Sports calendar April 2021
The weather is becoming increasingly sunny, and many people are turning to outdoor sports now that gyms are closed. In the month of April, we have a multitude of sports: Formula 1, tennis, cycling (spring classics), gymnastics, curling, and chess. Do you have these themes in your collection? It is time to watch these beautiful sports on television on NOS, Eurosport, or Ziggo Sport.
2 – 11 april: WK Curling (Calgary, Canada)
Curling is a precision sport similar to bowls, petanque, and bocce, but played on ice with heavy stones instead of metal (or plastic) balls. It is generally believed that the sport was invented in 16th-century Scotland, although the painting 'Hunters in the Snow' by Pieter Bruegel the Elder from 1565 depicts Dutch peasants playing the game. Curling as it is played today was developed in Scotland. The international organization for curling, the World Curling Federation, is based in Perth, Scotland.
Curling was a demonstration sport at the 1992 Winter Olympics (see French stamp) Albertville below). The match was held in the village of Pralognan. Since 1998, curling has been an official Olympic winter sport (see Japanese seal) Nagano below). World Championships have been held for men since 1957 and for women since 1979.
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Further down in the blog, you will see two Vancouver (2010) stamps. Below is one of the mascots of the Paralympic Games, a 'wheelchair curler'. On the right is the stamp from the Sochi Winter Games (2014).
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Curling is a very popular sport in Canada. It is played at a high level by clubs. Many medals were also won during the Winter Games. In the period 1998–2018 (6 Winter Games), the men won 3 gold and 2 silver medals. The women won 2 gold, 1 silver, and 2 bronze medals. During the 2018 Olympic Games in Pyeongchang, mixed doubles was included in the program for the first time. There, the Canadians won gold.
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Over the years, various game moments were depicted on Canadian stamps.
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During the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City (2002), the United States did not issue a stamp but a special cancellation. Curling was played in Ogden (Utah).
The British ladies won gold at this Salt Lake City (2002) and received a special stamp from the curling stone.
The World Curling Championships in Calgary will take place from April 2 to 11, in a sealed 'bubble' and therefore without spectators. The Netherlands will compete against Canada, China, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Norway, the Russian Federation, Scotland, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United States, the reigning Olympic champion. The top 6 of the World Championships will qualify directly for the 2022 Winter Games, while the remaining teams have a second chance via the Olympic Qualification Tournament. Upon arrival in Calgary, players and staff had to quarantine separately first and were allowed to gather after negative tests. Where possible, the teams are kept separate. The Canadian women's and men's championships were previously held at the same location, where the bubble strategy proved its worth.
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Finally, these special stamps from Canada (1988) in Sharjah (1968). The designer of the Canadian stamps (1988) was Pierre-Yves Pelletier, from Montreal. His assignment was to create a design that would promote the sport, not individual athletes or teams. He had to develop a technique that eliminated details, yet kept each sport identifiable. Pierre-Yves Pelletier selected photos of athletes and adjusted them using a special screening technique. Six-sided dots of varying sizes were placed over each photo on a 900-square grid to produce the desired image. The numerical data was read by the computer and sent to a laser printer. Anyone who knows why Sharjah issued the curling stamp in 1968 is welcome to comment. More info:
https://www.curling.nl/
https://worldcurling.org/
April 4: Tour of Flanders (Belgium)
The 105th Tour of Flanders is on the schedule. The cycling extravaganza through the Flemish countryside offers, as always, a variety of steep (cobblestone) climbs. The distance is likely 244 kilometers, with the Oude Kwaremont and the Paterberg marking the finale. For many teams, the Tour of Flanders is traditionally one of the highlights of the season. In addition to the 19 UCI WorldTeams, 6 UCI ProTeams are also at the start of Flanders' Finest. The winner of the 105th edition of the Tour will therefore come from one of these 25 teams. Mathieu van der Poel is the defending champion. Last year, he beat Van Aert in a two-man sprint, after which Kristoff sprinted to third place.
Winners of 2021: Men: Kasper Asgreen Women: Annemiek van Vleuten More info:
https://www.rondevanvlaanderen.be/nl/rvv/elite-mannen
https://www.rondevanvlaanderen.be/nl/rvv/elite-vrouwen
5 – 10 April: Tour of the Basque Country (Spain)
Just as the dust settles from the Tour of Flanders, the WorldTour peloton sets off in Bilbao for the Tour of the Basque Country. On April 5, the grueling six-day race begins with an individual time trial. And the field of participants is mouth-watering, including the duel between Tadej Pogańar and Primož Roglič . Last year, the race was not held due to the coronavirus crisis. Roglič won the race in 2018.
The race is called 'Itzulia' by the Basques. The first seven Itzulias took place between 1924 and 1930. It is striking that only the seventh edition produced a Spanish winner. It took a long time before the Tour of the Basque Country as we know it today was back on the calendar. The first edition of this 'new' race was held in 1969. Just as in the first edition in 1924, a Frenchman won; this time it was Jacques AnquetilIn the editions that followed, many big names stood on the final podium. Riders such as Luis Ocaña, Sean Kelly, Stephen Roche, Tony Rominger, and Alex Zülle grace the list of winners of the Basque multi-day race.
9 – 11 April: European Rowing and Para-Rowing Championships (Varese, Italy)
The Netherlands is participating in Varese with a large men's and women's team. For example: the Holland eight, the women's eight, quadruple sculls (men and women), coxless four (men and women), double sculls (men and women), and single sculls (men and women). We are also competing in the para-rowing races with the mixed four and mixed double sculls. A great preparation for the upcoming Olympic Games.
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[/one_half_last] More info:
https://roeien.nl/
http://vareserowing.com/
April 11: Paris-Roubaix (France)
The 118th edition of Paris-Roubaix is scheduled for Sunday, April 11, but according to rumors, the race will be postponed until the autumn. But whether it is spring or autumn, and whether it is raining or dry, with the more than 50 kilometers of cobblestones on the course, the race is always a grueling test for the riders. Will it be slipping and sliding on the medieval cobblestones, or will they be eating dust? Spectacle is always guaranteed in the Hell of the North.
Breaking news 1 april 2021:
The organizers of Paris-Roubaix have finally made the decision 10 days before the scheduled date: the Hell Classic will not be held this spring either. Organizer ASO is moving the race to the end of the season due to the coronavirus (France's complete lockdown), on October 2 for the women and October 3 for the men. Last year, Paris-Roubaix was also cancelled due to the coronavirus crisis. There also seems to be a curse on the women's edition of the Hell Classic, which was scheduled to be organized for the first time in 2020.
April 13 – 18: Billie Jean King Cup (Budapest, Hungary)
The Billie Jean King Cup, known as the Federation Cup before 1995 and the Fed Cup from 1995 through 2020, is an annual international tennis competition for national teams, reserved for women. Nearly 100 countries participate in the tournament, which has been held since 1963. The Billie Jean King Cup enjoys great prestige among top tennis players. Consequently, most top players are eager to represent their country in this competition.
April 16–18: Formula 1 Grand Prix (Imola, Italy)
Formula 1 returns to Imola in 2021. After returning to the 2020 F1 calendar with a one-off race at Imola, Formula 1 is making a comeback. It returned as the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix in 2020 because F1 needed suitable circuits within Europe to help put together the calendar. The choice to travel to Northern Italy again is a logical one. With the rescheduling of Australia and the uncertainty surrounding Shanghai, the F1 organization is choosing to fall back on locations that saved the F1 season last year. After Bahrain and Imola, there will be another Portuguese GP on May 2, and on May 9, they will travel to Spain, where the regular European season was actually supposed to begin.
<strong> More info: </strong> https://www.formule1.nl/
16 – 18 April: EK Judo (Lissabon, Portugal)
The 32nd European Judo Championships for men and women are being held at the Altice Arena in Lisbon, Portugal. 359 judokas (210 men and 159 women) from 45 countries are participating in the tournament. For the judokas of TeamNL, this tournament is the final major assessment in the Olympic qualification process. In three weight classes, the Dutch still have to determine amongst themselves who will go to Tokyo, as only one judoka per country is allowed to participate in the tournament per weight class during the Games. This applies to Sanne van Dijke and Kim Polling (-70 kg), Guusje Steenhuis and Marhinde Verkerk (-78 kg), and Henk Grol and Roy Meyer (+100 kg). National coach Maarten Arens: 'Lisbon is the final assessment. After that, the selection committee will make a decision.'
18 april: Amstel Gold Race
The 55th edition of the Amstel Gold Race will be held on Sunday, April 18. The only Dutch UCI WorldTour Classic has existed since 1966. As expected, the race will take place on a closed 17-kilometer circuit in South Limburg. The Cauberg, the Geulhemmerberg, and the Bemelerberg will be the decisive climbs in the local circuit, which will be completed seven times by the women and thirteen times by the men. However, the men will bypass the Cauberg on their final lap. The finish is in Berg en Terblijt, just like in 2019, but the start has been moved. Due to the measures in place, it is not at the Vrijthof in Maastricht, but at the top of the Cauberg. The organizers encourage the public to follow the race from home. This is possible via TV and the internet from start to finish.
April 19 – 28: Chess Candidates Tournament (Yekaterinburg, Russia)
The FIDE Candidates Tournament is being held in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg. The tournament began in the spring of 2020 but was suspended due to the coronavirus. The winner of the Candidates Tournament will compete for the world chess title in a match against reigning world champion Magnus Carlsen (Norway).
Eight chess players are participating. Three Russians: Kirill Alekseenko, Alexander Grischuk, and Ian Nepomniachtchi. Also participating are: the Dutchman Anish Giri, the American Caruana, two Chinese: Wang Hao and Ding Liren, and the Frenchman Maxime Vachier-Lagrave.
The first half of the tournament was played from March 17 to March 25, 2020. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the tournament was suspended halfway through, led by chess players Ian Nepomniachtchi and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave. The second half of the tournament will be played between April 19 and 28, 2021, also in Yekaterinburg.
The tournament is an eight-player, double round-robin tournament, which means there are 14 rounds in which every player faces each other twice: once with the black pieces and once with the white pieces.
The winner of the Candidates Tournament gets to compete against reigning World Champion Magnus Carlsen (Norway) in a match for the World Chess Title. In January 2021, FIDE announced that the 2021 World Chess Championship would take place from November 24 to December 16, 2021, in Dubai, as part of the 2020 World Expo. You will find the chess player Anish Giri in the sheets above. More info: https://en.candidates-2020.com/
April 21 – 25: European Gymnastics Championships (Basel, Switzerland)
The European Gymnastics Championships will take place in Basel, Switzerland, from April 21 to 25, provided coronavirus measures allow it. The European Championships serve as an important individual performance event for Olympic Games qualification based on the all-around score in the qualifying competition. The priority lies with potential individual qualification for the Tokyo Games and the preparation of those already qualified for the Olympic Games.
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https://www.basel2021.com/
https://dutchgymnastics.nl/
April 21: La Flèche Wallonne (Belgium)
The 85th edition of the Flèche Wallonne takes place on Wednesday, April 21. It is characterized by the steep Ardennes hills, with the Mur de Huy serving as the decisive factor since 1983. The steep 1,3-kilometer climb is on the menu multiple times and also serves as the final climb. This year, the Flèche Wallonne covers 192 kilometers. [One_half]
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April 25: Liège – Bastogne – Liège (Belgium)
The 107th edition of Liège-Bastogne-Liège takes place on Sunday, April 25. The distance is 259,5 kilometers and features eleven Ardennes climbs, almost all of which are located in the second half of the course. The steep Côte de la Roche-aux-Faucons is the final climb, and after the descent, the race finishes on the Boulevard d'Avroy in Liège.April 27 – May 2: Tour de Romandie (Switzerland)
The Tour de Romandie is an important test for many riders in the run-up to the Tour de France. For some Giro d'Italia participants, the stage race through the French-speaking part of Switzerland can also serve as final preparation. With two time trials and plenty of climbing, spectacle seems guaranteed in this WorldTour race. Who will succeed Primož Rogli in 2019?
Since its first edition in 1947, the Tour of Romandie has always gone ahead, but even a pandemic is no match for the Swiss race. Last year, the stage race was cancelled. The 2021 course is based on the proposals for the cancelled tour of 2020.
<strong> More info: </strong> https://www.tourderomandie.ch/ 
Another very nice blog post. I am a fan of football and cycling in particular, but the piece about curling was also fun to read. It's nice that there are so many stamps about sports. Who knows, maybe a few more will be added this summer if we become European champions?