It seems that the last Profronde of North Holland has been held. In recent years, the cycling race has not been organized for various reasons. “The entire board stops. The police have indicated that they have no capacity and then it no longer makes sense to organize a 200-kilometer race,” says Jan Hopman, secretary of the organization.
At the end of 2018, the new board breathed new life into the Profronde of North Holland. In 2019, a two-day event was even organized. On the first day, a time trial and a circuit were organized. The day after that, the classic Tour of North Holland was on the program.
Corona & no police capacity
The 2020 edition was canceled due to corona. There was another problem in 2021 and 2022. At the time, the police had no capacity to supervise the race, which is required by law. The police have also announced that they have no manpower for 2023 and 2024. “The fun is gone. First you bring in a sponsor and then you have to go there again to disappoint them,” says Hopman.
Since 2018, the National Police has drastically reduced police deployment. As a result, several sporting events can no longer take place. The KNWU is in talks with politicians in The Hague to amend the road traffic law so that traffic controllers on civilian motorcycles can guide a course.
Quest
“We are looking for a (professional) organization that wants to take over from us. For volunteers it is simply no longer possible. With all the regulations of today you have to work almost full time. We don’t have that time and space.” Hopman concludes.