Those who like diversion when it comes to cycling will love the Saturday at Rad am Ring. This year even more so as some premiers were added to the offer: a mountain bike marathon, a kids race and a freestyle competition. Not to forget the varied framework program that was extended in 2017 as well. The 24h-race that started today around noon nevertheless remains the center piece of Rad am Ring.
“If you stop pedaling you will topple over“ – what is true for the bicycle is also true for Rad am Ring. This year, the festival has developed further in the direction of being 360 degrees of cycling. In 2017, e.g., a mountain bike marathon on Grand Prix circuit and in the area around the Ring with a choice of three distances (25, 50 and 75 km) was added to the offer for cross-country enthusiasts.
On the short distance Corinna Faeser (1:44:21 h) and Torben Fibich (1:11:12 h) finished first. On the 50-kilometer course Daniela Gerhards (2:33:38 h) and Niklas Weiß (2:07:25 h) won. On the long distance Theresa Schwenk was the fastest female rider in 3:38:08 hours and mountain bike pro Karl Platt the fastest male starter in 2:55:19 hours. He took advantage of the race as a warm-up for the 24h-race that he rides in a team of eight for charity team Ledschends. Also last year’s pro race winner Paul Voß and the former pro racer René Haselbacher ride for team Ledschends – as well as US marine Armando Espinoza from Maui, Hawaii (see press release of July 20).
The riders of whom many thousands were sent on the course today make the 24h-race what it is: the center piece of Rad am Ring and a unique experience for everyone who takes part, supports riders or watches the race. After the start on Saturday, riders will have time to gather as many laps as possible until Sunday at noon.
One or two laps on Grand Prix circuit were ridden by the young riders taking part in the first Kids Race. Children age 8 to 10 years rode four kilometers, children age 11 to 14 years eight kilometers behind an original course vehicle. Of course, every finisher got a medal after the race. Winners were Asano Koki in 7:52 minutes and Cosima Jungfer in 9:44 minutes on the four-kilometer course as well as Milan Franken in 13:44 minutes and Nele von der Ruhren in 16:42 minutes on the eight-kilometer course.
In the course of Saturday, also the Freestyle riders returned time and again. Being the third premier in the Rad am Ring program, the bike acrobats showed their skills in a training session before they competed in a competition that Tom Pfeiffer won and which was part of the extended framework program that included furthermore live music, expert interviews and a live stream from the course in order to entertain every visitor (currently) not riding. “Thanks to Grofa – House of Brands who partnered with us last year we could implement a lot of ideas and take some important steps forward in the development of this event”, says head of organization Hanns-Martin Fraas.
A special guest will have the performance his heart goes out to on Sunday: Willi Altig will fire the gun to start the pro race that is named after his brother Rudi Altig who passed away in 2016 before the inaugural edition of “his“ race. For the pro riders in the strong field with teams like Russian equipe Gazprom RusVelo, Germany’s Lotto-Kern-Haus, Veranda's Willems-Crelan and WB Veranclassic Aqua Protect from Belgium as well as Team Vorarlberg from Austria it will be a tough day: about 140 kilometers and all in all more than 3,000 meters difference in altitude are waiting for them on which they cannot relax for a second.
The participants of the amateur races will by then be done and can watch the race with their feet put up. Winners in the 25-kilometer race were Julia Voss (51:40 min.) in the women’s category and Michael Hahn (42:09 min.) in the men’s category, in the 75 kilometer race Franziska Leuchter (2:17:47 h) and Nicolas Starosta (1:59:52 h) and in the 150-kilometer race Janine Meyer (4:25:48 h) and Bart van Damme (4:02:04 h).
For further information on these events and Rad am Ring in general please visit our website at www.radamring.de
About Rad am Ring
Rad am Ring is a cycling event which has taken place at Nürburgring since 2003. The course leads through the very modern Formula 1 arena and over the legendary Nordschleife. Highlights are the 24h races on the traffic-free, partly lit race course and the team quarters in the pit lane. Furthermore, in 2017 Rudi Altig Race, a pro race of UCI category 1.1 will take place for the second time. Besides the ultra- and the long-distance event several amateur races, a time trial, for the first time a mountain bike marathon and some bike rides without timekeeping are held at 2017 Rad am Ring. The amateur races are part of German Cycling Cup, Germany's largest series of amateur cycle races.
29.07.2017