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This year’s edition of the Rides for the Roses charity cycle ride, held over the second weekend of June, raised a record breaking €297,730 for cancer research. Damen Naval participated in the event, this time with 23 riders cycling the three different distances of 120, 80 and 50 kilometres.
The Damen peloton was coordinated once again by Karsten de Feijter, who works in the procurement department at Damen Naval. “Not only did we have 23 people this year – which is more than double of the 11 people from last year – but we had five nationalities on our team representing almost all departments of Damen Naval,” he says.
(Back row, from left) Tijs Buijs, Danijel Jurisic, Koen Audenaert, Arend van Veelen, Kees Houtepen, Alfred Verdonk, Raymond Vermeulen, Rini Verdonck, Nico Oertel, Roberto Santoro and Kenneth van de Sande. (Middle) Jasper Oreel and Rik Meerman. (Front row) Peter Werner, Peter Verstraate, Marcel van Dalen, Wieb Hoogerwerf, Karsten de Feijter, Thijmen Cornelissens, Bram de Visser, Wim de Nooijer and Jacco Ringelberg.
Setting off from Goes on the morning of Saturday 10 June, the ‘120km’ group of 20 riders headed east to cycle a circular route to West Brabant and back. Despite the heat, the riders made good time, notes Karsten. “It was 30 degrees, but the wind cooled us down a bit – and we took two stops to fill our water bottles and have something to eat.” The group averaged just over 31 km per hour, making it back to Goes in under four hours. “The fact that we didn’t have any technical stops – no one got a flat tyre – with such a big group was even more impressive!”
The 120-kilometre route took the riders towards West-Brabant.
Talking to Karsten after the event, it is clear that he is happy about the increase in interest that his colleagues showed in the Ride for the Roses event. “Last year, 11 people. This year, 23. Maybe we will have 46 people next year. It is possible to choose from various distances so there is something for everyone. I would like to thank Damen Naval for sponsoring us again this year. This raises a significant amount of money for a very worthy cause.”
"It is possible to choose from various distances so there is something for everyone." Karsten de Feijter
Ricarda Lang as she was gearing up for her race.
The Damen Naval participants:
Ricarda Lang, Marcel van Dalen, Rik Meerman, Tijs Buijs, Danijel Jurisic, Koen Audenaert, Arend van Veelen, Kees Houtepen, Alfred Verdonk, Raymond Vermeulen, Rini Verdonck, Nico Oertel, Roberto Santoro, Kenneth van de Sande, Jasper Oreel, Peter Werner, Peter Verstraate, Wieb Hoogerwerf, Karsten de Feijter, Thijmen Cornelissens, Bram de Visser, Wim de Nooijer, Jacco Ringelberg.
If you are interested in taking part in next year’s Ride for the Roses, you can email Karsten de Feijter.