Eneco Tour integrates women's and men's races, alternating starts in prologue

The new Eneco Tour – born out of the former Simac Ladies Tour and the NIBC Tour of Holland that re-emerged in 2025 – will roll out a unique format that more closely integrates the professional men and women across the six stages.

“The women’s race is not a side event, but a full-fledged race alongside the men’s race,” Race director Roxane Knetemann said. “Bringing both races together creates a stronger event and a larger national and international stage for women’s and men’s cycling.”

Men and women will take turns heading down the start ramp of the 3.1km prologue in The Hague and then share the start locations but either stagger start times or use slightly different routes, which consist primarily of local circuits.

“This setup makes the course easier to manage, limits traffic disruption, and gives the public the chance to see the race multiple times,” Thijs Rondhuis of Courage Events said. “Two races in one day require precise planning. The safety of riders, spectators, and staff remains our top priority.”

After the prologue, stage 1 takes place in Ede with a flat 40-kilometre circuit that the men tackle three times and women twice. The men’s stage begins after the women’s finish, with the women’s winner’s podium taking place simultaneously with the men’s team presentation.

Stage 2 is a 13.6-kilometre individual time trial in Tilburg, which should open up the general classification in both races. While the schedule shows the same start times for men and women, Knetemann confirmed the two fields would not intermingle.

A hilly stage in Limburg follows, with a start at the Tom Dumoulin Bike Park in Sittard and a neutral roll-out to a circuit around Watersley taken four times by the women and five by the men. Again, the men’s race follows the completion of the women’s.

The queen stage incorporates the toughest hill in the Netherlands, the VAM-berg - a mound from an old landfill. The women's stage is 114.1 kilometres and has a much more direct route from Hoogeveen without cobbles before arriving on the VAM-berg loop. The men race from Hoogeveen and take on a longer route through the countryside, tackling five sections of cobblestones before arriving at the VAM-berg circuit after the women's finish for a 149.8km stage.

The Eneco Tours conclude in Arnhem with a similar setup - a long circuit for the men followed by four short laps for 149.2 kilometres, while the women compete over nine laps of the short loop for 70.1km.

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