Rad am Ring is back!
Over 8000 participants at the legendary race at the Nürburgring
Ambitious athletes, ex-professionals, but also leisure cyclists and even families will experience a unique weekend at the Nürburgring from 22 to 24 July. For two years, “Rad am Ring” had to be cancelled due to corona, but now organisation manager Hanns-Martin Fraas from the Eventwerkstatt was able to open the Ring for the athletes again. “We were able to continue seamlessly in 2019, the event is so well known and popular that we were able to start again with over 8000 participants. The athletes are very attached to Rad am Ring, many have been coming for years. But it was also a goosebump moment for me.”
24-hour race
The emotional heart of Rad am Ring is undoubtedly the 24-hour race, which is unique in this form worldwide. It is contested by teams with two, four or eight participants, but also by single riders. Around the clock, day and night, the participants conquer the challenging Nürburgring with its Formula 1 arena and the “Green Hell”, as the legendary Nordschleife is also respectfully called. At the same time, there is a 24-hour mountain bike race, on a course of about eight kilometres around the historic Nürburg. Two athletes from Pisa raved “We know the race track from motorsport, of course, and have always wanted to visit it, but we are surprised at how beautiful the landscape is here. At home everything is dried up and here it is so fresh and green.” The 24-hour race finishes at 12:15pm on Sunday.
Sporting highlights Friday and Saturday
Rad am Ring traditionally started with the time trial on Friday evening. Valentin Szalay was the fastest man over the 22-kilometre course in 32:49 minutes. Merle Brunneé won the women’s race in 37:36 min.
On Saturday, the so-called Everyman races started at 12:30 p.m. with disciplines over the distances of 25, 75 and 150 kilometres. This year Hanns-Martin Fraas could honour the following winners:
In the “Public Races”
25km men’s race:
1st place: Fiete Wittemeier (GER) won with 0:40:24 minutes
2nd place: Christian Schmitt (AUT)won with 0:40:38 minutes
3rd place: Hendrik Kaufmann (GER) with 0:41:08 minutes.
25km women’s race:
1st place: Steffi Lemke (GER) with 0:53:59 minutes
2nd place: Anne-Sophie Vandenbussche (FRA) with 0:54:37 minutes
3rd place: Daria Schilling (GER) with 0:55:52
75 km – Race- Men
1st place: Stefan Bechler 1:56:40
2nd place: Yente Nijs 1:56:40
3rd place: Patrick Dören 1:58:40
75 km – Race- Women
1st place: Jeal Heinrich 2:17:52
2nd place: Luisa Moroff 2:22:21
3rd place: Eliane Müggeler 2:24:43
The 150 km race
was not yet over at the time of going to press. All results can be found here: Results lists – Rad am Ring
Touring
On Saturday morning, almost 1,000 participants took part in the touring race. For three hours, the Nürburgring belonged to less athletically ambitious participants with a colourful mix of touring, trekking, citiy and e-bikes.
Rad am Ring for everyone
Part of the concept of Rad am Ring is the relaxed, family atmosphere. In addition to the ambitious races, there are also tourist circuits and children’s races. The competitions are spread over three days. There will be camping, partying and talking shop on the extensive grounds. “We see ourselves as a multidisciplinary cycling festival, we have offers for racers, mountain bikers and those interested in touring. We offer suitable activities for everyone. Families get their money’s worth here just as much as racers, and everything runs side by side in an informal way. I am impressed by this team spirit,” says Fraas.
The weather also contributed to this year’s success. While people in large parts of Germany suffered from the sweltering heat this weekend, pleasant, moderate summer temperatures prevailed in the Eifel.
World Press Cycling Championships
This year, the WPCC was held together with Rad am Ring at the Nürburgring. This World Press Cycling Championship takes place in a different country every year.