Following message received by email from Dibben family (UK).

Dear Max and Team,

We have just got back after yet another superb week in Assen.

This is the 7th time we have taken part in the Youth Tour and every year has been brilliant. The first time we took part we could not believe the quality and scale of the racing, just being able to race on closed roads and have following cars and motor bikes was something we had only seen happen at the Tour de France. The efficiency and dedication of all your volunteers is very much appreciated. Every year the moment we start driving home the boys start planning their next trip to Assen, it has definitely been the highlight of their season.

We would like to thank everybody for the time and effort they put in all year to make the Tour such an outstanding event. Every stage is different and the results are always available very shortly after the race has finished. Any queries are quickly and politely dealt with. To organise a week long event for over 700 hundred riders as well as providing support and activities for their families is quite an achievement. One of the really great things about the tour is it has something for everyone.

Best wishes,

Anne, Jerry,Peter and Jonathan Dibben.

Dear Dibben family, thank you so much for your kind words. Of course we hope to see again next year in Assen.

From Reading (United Kingdom) we received the following message :

To : This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

subject : thank you

Quote Thank you so much for organising this brilliant event. This was our first year at Assen and we all had a fantastic time. The organisation was superb!!

Thank you!!

Kind regards,

Catherine Allister, Daniel,Ben and Amy Tulett

Unquote

We as organization are very pleased with this compliment from family Tulett  

Last week regional television, RTV Drenthe made many shots on different places from the EJCTA.

This film will be on television on Monday,  August 30rd at approx 18.30 hours (local time).

For our English viewers keep in mind the time difference between the UK and Holland.

website : www.rtvdrenthe.nl  and presentation will be done by Rik Hovingh and/or Karin Mulder.

Door José Been - www.procyclinglive.com

On Monday Wouter van de Weerdhof stood at the start for his first European Junior Cycling Tour. He was 8 years minus 4 days. That made him one of the youngest riders in the 23 riders strong category 1 peloton. In the first category boys and girls ride together who are or will become 8 in that year. Nine year old girls are also in this category. He finished his prologue as 9th.

Wouter started riding his bike at the beginning of this year. He wanted to be a cyclist for a longer time with his dad being his role model. When he finally could start riding he joined the Zwaluwen in Doetinchem. “We train every Tuesday and Thursday,” he tells. “On a closed off estate we train our laps but we also do agility games on the bike.” Those games helped the young rider a lot because he is not all afraid to ride in the peloton.
Wouter got his best result on Tuesday, in the criterium. He remained actively in the front of the bunch and became 5th. In the general classification he gained a place, from 9th to 8th. But on Wednesday bad luck caught up with him. In the wet conditions in the classic he fell on the deck. “The rider in front of me cut me off and then I slipped on the cobbles,” he says. When a rider can’t finish the race he gets 5 minutes added to his total time. Wouter lost his chance for a good overall. “It was the first time I went down in a race. I had abrasions on my knee and hip and my head hurt,” he remembers. “Wouter would get a new helmet on his birthday on Friday. We gave him that earlier because his helmet had split because of the crash,” his mother Lies adds.

On Thursday Wouter was back at the start of the time trial. “I love riding time trials, it’s my favourite part so I really wanted to start.” He got a great 10th place. “It’s important to choose a steady pace you can maintain and do a final sprint if you still can,” he explains professionally. In the Kostvlies Omloop Wouter was back at the front of the bunch and finished 9th. He had made an agreement with Kjell de Jager of de Hoekse Renners. “We said that we would help each other and jumped away together. There isn’t a teammate in my category.” At 8 years he knows already that you need friends in the peloton.

On the table in front of him are bananas and apples next to the potato crisps. “I know that you have to eat well as a cyclist. My favourites are pancakes and pasta.” Dad Jurgen has been baking pancakes almost all week. Wouter trains a lot with his dad. “ Than we do a tour around some hills. I can do it twice already without resting,” he says proudly. That stamina work came in handy on Saturday because after a tiring week of cycling the criterium through the Asserbos was still on the menu. The rider had to go to bed early on his birthday to be fit again for the early start. He finished this last race as 10th, finishing 21st in the overall. If he hadn’t crashed Wednesday he would have even been 14th.

To the question what he liked most this week, he answers happily. “My birthday. They sung me a birthday song in the peloton and let me start on the first row. I also got some nice things for my bike like a new saddle and gloves. And of course the helmet because I had broken the old one.” Next year Wouter will be in category 2 and most certainly be back on the roads in and around Assen.

By José Been - www.procyclinglive.com

The yellow tent is the home of the First Aid, division Assen. They are ready for the cyclists and spectators that are in need of First Aid. “I think I have done more than 15 tours already,” says coordinator Roel. Roel works in IT and does First Aid on a voluntary basis, just like his colleagues. The organizations that request their help pay a small amount for the costs of materials but there are no wages involved. “It has become such a big hobby that I could almost call it a job,” Roel laughs.

Every day the people from the First Aid, division Assen were in the race with on average 10 volunteers. There is a group that has been doing this for years but they also take new colleagues to get some experience in the field. “After a training of 14 evenings the new recruits do an exam but then they still have to learn for real, hey? I just got a text from a new colleague that he’d had such a fantastic week and that he learned a lot. Yes, we do have a great team that helps each other in good and bad times.”

Because regulations from the government get stricter every year First Aid is requested more and more. “We do a lot, from events with horses to motorsport on the TT Circuit. We also are present at pop concerts and in winter we assist at the ice rink here in Assen. It is very allround. That’s why we do extra training next to the obligatory training every year. On the TT circuit you see more neck problems so we learn to put on the neck braces. At pop concerts you see more alcohol and drug abuse. We learn how to recognize that and how to act upon it. The introduction of the mobile defibrillators results in extra training too. We have three of these AED devices with us,” Roel explains.

The regulations of the Cycling Union request that a doctor is present in a classic so on Wednesday and Friday there was a doctor in the race. The First Aid members are not medics so when in doubt they always consult a doctor. “Fortunately this week has been very good if I compare it to previous editions. Unfortunately we had to take a boy to hospital with a hip fracture. He underwent surgery. Next to that we had a broken collar bone and some suspected wrist fractures. That were all the serious cases. The rest of the week we treated the typical cyclist’s road rash on elbow, knee and hip. Falling is part of the sport but we prefer to stay in our tent for the entire week,”

In the First Aid tent are two tables for treatment. A cyclist reports with a painful knee. She has been here before on Wednesday. An icepack is put on the sore knee and the girl is calmed down. “It is better to treat someone in the tent. We have more privacy here. On the street there is usually a lot more panic. People are running around with new wheels or bikes. We treat the wounds quickly and let the rider continue if he can. In the tent you can give them a few minutes to relax a bit.”

First Aid is in the race with two cars with three people in each car. Next to that there is staff in the tent. A rider comes to the tent with bandages on both elbows and his knee. “Band aids are useless here with all the oil on the cyclist’s legs. That’s why we take a gauze and keep it in place with a net. Riders can also come to the tent to have their bandages replaced. It is best to keep road rash open to breath but on a dusty cobble section that is not a good idea.”

“It’s been a good week,”Roel concludes. “Apart from the hip fracture and surgery we haven’t encountered real serious injuries. The cooperation with the organization of the European Junior Cycling Tour has been good too. But most importantly we have shown some good teamwork. We really work here as a team and I am proud of them.”