Anyone visiting the Northern Dutch province of Drenthe in recent days might have been under the impression that the Spanish had invaded. The streets of towns and villages are lined with red and yellow bunting and flags, even the ones which are not on the official route of the prologue of the Tour of Spain. Grown men don flat black straw hats, red shirts and boleros and little girls can be seen in tiered red and white polka-dot dresses.

Vuelta fever has hit the region. The dream of the late Relus ter Beek, the Queen’s Commissioner of the province, has captured the imagination not only of the Spanish cycle tour’s organisers, but also of the local residents. In Drenthe, La Vuelta, which is generally a televised event back in Spain due to soaring Iberian temperatures, has been turned into a major cultural happening. The competitors may not like the wet Dutch weather but there can be no doubts about the warmth of the welcome.

Thanks Relus
In Witteveen, renamed Turba Blanca for the occasion, a steady stream of well-wishers visit the last resting place of Relus ter Beek. The man with the vision and a passion for cycling, the man who made it all possible. On the solitary grave in the woods is a card with the simple message “Thanks Relus”, behind it burns the Vuelta flame. A camera team registers the pilgrimage. When he first visited the Spanish officials to bring La Vuelta to Drenthe he knew he would not live to see it happen.

The first hill climb of the race (albeit an imaginary one) is in the late Commissioner’s honour. Officially it is called Cota de Witteveen, but locals have dubbed it Monte Relus. Tension is high as the leaders cross the line taped across the brick road which leads through the centre of the village. The Dutch spectators clap and cheer when the winner of the sprint turns out to be Rabobank’s Tom Leezer.

Five minutes later onlookers are forced to jump aside as the peloton passes the same spot. Within minutes the cyclists have left the village on their way back to Drenthe’s capital, Assen. It is unlikely that they noticed the sound of the Spanish guitar which entertained the crowds as they waited eating tapas, with the children riding a specially hired rodeo bull outside the local pub.

Shockwaves
Meanwhile preparations for the finish in Emmen are in full swing. Railings line the roads entering the city. Day trippers position themselves for the finish outside the town hall. If they are lucky they can see the huge screen set up opposite the VIP enclosure. Three helicopters film the tour’s progress, as well as two motorbikes. Shockwaves go through the crowd as they witness the first pile up of the day. It is unclear what caused the crash, but later on in a second fall it is clear the narrow provincial roads can’t have helped.

Lieuwe Westra from Drenthe speeds ahead, leaving the leading group far behind him. It’s a personal triumph. He wears a black band on his arm as a mark of respect for his father who died earlier this week. Eventually he is forced to give up his solo performance as the leaders of the pack close in on him. With a wave to the camera he lets his rivals catch up. The crowd cheers. At the end of the race he is rewarded for his fighting spirit.

Cycling heroes
As the cyclists approach the finish, the peloton has almost caught up with the leaders and spectators surge to get a better view. The racing cyclists pass in tenths of seconds. Germany’s Gerald Ciolek is proclaimed the winner in two languages, Dutch and Spanish.

Ahead of Italy’s Fabio Sabatini and Briton Roger Hammond. Fabian Cancellara retains the gold jersey. While the VIPs watch the prize-giving ceremony, true fans wait at the back of the presentation stage to catch a glimpse of their heroes. My son begs a pen and plucks up the courage to ask Tom Leezer for a signature on his freebee Vuelta T-shirt.

On Monday, the Vuelta caravan left Drenthe, travelling south for the third leg of the race from the town of Zutphen to Venlo in the province of Limburg. Today, it leaves the Netherlands for good in a race which takes it to the Belgian city of Liège, taking the Spanish sporting armada with it.