story & photo
by Angela Olsen

(l-r) Eddie Oomen, Team Manager, Flying Dutchmen, with the Flying Dutchmen cyclists: Jan Van Vliet, Mick Kallenfels, Jerry Kallenfels, Thomas Polak, Robin Van der Lijn, and Bob Verkooijen competed in the third annual Whaling City Cyclone event held in Fort Trumbull.

Beware of the Flying Dutchmen, a team of cyclists from Holland, as they swept the reigning champs on Saturday, June 12th at The Nutmeg Classic Criterium in New Britain, buzzing by them like a swarm of killer bees!  They also competed on Sunday in New London, their “home away from home,” in the third annual Whaling City Cyclone event held in Fort Trumbull.  To this team of six cyclists, riding is their life!

Bill Humphreys, race coordinator, Whaling City Cyclone, explained to me that cycling is to these youngsters as baseball is to the average American kid.

Sporting snappy Rogelli cycling jerseys, which proudly display the names of local sponsors, Mystic.org and Mohegan Sun Casino, the boys were ready to defend their title.  They did quite well but didn’t win this event.

The defeat isn’t keeping these happy Europeans down though, Bill arranged a fun-filled week for them, including a trip to Block Island on Monday, where a pickup game of soccer turned into a sand-hurling skinny-dipping hootenanny, and Tuesday, a trip to our local gem, the Mystic Aquarium.

I stumbled upon the athletes for the second time, to see how they are enjoying the Nutmeg State, and they were awestruck, while petting cow-nose rays at one of the exhibits at the Aquarium.  The media often states that the people of Holland are among the happiest on the planet, and they attribute this to the healthy side effects of cycling.

Although they have visited the US before, this is their first trip to CT, which,  Jan Van Vliet says, “It’s a beautiful state, everything is so green and I love the Coast!”  Jan, among several of his teammates comes from a long line of cyclists, his father is a former professional.

Thomas Polak, says, “When I was young, I dreamed of being a professional cyclist, but now I’m older I realized it’s really hard to become a (professional cyclist.)  But I still hope one day I can start in races as the ‘Tour de France,’ or ‘Paris Roubaix.’  But what I am doing right now is fine for me, too.  I will always love riding a bike!”

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