The 93rd Tour de France is coming to The Netherlands in 2006. The fourth stage will see the riders travel from the very northern tip of Luxembourg, Esch-sur-Alzette, to Valkenburg in the province of Limburg. It’s a flat 216 km stage, but all the same; it will be an excellent opportunity to see the tour caravan close to home.
This is the first time the Tour has come to The Netherlands since 1996, when it started in Den Bosch. I had seats at the finish for the prologue and remember shivering and quaking in the freezing cold as the rain bucketed down on us.
With no Lance Armstrong this year, it’ll be a strange Tour, but perhaps all the more exciting for his absence. Being back in Europe and equipped with a car by then, it’ll be hard not to find a reason to head down south for L’Alpe d’Huez and other joyous moments.