The Flemish fan club of cyclist Cees Bol from Zaandam has nevertheless driven to Denmark with the camper, even though their hero will not start there next Saturday with the Tour de France. The cyclist is still suffering from a corona infection. “Our women said, ‘You just go there and make the best of it.'”
The first preparations for the Tour de France started four months ago, but the fan club from Toreke in Belgium was disappointed two weeks ago. “We heard that Cees had contracted corona during the Tour of Switzerland. ‘It will not be true’, we immediately thought,” says Belgian fan Patrick Engelen.
It was a slap in the face for the club. “We were a bit sad, our wives had to comfort us.”
Make the best of it
Nevertheless, the men decided not to give up and to leave for Denmark after all. “Our women said, ‘You just go there and make the best of it.'”
On photos that the club has sent to NH Nieuws, you can see a happy group with flags, caps and fan shirts to pay tribute to the cyclist. “All the bells and whistles are included. They will know that we were there and that Cees Bol is a top cyclist”, Engelen jokes. “We’ll never let him down no matter what.”
A cycling race and a lot of beers: that’s it get started of the Cees Bol fan club. “We thought the name Cees Bol was very funny,” says Patrick Engelen at NH Radio† “Cees means cheese to us.”
A few more beers later, Cees Bol is actually on the podium. Patrick is challenged by his friends to interview the cyclist. “I pretended to be a reporter and was able to reach him. After a few serious questions, I asked what his favorite cheese was. His answer: ‘I don’t like cheese’.” From that moment on, we closed Cees in our hearts.”
Will be back next year
Bol has now also heard that his fan club has traveled to the Tour. “He likes it, but on the other hand it’s sad because he’s not there. Cees thinks it’s great that we’re still here,” says Engelen. “He’s going to make sure he’s there next year.”