The seventh edition of the Dutch Headwind Cycling Championships had 325 participants, divided over 25 teams and 225 individuals. They did that on regular bicycles without gears. “The weather is really beastly. Due to the strong wind, it is by far the coldest edition,” says organizer Robrecht Stoekenbroek. According to him, this stormy and wet edition is comparable to the race in 2020, during storm Ciara. It can be seen on Twitter that the banners at the finish were also not able to withstand the strong wind.
On Sunday at 08.00 the starting gun sounded for the first participants. Until 10.30 am the individuals raced over the 8.5 kilometer long Oosterscheldekering in Zeeland. The teams were on the pedals until 11.45 am to withstand the rain and gusts of wind.
The winner was 25-year-old Jurjun van der Velde from Leiden, a drug research student. With his time of 20 minutes and 22 seconds, he finished 26 seconds faster than the number 2 and winner of the past two editions Max de Jong. With the ladies Lisa Scheenaard from Eindhoven won in 22.53 minutes.