In this was 2023 we look back on the past year. We start with the European Cycling Championships, which were organized in Drenthe from Wednesday 20 to Sunday 24 September.
All Drenthe municipalities were visited in four days. Emmen hosted the time trial disciplines on the first two days. The individual time trials on Wednesday and the mixed team relay on Thursday. The finish was in the center of Emmen.
The reserves rode their race on Friday and the juniors took action on Saturday morning. The elite women’s competition was scheduled for Saturday afternoon. The start was in Meppel, the finish at the Col du VAM, where all road races ended. Not the big favorite Lotte Kopecky took the gold, the Belgian won the bronze, but Mischa Bredewold outsmarted all the favorites and won the European title, ahead of Lorena Wiebes.
The highlight of the European Championship was the men’s elite race on Sunday. Under a radiant sun it seemed as if the whole of Drenthe had come out to see the cyclists flash by. It was already extremely busy at the start in Assen and at the Col du VAM the supporters were lined up to cheer on their favorites. The spectators were not disappointed and saw an exciting race, in which Christophe Laporte was the fastest. The Frenchman stayed just ahead of his Jumbo/Visma teammates Wout van Aert and Olav Kooij in an exciting sprint at the VAM.