Through the region where Robben's talent matured

The whole world follows with admiration the performance of the Dutch team at the Football World Cup in Brazil. The next hurdle awaits on Sunday: Mexico. Eyes will mainly be focused on Arjen Robben, the lightning bolt from Bedum who shows every defender his heels. In the match against Spain, Robben even sprinted past defender Sergio Ramos at 37 kilometers per hour, a speed that the average recreational cyclist does not yet travel. That's not necessary, because with this tour through and around Bedum you can take a leisurely look at the environment in which Robben grew up. You start this route in Bedum at the Boterdiep, a seventeenth-century canal that owes its name to the transport of dairy products. You will soon drive through the typical Groningen polder: a landscape veined with watercourses and consisting of meadows, fields and beautiful views. In towns with names such as Sauwerd, Wetsinge and Westerwijtwerd you will see many examples of characteristic Groningen houses. Onderdendam even has a protected village view. In this region, man has waged war with the sea for centuries. Areas were drained through mills: De Palen near Westerwijtwerd is one of the few remaining polder mills in this area, it was built in 1876. You also pass the flour mills Hunsingo (from 1855) and Zeldenrust (from 1845). Besides problems, the sea also brought benefits. She left behind heavy clay on the land, called nodding clay by the Groningen people. This clay turned out to be extremely suitable for baking bricks. There were once several brick factories along the Boterdiep, and cows now graze on the lush grass on the excavated land. You cycle through the Oudezijlsterpolder back to Bedum, the village where Arjen Robben learned to play football. Via VV Bedum and FC Groningen, the attacker ended up at major clubs such as Chelsea, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich. Four years ago, Robben won the world title in South Africa. Then Casillas' big toe prevented Bedum from becoming a place of pilgrimage for football fans. Hopefully this was just a delay...