This year’s edition of the DELTA Ride for the Roses charity cycle ride, held over the second weekend of June, raised a record breaking €482,630 for cancer research. A team of 24 riders participated on behalf of Damen Naval, cycling either 120, 80 or 25 kilometres.

The Damen Naval peloton was coordinated by Karsten de Feijter, who works in the Procurement Department. “Not only did we have more colleagues joining this year compared to last year – but we had five nationalities on our team, and they represented almost all departments of Damen Naval,” he says.

Some of the Damen Naval participants pose before the start of the 120km and 80km races. Some of the Damen Naval participants pose before the start of the 120km and 80km races.

Setting off from Goes on the morning of Saturday 8 June, the ‘120km’ group headed for the Zeelandbrug. “The bridge was closed to cars during the race which allowed us to ride on the right half of the road, leaving the left half open for emergency services. It was a nice experience to pass the bridge with thousands at the same time,” says Karsten.

The weather was not too warm, not too cold, and mostly dry. But, on Neeltje Jans, the riders faced the typical southwest heavy winds. Nevertheless, they managed to average just over 31 km per hour, finishing the race in under four hours. Karsten: “The fact that we didn’t have any technical stops with such a big group – no one got a flat tyre – was even more impressive!”

The weather was not too warm, not too cold, and mostly dry. The weather was not too warm, not too cold, and mostly dry.

Karsten is happy about the increase in interest that his colleagues showed in the DELTA Ride for the Roses, both in participating and in sponsoring. “For next year, the idea is to expand again. It is possible to choose from different distances, so there is something for everyone. I would like to thank Damen Naval and our colleagues for sponsoring us again this year. This raises a significant amount of money for a very worthy cause. In total, Damen Naval raised more than €1900.”

The Damen Naval team:
Anne-Marie Schipper, Danijel Jurisic, Joost Steenbakker, Emilia Lesniewska, Dennis den Engelsman, Sebastian Dydak, Jordy Fiktorie, Hylke Bosma, Wim de Nooijer, Karsten de Feijter, Rik Meerman, Wieb Hoogerwerf, Rini Verdonck, Tijs Buijs, Peter Verstraate, Jacco Ringelberg, Danny Smit, Kenneth van de Sande, Peter Werner, Tjeu Snoeijs, Peter van Terwisga, Roland Briene, Hans van Gemeren en Roberto Santoro.

Are you interested in taking part in next year’s DELTA Ride for the Roses? Send an email to Karsten de Feijter: k.de.feijter@damennaval.com.

The 120km race took riders across the Zeeland Bridge and the Oosterscheldekering (Eastern Scheldt storm surge barrier). The 120km race took riders across the Zeeland Bridge and the Oosterscheldekering (Eastern Scheldt storm surge barrier).
To overview