The Dutch Headwind Cycling Championships (in Dutch: NK Tegenwindfietsen, pronounced [ˈteːxə(ɱ)ʋɪntˌfitsə(n)]) are an annual Dutch cycling time trial championships that takes place during storms of wind force 7 (50 km/h) or higher. They are not regulated by the Royal Dutch Cycling Union.[1][2]
 | |
| Race details | |
|---|---|
| Date | Fall or Winter; organized ad hoc when a storm is announced |
| Region | Oosterscheldekering, Netherlands |
| Local name(s) | NK Tegenwindfietsen (in Dutch) |
| Discipline | Road cycling |
| Type | time trial |
| History | |
| First edition | 2013 |
| Editions | 7 |
| First winner | Men's: Bart Brentjens Women's: Irene Tesink |
| Most recent | Men's: Jurjun van der Velde Women's: Lisa Scheenaard |
The Championships take place on the Oosterscheldekering storm barrier, which faces the North Sea, and have been held in autumn or winter since 2013. Competitors must ride the 8.5 km course against the wind on upright single-speed bicycles, which are provided by the organization. The championships are announced three days before a storm is expected. Since 2014 there is also a team time trial. A total of 200 individual cyclists (300 cyclists in 2020) can participate, plus 25 teams of four cyclists. Participants start 30 seconds apart from each other and the one with the fastest time wins.[3]
In 2020 both the male and female reigning champions (from 2018) successfully defended their titles. In 2023 the event was cancelled because of heavy storm.
Editions
edit| Year | Date | Wind force | Men | Time | Women | Time | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013[4] | December 15, 2013 | 5 |  Bart Brentjens
|
17m 51sec | Irene Tesink
|
19m 31sec | N/A | |
| 2014[2] | December 11, 2014 | 8 SW | Wouter Mesker
|
18m 06sec | Nathalie Simoens
|
22m 34sec | Wind in de Rug Wouter Mesker Kaj Hendriks Melvin Hekman Erik van Lakerveld |
16m 30.653sec |
| 2015 | October 11, 2015 | 7 | Pico de Jager
|
19m15s | Mathilde Matthijsse
|
21m23s[5] | Wind in de Rug | 18m39s |
| 2016 | November 20, 2016 | 9 (code yellow) | Teun Sweere
|
22m30s | Mathilde Matthijsse
|
28m09s | Jan de Jonge Fietsen | 21m34s |
| 2017 | Did not take place, due to the absence of stormy conditions | |||||||
| 2018 | December 8, 2018 | 7 | Max de Jong
|
18m16s | Lisa Scheenaard
|
20m28s[6] | Team Nooitstop | |
| 2019 | Did not take place | |||||||
| 2020[7] | February 9, 2020 (during Storm Ciara) | 8 (code orange) | Max de Jong
|
20m00s | Lisa Scheenaard
|
23m08s | No team winner — contest stopped early due to overly dangerous conditions | |
| 2021 | Did not take place due to COVID-19 | |||||||
| 2022 | February 6, 2022 | 7 (code yellow) | Jurjun van der Velde
|
20m23s | Lisa Scheenaard
|
22m53s | Team Nooitstop | 15m14s |
| 2023 | Cancelled due to too heavy winds during Storm Ciarán | |||||||
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "The hardest time trial in the world? Riders suffer at Dutch Headwind Championships (video)". cyclingweekly.co.uk. 15 December 2014. Retrieved 15 December 2014.
- ^ a b "Geen sterveling kan record NK Tegenwindfietsen breken" (in Dutch). Algemeen Dagblad. 11 December 2014. Retrieved 11 December 2014.
- ^ "NK-Tegenwindfietsen zoekt deelnemers" (in Dutch). Metro. 9 December 2014. Archived from the original on 11 December 2014. Retrieved 11 December 2014.
- ^ "Brentjens wint eerste NK tegenwind" (in Dutch). 16 December 2013.
- ^ "NK Tegenwindfietsen 2015 - winnaars bekend". Racefietsblog.nl (in Dutch). 2015-12-06. Retrieved 2020-02-09.
- ^ "Beuken tegen de wind in op NK Tegenwindfietsen" (in Dutch). 8 December 2018.
- ^ "NK Tegenwindfietsen: zwaarste editie ooit" [Netherlands Championship Cycling into a Headwind]. Metro (Dutch newspaper) (in Dutch). 9 February 2020. Retrieved 2020-02-10.