Groningen and Drenthe to host 2034 world cycling championships

The world road cycling championships are returning to the Netherlands for the first time in more than 20 years after Groningen and Drenthe won the contest to stage the 2034 edition.

The two northern provinces had originally bid for the championships in 2032, but the international cycling union UCI awarded that year’s event to Pune, the first time it will be held in India.

“It’s brilliant that this is happening, it’s really a dream,” said Bauke Mollema, Groningen-born Tour de France veteran who acted as ambassador for the Dutch bid. “As a northerner, I learned to cycle on the roads of Groningen and Drenthe.”

The Netherlands has hosted the road race championships eight times before, most recently in Valkenburg in 2012, when Marianne Vos won her second world title.

The exact dates and the route for 2034 still have to be worked out, but the Vamberg or “Col du Vam” – a 63 metre-high artificial hill made of piled-up domestic rubbish from the Randstad – is certain to feature prominently. The hill is the only opportunity for climbing in the otherwise pancake-flat provinces.

The time trials are expected to start and finish at the TT circuit in Assen, while the organisers have promised the routes will pass through every municipality in the region.

The decision was announced by the UCI in Montreal, where this year’s championships are being held. One of the selling points of the Dutch bid was that the paralympic championships will be integrated into the main event.

“A paracycling event suits Drenthe brilliantly,” said organiser Thijs Rondhuis. “We held the world paracycling championships in Emmen in 2019. It’s about inclusion and everyone being able to take part.”

The bid has been underwritten with €20 million from Ny Begun, a fund set up to rebuild Groningen and northern Drenthe following the earthquakes caused by gas drilling.