La Vuelta 2022:- Stage 1 - Utrecht - Utrecht 23.2km TTT. ***Spoilers***

Stage 1 - Utrecht - Utrecht 23.2km TTT.
Start Time: 18:30CET.
Friday, August 19th sees Utrecht complete their Grand Tour triple, having previously hosted both the Tour and Giro. Whereas the previous Grand Departs in the Netherlands featured individual time trials, the Vuelta a España opening stage will be a highly technical 23.3-kilometre team time trial. The route is pan flat but the twists and turns and narrow roads will add a level of difficulty to keeping eight riders together and coordinated while pushing flat.

The race starts and finishes near the Jaarbeurs. The first kilometres of the route run through the city centre before the teams continue to Overvecht, a post-war neighborhood in the northern part of Utrecht. The TTT winds its way counter-clockwise around the city centre, tackling sharp turns, roundabouts.

Final Kms.
The course loops under itself, taking a bus route back toward the city centre for a finish next to the central station where the first leader of the race will be lauded.

Utrecht
Population 359,355
Utrecht is the fourth-largest city and a municipality of the Netherlands, capital and most populous city of the province of Utrecht. It is located in the eastern corner of the Randstad conurbation, in the very centre of mainland Netherlands.
Utrecht is one of the world’s largest cycling capitals. The Dutch city, with its mostly flat terrain, has an excellent infrastructure in which it has consistently invested in over the past few decades, making it the proud bike-friendly city it is today. With its extensive bike lanes and bike parking facilities capable of accommodating over 12,500 bikes, Utrecht is a cycling paradise thanks to its devotion to this clean, modern and sustainable mode of transport.

Utrecht is home to Utrecht University, the largest university in the Netherlands, as well as several other institutions of higher education. Due to its central position within the country, it is an important hub for both rail and road transport; it contains the busiest train station in the Netherlands. In 2012, Lonely Planet included Utrecht in the top 10 of the world's unsung places.

The area surrounding Utrecht Centraal railway station and the station itself were developed following modernist ideas of the 1960s, in a brutalist style. This development led to the construction of the shopping mall Hoog Catharijne.

Bitterballen is a classic food that you’ll find at most bars around the Netherlands. They’re usually ordered or served as snacks accompanied with drinks, and there’s nothing bitter about them! Those small, fried, bread-crumbed balls contain a mixture of veal and beef ragout to go with mustard.

Stampot
Stampot which means mash pot is a mixture of mashed potatoes with other veggies – onion, cabbage, lettuce, carrot, turnip greens, kale, or sauerkraut – and a smoked sausage called rookworst. My personal preference is stampot made of potatoes, spinach, onion, mushrooms and bacon.

Ontbijtkoek
The Ontbijtkoek is a delicious ginger-spiced cake made with rye flour. Spices used include ginger, cloves, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Sometimes a candied citrus peel called succade is also added.

The Utrecht Craft Beer Tour is an alternative bike tour through the city of Utrecht. During the bike tour you will be accompanied by one of our guides. All of our local guides are hugely passionate about craft beers. During the trip they will share their practical knowledge about local beers, the brewing process and the city of Utrecht. However, the most important part of the tour is, of course, the beer tastings. During the tour, we will be tasting a variety of different speciality beers. Like, for example, Pale Ales, IPA’s, Stoutes, Porters, Wheat beers and experimental beers. Taste at least 6 different tasting glasses of locally crafted beer, on three unique locations. The Utrecht hopspots are scattered across the city, off the beaten track, so the tour will also give you a really new and unique way of discovering this beautiful city. At the end of the tour, you too will be able to tell the difference between the various types of craft beer.


Start Time: 18:30CET.
Friday, August 19th sees Utrecht complete their Grand Tour triple, having previously hosted both the Tour and Giro. Whereas the previous Grand Departs in the Netherlands featured individual time trials, the Vuelta a España opening stage will be a highly technical 23.3-kilometre team time trial. The route is pan flat but the twists and turns and narrow roads will add a level of difficulty to keeping eight riders together and coordinated while pushing flat.
The race starts and finishes near the Jaarbeurs. The first kilometres of the route run through the city centre before the teams continue to Overvecht, a post-war neighborhood in the northern part of Utrecht. The TTT winds its way counter-clockwise around the city centre, tackling sharp turns, roundabouts.
Final Kms.
The course loops under itself, taking a bus route back toward the city centre for a finish next to the central station where the first leader of the race will be lauded.

Utrecht
Population 359,355
Utrecht is the fourth-largest city and a municipality of the Netherlands, capital and most populous city of the province of Utrecht. It is located in the eastern corner of the Randstad conurbation, in the very centre of mainland Netherlands.
Utrecht is one of the world’s largest cycling capitals. The Dutch city, with its mostly flat terrain, has an excellent infrastructure in which it has consistently invested in over the past few decades, making it the proud bike-friendly city it is today. With its extensive bike lanes and bike parking facilities capable of accommodating over 12,500 bikes, Utrecht is a cycling paradise thanks to its devotion to this clean, modern and sustainable mode of transport.

Utrecht is home to Utrecht University, the largest university in the Netherlands, as well as several other institutions of higher education. Due to its central position within the country, it is an important hub for both rail and road transport; it contains the busiest train station in the Netherlands. In 2012, Lonely Planet included Utrecht in the top 10 of the world's unsung places.

The area surrounding Utrecht Centraal railway station and the station itself were developed following modernist ideas of the 1960s, in a brutalist style. This development led to the construction of the shopping mall Hoog Catharijne.

Bitterballen is a classic food that you’ll find at most bars around the Netherlands. They’re usually ordered or served as snacks accompanied with drinks, and there’s nothing bitter about them! Those small, fried, bread-crumbed balls contain a mixture of veal and beef ragout to go with mustard.

Stampot
Stampot which means mash pot is a mixture of mashed potatoes with other veggies – onion, cabbage, lettuce, carrot, turnip greens, kale, or sauerkraut – and a smoked sausage called rookworst. My personal preference is stampot made of potatoes, spinach, onion, mushrooms and bacon.

Ontbijtkoek
The Ontbijtkoek is a delicious ginger-spiced cake made with rye flour. Spices used include ginger, cloves, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Sometimes a candied citrus peel called succade is also added.

The Utrecht Craft Beer Tour is an alternative bike tour through the city of Utrecht. During the bike tour you will be accompanied by one of our guides. All of our local guides are hugely passionate about craft beers. During the trip they will share their practical knowledge about local beers, the brewing process and the city of Utrecht. However, the most important part of the tour is, of course, the beer tastings. During the tour, we will be tasting a variety of different speciality beers. Like, for example, Pale Ales, IPA’s, Stoutes, Porters, Wheat beers and experimental beers. Taste at least 6 different tasting glasses of locally crafted beer, on three unique locations. The Utrecht hopspots are scattered across the city, off the beaten track, so the tour will also give you a really new and unique way of discovering this beautiful city. At the end of the tour, you too will be able to tell the difference between the various types of craft beer.


"Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.
3
Posts
Just what the teams need, given the course is already described as twisting and technical.
Immediately filled me with dread for the next 3 weeks
The more is less man is revving it up on comms.
Not much rain. Meh.
I think it’s fair to say that he’s said “I think it’s fair to say “ more than 50 times already
😆
@DrHeadgear
The Vikings are coming!
At what point is a TTT not worth watching?
When you can’t see the live times. I’m off.
@DrHeadgear
The Vikings are coming!
One second seperate Ineos and QS.
Could be closer to 1 minute between the yellow motorbikes and Ineos.
@DrHeadgear
The Vikings are coming!
@DrHeadgear
The Vikings are coming!