Arnhem–Veenendaal Classic

The Arnhem–Veenendaal Classic (known as Veenendaal–Veenendaal from 1985 until 2006 and The Dutch Food Valley Classic from 2007 until 2013) is a semi classic professional road cycling race in the Netherlands starting and finishing in the town of Veenendaal. The event is part of the UCI Europe Tour calendar of events with a ranking of 1.1.

Arnhem–Veenendaal Classic
Race details
DateAugust
RegionUtrecht, Netherlands
Local name(s)Arnhem–Veenendaal Classic
DisciplineRoad
CompetitionUCI Europe Tour
TypeSingle-day
Web siteveenendaal-veenendaal.nl Edit this at Wikidata
History
First edition1985 (1985)
Editions37 (as of 2024)
First winner Joop Zoetemelk (NED)
Most wins Dylan Groenewegen (NED)
(5 wins)
Most recent Tord Gudmestad (NOR)

Route

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The race has a course on winding roads through the two Veluwe national parks, Hoge Veluwe National Park and Veluwezoom National Park, and the Nederrijn river valley in the south east corner of Utrecht province over a distance of roughly 209 km, interspersed with little steep cobbled climbs, the most significant of which are the Grebbeberg and the Posbank in Rhenen, and the Emma Pyramid in Rozendaal. Although the city of Arnhem is featured in the title of the race, it both starts and finishes in the town of Veenendaal, but goes to and from Arnhem during the race. It also passes close to Wageningen, the centre of the Food Valley, which formerly sponsored the name of the race.

History

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The race was created in 1985 by the Royal Dutch Cycling Union who wanted to create a preparation race in August just before the World Championships.[1] Between 1985 and 2006 the race was known as Veenendaal–Veenendaal. Over the years it has been run at three different times on the international cycling calendar. In 1994 the event was moved to mid-April and given a date on a Thursday, the day after La Flèche Wallonne and a few days before Liège–Bastogne–Liège. The race organisers were never happy with this because it reduced the quality of the field with the top teams unwilling to race three times in four days, however in 2004 the UCI agreed to a date change to a less intense week on the Friday after Paris–Roubaix and two days before the biggest one-day race in the Netherlands, the Amstel Gold Race. However the event was moved to yet another new date in 2006, with the race taking place in June, away from the congested spring classics calendar and no longer competing in the same midweek with the Scheldeprijs. For the 2010 season, another date change is scheduled: the race will move to mid-August.

 
Riders before the start in 2005

In 2005 Veenendaal–Veenendaal benefited from the creation of the new UCI ProTour structure when it was elevated to 1.HC standard bringing to the same level as Belgium's Omloop "Het Volk" and Germany's Rund um den Henninger Turm, thus bringing more sponsorship and publicity. In 2001 the race looked like being cancelled as the Foot and Mouth outbreak hit the Netherlands but the race eventually went ahead as the organisers modified the route to avoid sensitive areas. The 2007 race brought on board the Dutch organisation Food Valley as main sponsors and the event had the alternative title of The Dutch Food Valley Classic. Until 2008, the race always started in Veenendaal, but in 2009 the race started in Barneveld.[2] From 2014 onwards, the race became known in Dutch as the Arnhem–Veenendaal Classic, reflecting a new start location in Arnhem.

Women's Race

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In 2018, a women's race was added to the programme. The race was classified as a 1.1 UCI race and won by Annemiek van Vleuten.[3] However, in 2019 the women's race was removed from the programme again with the organisers citing a lack of availability of police support for the race.[4] In 2022, the women's race was put back on the cycling calendar and is held on the day before the men's race.[5]

Results

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Men's race

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List of winners:[6][7]

Year Country Rider Team
1985   Netherlands Joop Zoetemelk Kwantum–Decosol–Yoko
1986 No race
1987   Belgium Johan Capiot Roland–Skala
1988   Belgium Ronny Vlassaks Superconfex–Yoko–Opel–Colnago
1989   Netherlands Jean-Paul van Poppel Panasonic–Isostar–Colnago–Agu
1990   Netherlands Wiebren Veenstra Buckler–Colnago–Decca
1991   Netherlands Wiebren Veenstra Buckler–Colnago–Decca
1992   Netherlands Jacques Hanegraaf Panasonic–Sportlife
1993   Netherlands Rob Mulders WordPerfect–Colnago–Decca
1994   Russia Viatcheslav Ekimov WordPerfect–Colnago–Decca
1995   Germany Olaf Ludwig Team Telekom
1996   Ukraine Andrei Tchmil Lotto
1997   Netherlands Jeroen Blijlevens TVM–Farm Frites
1998   Denmark Frank Høj Palmans–Ideal
1999   Netherlands Tristan Hoffman TVM–Farm Frites
2000   Netherlands Steven de Jongh Rabobank
2001   Netherlands Steven de Jongh Rabobank
2002   Netherlands Bobbie Traksel Rabobank
2003   Netherlands Léon van Bon Lotto–Domo
2004   Italy Simone Cadamuro De Nardi–Piemme Telekom
2005   Netherlands Paul van Schalen AXA Pro-Cycling Team
2006   Belgium Tom Boonen Quick-Step–Innergetic
2007   Germany Steffen Radochla Wiesenhof–Felt
2008   Germany Robert Förster Gerolsteiner
2009   Netherlands Kenny van Hummel Skil–Shimano
2010   Norway Edvald Boasson Hagen Team Sky
2011   Netherlands Theo Bos Rabobank
2012   Netherlands Theo Bos Rabobank
2013   Italy Elia Viviani Cannondale
2014   Belgium Yves Lampaert Topsport Vlaanderen–Baloise
2015   Netherlands Dylan Groenewegen Team Roompot
2016   Netherlands Dylan Groenewegen LottoNL–Jumbo
2017   Slovenia Luka Mezgec Orica–Scott
2018   Netherlands Dylan Groenewegen LottoNL–Jumbo
2019   Australia Zak Dempster Israel Cycling Academy
2020–2021 No race
2022   Netherlands Dylan Groenewegen Team BikeExchange–Jayco
2023   Netherlands Dylan Groenewegen Team Jayco–AlUla
2024   Norway Tord Gudmestad Uno-X Mobility

Women's race

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Year Country Rider Team
2019   Netherlands Annemiek van Vleuten Mitchelton–Scott
2020–2021 No race
2022   France Gladys Verhulst Le Col–Wahoo
2023   Belgium Lotte Kopecky SD Worx
2024   Netherlands Riejanne Markus Visma–Lease a Bike

References

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  1. ^ "Home".
  2. ^ "Wielernieuws : Dutch Food Valley Classic gaat startplaats rouleren – Wielerupdate.nl". www.wielerupdate.nl. Archived from the original on 2009-01-31.
  3. ^ "Results 1st Veenendaal Veenendaal Classic WE (1.1)". ProCycling Stats. Retrieved 6 August 2019.
  4. ^ "GEEN DAMESKOERS OP 21 AUGUSTUS 2019". Veenendaal–Veenendaal Classic. 14 May 2019. Retrieved 6 August 2019.
  5. ^ "HISTORIE VEENENDAAL-VEENENDAAL". veenendaal-veenendaal.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved 19 May 2023.
  6. ^ "Home".
  7. ^ Memoire du Cyclisme Archived September 14, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
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