This is actually really pathetic. Cars or trains can do it? Did it not occur to Europeans to hire a bus and take a mass number of riders during the night. They sleep and wake up in the Netherlands. How hard could it be? Get a train or car to Nice or somewhere in the South of France and then hop on the TGV and go to the North of France. Lazy *******s! My home state is roughly the same size as France, so yeah, I expect it wouldn't be much of a hassle to not have to take a plane. Why not use less robust forms of public transport? Western Europe has arguably the worlds best rail network. It would not take too long to make the race.
So perhaps the riders and teams can make a better excuse next time. This just makes the race easier for Gilbert to win with Wiggins, Sastre, Sanchez and Valverde all sitting it out. Not that I considered them all chances for the win (only the last two). Are all Europeans this full of themselves that they won't take a car or a bus to hope on a train that will get them to the Netherlands in a very short amount of time? Geographically the distance is far, but nothing modern transport, not just air travel, can handle.