On Monday 12 August, the Tour de France Femmes passed right through the Westland and passed our nursery. It was a unique opportunity to put the Westland’s ornamental horticulture sector on the world map.
The Tour de France Femmes is a large-scale event that started in the Netherlands this year, with the Grand Départ in Rotterdam. The first stage took the cyclists via Westland to the finish line in Kijkduin (The Hague). On Sunday 18 August, the Tour ends with a historic final stage to Alpe d’Huez. In total, over 154 cyclists, divided into 22 teams, will take part, covering a total of 949.7 kilometres and climbing 10,700 altimeters in eight stages.
France is one of our main markets for our Star Quality By5 Phalaenopsis, which made it extra special that the Tour de France Femmes passed through our region. With the presence of 1,000 journalists and media coverage in 190 countries, the event provided an excellent opportunity to highlight both our products and our region. Westland, known as the cradle of ornamental horticulture, thus had the opportunity to show its qualities and innovative strength to the world.
Ode to HERoes!
Together with our staff, we lined the road by our nursery to cheer on the top sportswomen. With our Star Quality By5 Phalaenopsis Alassio, Lime Light, Volterra, and the Dracaena Yellow Coast in the iconic yellow colour, we showed our support. Our banners, with encouraging texts, shined in the curves around the nursery and created a special moment of connection between sports and floriculture.
In addition, the floriculture sector collectively created an impressive mosaic of plants and flowers especially for the Tour de France Femmes. This work of art is a tribute to female cyclists who have only been officially allowed to participate in the sport since 1930 and reminds us of the achievements of Mien van Bree, the first female world champion in 1938. In doing so, we celebrate the advancement of women in cycling and put Dutch ornamental cycling in the global spotlight.
