Just under 300 packs of straw, 24 round bales and at least 24 tractors will form a gigantic bicycle next Sunday. It is an action by a large group of farmers from the municipality of Rucphen and surroundings. On Sunday, during the crossing of the Vuelta, the bike will be visible from the air.
It’s going to be big. Right next to the Dynamico site in Rucphen, dozens, perhaps more than a hundred farmers are going to imitate the bicycle. The inspiration is a farmer’s campaign that was conducted during the Tour de France in 2011.
“We need about 24 tractors for the wheels,” says Bart van Kalmthout. He is one of the initiators, but wants to emphasize that this does not only come from him, but from all participating farmers. “We already practiced with fourteen tractors on Thursday evening. But there will be many more, we expect about seventy to eighty!”
“We hope that we can be seen with the action at home and abroad.”
They hope with the campaign to create attention for farmers. “We deliberately opted for an action that is visible from the air,” continues van Kalmthout. “We hope that we can be seen with the action at home and abroad.”
If you drive along the field, you won’t see much. “Except a lot of tractors and a lot of fun.” Because in addition to campaigning, the group also hopes to make it a pleasant day. “The drinks have already been arranged, we are still busy arranging a chip cart.”
“We hope for a big turnout.”
At ten o’clock in the morning the group starts building up on Sunday. “We hope for a large turnout of farmers and people who want to support us.”
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