Voiron (France) (AFP) – Dutch corner is known for being the biggest and craziest party in cycling.
Issued on: 23/07/2026 - 06:24
4 min Reading time
Thousands of orange-clad, booze-fuelled cycling enthusiasts and young revellers flock to corner seven of Alpe d'Huez every time the Tour de France climbs the iconic mountain.And they create a unique, noisy and hectic atmosphere -- even by Tour de France mountain pass standards.This year, the Tour will head up the 21 Alpe d'Huez hairpins on Friday -- and some of the Dutch fans rocking to Europop tunes will have already been there for days by the time the peloton passes.More Dutch riders have won a Tour de France stage on Alpe d'Huez than any other nationality, including the host country.For Dutch riders in the Tour, this will be a poignant moment."It's a super special mountain, of course, Dutch Mountain and the famous corner seven," said Dutch rider Thymen Arensman before the Tour began.Arensman has been on Dutch Corner before -- and not just for training rides."I have super special memories of this climb because when I was a little kid, like so many other Dutch people, I went there with my parents on holiday," said the 26-year-old Netcompany Ineos rider, who won two Tour stages last year."I was really keen and eager as a little child to do this climb also as fast as possible."So (I have) really good memories there from my childhood."Arensman and his Netcompany team-mates trained on the Alpe d'Huez hairpins before the Tour began."We did the climb a few times, but the climb is still just as hard as I remember as a little kid," he added."The famous corner seven will be amazing."
