Arnhem–Veenendaal Classic

Dutch cycling race

Arnhem–Veenendaal Classic

Race details
Date| August
Region| Utrecht, Netherlands
Local name(s)| Arnhem–Veenendaal Classic
Discipline| Road
Competition| UCI Europe Tour
Type| Single-day
Web site| veenendaal-veenendaal.nl
History
First edition| 1985 (1985)
Editions| 37 (as of 2024)
First winner|  Joop Zoetemelk (NED)
Most wins|  Dylan Groenewegen (NED)
(5 wins)
Most recent|  Tord Gudmestad (NOR)

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.

## Route

[edit]

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

[edit]

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.

The 2025 edition of the race will not take place owing to a lack of police availability due to the NATO summit at The Hague.[3]

## Women's race

[edit]

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.[4] 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.[5] In 2022, the women's race was put back on the cycling calendar and is held on the day before the men's race.[6]

## Results

[edit]

### Men's race

[edit]

List of winners:[7][8]

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

[edit]

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

[edit]

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. ^ "Wielerwedstrijd Veenendaal-Veenendaal gaat niet door vanwege NAVO-top". nos.nl (in Dutch). 2025-01-22. Retrieved 2025-01-29.
4. ^ "Results 1st Veenendaal Veenendaal Classic WE (1.1)". ProCycling Stats. Retrieved 6 August 2019.
5. ^ "GEEN DAMESKOERS OP 21 AUGUSTUS 2019". Veenendaal–Veenendaal Classic. 14 May 2019. Retrieved 6 August 2019.
6. ^ "HISTORIE VEENENDAAL-VEENENDAAL". veenendaal-veenendaal.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved 19 May 2023.
7. ^ "Home".
8. ^ Memoire du Cyclisme Archived September 14, 2011, at the Wayback Machine

## External links

[edit]

* Official website

* v
* t
* e

UCI Women's ProSeries

Seasons|

* 2020
* 2021
* 2022
* 2023
* 2024
* 2025

Races|

| Active|

* Schwalbe Women's One Day Classic
* Vuelta CV Feminas
* Setmana Ciclista Valenciana
* GP Oetingen
* Nokere Koerse
* Dwars door Vlaanderen
* Brabantse Pijl
* Clasica Femenina Navarra
* Veenendaal–Veenendaal
* Antwerp Port Epic Ladies
* La Choralis Fourmies Féminine
* Women's Cycling Grand Prix Stuttgart & Region
* Giro dell'Emilia Internazionale Donne Elite
* Gran Premio Ciudad de Eibar
* Tre Valli Varesine

|

Former|

* Women's Tour Down Under
* Omloop Het Nieuwsblad
* Giro Rosa
* Grand Prix Elsy Jacobs
* Thüringen Ladies Tour
* Tour de Suisse Women

*[NED]: Netherlands
*[NOR]: Norway
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template