Dutch national race Ronde van Nederland should make a return to UCI calendar after 21 long years in 2025

Full of ambition, the cycling in Netherlands looks forward to a brighter future with announced revival of the Ronde van Nederland. The 'Tour of th Netherlands' was last held in 2004 after which it had been merged with the Renewi Tour. However that race has recently shifted more and more towards racing in Belgium with this year's edition only sparsely visiting Netherlands at all. The new version of the classical race would have its first iteration in 2025 with the organisers aiming to hold the 2.1 race in October as an European 'season-closer'.

Visma | Lease a Bike is said to have been the initiator of the plan with director Richard Plugge along with commercial director Sander Kruis. "They talked about it with various people and planted seeds here and there - and now there is actually a party that is taking up the challenge," the AD refers to TIG Sports, a major player in organizing major sporting events.

An application has already been submitted to the UCI for the week of 14 to 19 October 2025, with the 2.1 status, as TIG confirmed a few days later. "The race in the autumn is an ideal end-of-season event with a strong field of participants. With this race, TIG Sports not only wants to organise a race for the professional teams, but also a race where the visitor is offered an unforgettable live experience before, during and after the event."

One of the main reason for gradual disappearing of Dutch races from the calendar had to do with financial, administrative and logistical challenges. "The race will consist of five separate stages plus a prologue, which will be carefully planned to ensure accessibility, sustainability and the safety of the riders. The event will be designed to address logistical challenges by using fixed circuits, which will contribute to less traffic disruption, increased safety and more cycling fun for partners and the public," they write in a press release.