Eneco Tour
The Eneco Tour is a professional stage race held in the Netherlands, bringing together men's and women's cycling in a six-day event. Relaunched under the Eneco name in 2026, the race builds on the return of the Tour of Holland in 2025 and the history of the Ronde van Nederland, which dates back to 1948. Its varied route features flat roads, individual time trials, short climbs and exposed terrain, creating opportunities for sprinters, classics specialists and general classification contenders.
When was the first edition of the Eneco Tour?
The origins of the current Eneco Tour date back to the first Ronde van Nederland, held in 1948. The inaugural race started in Amsterdam and took riders across the Netherlands before returning to the Dutch capital.
Belgian rider Emiel Rogiers claimed the first overall victory, ahead of Luxembourg's Jean Goldschmit and Dutch rider Arie Vooren.
The race continued for several decades, although its early history included interruptions. It became an annual fixture from 1975 until its final edition in 2004, when Dutch rider Erik Dekker secured the overall victory.
After a 21-year absence, the independent Dutch stage race returned in October 2025 as the NIBC Tour of Holland. French rider Christophe Laporte won the revived event, finishing ahead of Lukáš Kubiš and Jakob Söderqvist.
In 2026, the race adopted the Eneco Tour name, marking a new chapter in the history of Dutch professional cycling.
How did the Eneco Tour come into existence?
The Eneco Tour's roots lie in the Ronde van Nederland, a national cycling event first organised in 1948. The race grew into one of the Netherlands' most established professional stage races, attracting leading domestic and international riders.
In 2005, the original Tour of the Netherlands was replaced by the Eneco Tour, an international competition extending into Belgium as part of the newly established UCI ProTour.
That event continued under different names, becoming the BinckBank Tour in 2017, the Benelux Tour in 2021 and the Renewi Tour in 2023. The 2022 edition was cancelled, but the competition returned the following year and remains a separate WorldTour race.
Meanwhile, the Netherlands had been without its own independent national stage race since 2004. This changed in 2025, when TIG Sports & Events revived the event as the NIBC Tour of Holland.
In 2026, Dutch energy company Eneco returned to professional cycling as title sponsor, with the Tour of Holland becoming the new Eneco Tour.
The event also incorporated the former Simac Ladies Tour, bringing men's and women's professional racing together under one name. Unlike the original international Eneco Tour, the renewed event is organised entirely within the Netherlands.
Who has won the Eneco Tour the most times?
The record for the most overall victories in the historic Ronde van Nederland belongs to Dutch rider Gerrie Knetemann, who won the race four times.
Knetemann claimed his first victory in 1976 before adding further titles in 1980, 1981 and 1986. His achievements established him as the most successful rider in the competition's original history.
Other notable winners include Rik Van Looy, Jan Janssen, Joop Zoetemelk, Laurent Fignon and Erik Dekker, who won the race in 1997, 2000 and 2004.
Following the return of the Tour of Holland in 2025, Christophe Laporte became the first winner of the revived competition.
What category race is the Eneco Tour?
The Eneco Tour is classified as a UCI 2.1 stage race for both men and women and forms part of the international UCI road cycling calendar.
The men's competition returned in 2025 as the NIBC Tour of Holland, while the women's event builds on the established Simac Ladies Tour.
From 2026, both competitions take place under the Eneco Tour name, with parallel racing schedules and routes adapted to the respective fields.
