The residents of Drijber have done a lot of work in recent months to decorate their village festively for the European Championships. For example, there are 180 self-portraits along the road, there is a work of art of bicycles in a meadow and a large heather sheep made of shells can be seen on the VAM mountain.
When the riders ride on the Berkenweg these days, they see self-portraits hanging along the road. 75-year-old Bruun Feijen is one of the initiators of the works of art. He came up with the idea of the portraits. “But we all achieved this together. Everyone in Drijber participated. The children were also very busy at school with the brushes.”
Feijen’s portrait is also hanging there and is easy to recognize. “It’s great that you recognize him immediately, that was the intention. I am very happy with the end result. Hopefully the TV engines will show the portraits well in the coming days.”
“It’s very nice to see that different styles have been used,” Feijen continues. “For example, someone painted a portrait in the style of Picasso. That is very daring, but I think it turned out very beautiful.”
In the middle of the village is another work of art, made of all painted bicycles. The dolls on the bicycles are made of straw. “We especially wanted to make it a very cheerful work of art. Some bicycles hang upside down, we have an old bathtub with wheels and of course the polka dot jersey should not be missing.”
Because after the riders have passed through Drijber, the Col du VAM awaits at Wijster. The residents of the village also wanted something beautiful there. “On the flanks of the VAM is a landmark of a Drenthe heath sheep, made entirely of shells. It is quite large, fifty by fifty meters. Unmissable from the air.”
Feijen took care of the design, the implementation was taken care of by Attero. “At first we wanted to put the shells there ourselves, but that would have taken far too long. But it turned out fantastic. This will produce beautiful images from the helicopter.”