever is contagious. “They come here by bike, for a cup of coffee and a half hour tour stage.” And if he has the windows open, with the sound on, passers-by can’t help but peek in from the sidewalk.
Kamu coffee bar and bicycle shop, Breda
Ralf Verheul, from coffee bar and bicycle shop Kamu Breda, has a regular group that comes to watch the Tour with him. “We broadcast it, but we don’t really do more than usual,” he says. Still, he can’t help but cobble together a tourpoul. “I am especially looking forward to it. It will either be very surprising, or not at all.”
Cycling cafe Cyklist, Eindhoven
“I think it will be the most beautiful Tour in ages,” says the enthusiastic Rutger van der Zanden of the Eindhoven cycling café Cyklist. He expects it to be very busy this year in their place of pilgrimage for Tour fans. They don’t have a tour game, but Le Grande Boucle is broadcast on a big screen every afternoon. “The crowds often depend on the holiday time, but the tour is just before that. So you can already hear people agreeing with each other in the cafe.”
The Brabant Cycling Café, Oss
Unfortunately, the Brabants Wielercafé in Oss will not be able to participate this year. In previous Tours, the pop-up café was opened in Cultuurpodium Groene Engel to talk to cycling enthusiasts and famous guests about the Tour and other beautiful rounds. “But due to crowds and health reasons, we have not been able to delve into it enough this year,” says organizer Jos de Louw.
Predictions
The expectations, on the other hand? They are high. Normally, the first part of the Tour, La Grande Départ, starts with a slightly easier route. “Now it will be exciting from day one, because they cannot hide,” says De Louw. “Then the fortune seekers immediately attack.”
Furthermore, the eyes are mainly focused on contenders Pogachar and Vingegaard. “I think Vingegard will win then: he is in fantastic shape,” predicts Van der Zanden. Although, according to de Louw, we should also pay close attention to BORA-hansgrohe rider Jai Hindley. “That can sometimes cause surprises,” he says.
“And of course Van de Poel is my favorite rider, but he will not win,” adds Ten Haven from Tilburg. He does look like a good servant. “He would be a good winner of the second stage”, agrees De Louw.