Cycling fans cheer for ‘home team’ Jumbo-Visma at the start of the Vuelta in Utrecht

On the terrace of the Spaghetteria on the Wittevrouwensingel in Utrecht, a man is just taking a bite of his ravioli when the sound of cheering comes towards him around the corner. Still munching on the dough he’s just put in his mouth, the man quickly stands up, just in time to see eight men on bicycles take a right-angle turn at full speed. The man looks at them for a moment and then sits down again. Satisfied, he washes down his pasta with a sip of red wine.

The team time trial in Utrecht, which marked the start of the Vuelta a España, resembled a large, public Friday afternoon drink. Although there were rows along the course, it was never overcrowded. And because it was quite possible to take a look at several places on the course during the race, many people walked from A to B through the city.

A few hours before the eight riders of the Spanish team Burgos-BH were the first to roll off the starting podium, it was hardly noticeable at Utrecht Central that a big cycling round started here on this Friday. Commuters made their way home, nowhere to be seen the characteristic red of the Vuelta d’Espana.

Separated worlds

In Hoog Catherijne, the shopping center through which the riders cycled on Thursday as part of the team presentation, the shopping public went as usual, even once the race had started. And on Neude, one of the squares where a large screen had been erected, tables with a good view were still available everywhere. The adjacent terrace of Café Le Journal was fuller.

At the Biltstraat it could happen that unsuspecting passers-by who came walking from the center, ran into the course of the Vuelta. Not everyone was happy with that: “There’s my house,” shouted a student indignantly from across the street, after which bystanders helped her over the crush barriers.

Because the course started and ended on the Jaarbeursplein, it was as if there were two separate worlds: one inside the course and one outside. There were no pedestrian bridges or tunnels, the public depended on crush barriers that went sideways to be able to cross. After those spots closed a few hours before the start, that led to a lot of frustration.

Since there was virtually no security along the course, many people took matters into their own hands and jumped over the fences to cross. Sometimes it almost went wrong: a student who was trying to cross the road with his bicycle was almost hit by a motorcycle cop who came around the corner. The officer had to squeeze the brakes hard. The fact that he then only stopped for a moment to say: “Not so handy, huh?”, marked the atmosphere.

‘Vamos a la playa’

Most of the people could be found on the Jaarbeursplein, the epicenter of the first stage. Here the bars were filled early on with mostly men in shirts straight from work. The public who came by train and walked out from the station, got a beautiful view from above the stairs with the start on the left and the finish on the right. Spanish music could be heard everywhere, from flamenco to music from the Netflix series Narcos until Vamos a la playa from Loona. The red-yellow colored churros stall was well attended, although it was not as popular as the Dutch chip shop across the street.

At the beginning of the evening it is now so busy that the arrival of a new team of exhausted riders always announces itself well in advance. The stairs towards the station are full of spectators when the last team, Jumbo-Visma, comes at full speed towards the finish. The ‘home team’, with the Dutch Robert Gesink, Sam Oomen and Mike Teunissen in the ranks, started the time trial as a favorite and lives up to that role. In the last 500 meters, to the delight of the spectators, Gesink drives forward and crosses the line first.

Moments later on the podium he is allowed to put on the red jersey, being the first of the fastest team. That was agreed in advance, says Gesink during the press conference, and yet it made him emotional. “I never expected this to happen at this point in my career, but it shows how much I’ve meant to this team. This is the best way to show how grateful they are for that.” He had a hard time during the time trial, Gesink said, but “we used the energy of all those screaming people to go as fast as we could”.

The man on the terrace of the spaghetti restaurant no longer sees all that. After getting up a few times to watch the riders pass, he focuses on his food. Moments later, he beckons the waiter and stands up. The bill is paid, off to home.