King Willem-Alexander opened the new production facility of the country's number one bicycle factory Royal Gazelle. And true to form the Dutch king also got on a bicycle for a test run. Not just some random bicycle though but an e-bike, a design which is still being developed and which got its first outing Thursday during the royal test run in front of the factory in the small town of Dieren. “Gee, this is fun”, the king said as he decided to make a second round on the test track.
Gazelle is a big name company in the Netherlands, a country with more bicycles than people. It is flat land, densely populated with a moderate climate, thus ideally suited for cycling. Millions do it every day: for school, work, commuting, shopping, sightseeing and sport. But for Gazelle to make inroads in foreign markets the Dutch bicycles need to be adapted. Not all countries are flat, not every country has a suitable climate. E-bikes (electronical bicycles) are the way forward, the way to the future, as the CEO explained at the inauguration.
Gazelle was proud the king himself was willing to open the new state of the art facility. It also sweetened the pill of having seen his daughter Princess Amalia ride a bicycle of competitor and rival Batavus to school only last week. But the royal family tries to balance its use of either product, with Willem-Alexander and Máxima riding Gazelle bicycles during a visit to Istanbul in 2012, but the king opting for Batavus in July for a touristic tour in Drenthe. “The most important is that they are using bicycles made in The Netherlands”, a spokeswoman for Gazelle said, downplaying the rivalry.
© RB; Photo's by © RPE Albert Nieboer; RB; RVD ZMK; MPE
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