It turns the cyclists who wear the reflective vest into the gravel road. They drive across the sand of the beach volleyball field, back along the lawn edge and through the deep gravel near the swings to the stairs. The loudspeaker’s voice sounds from the loudspeaker: “And now you will be shouldered again. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, this is Racquet in the middle of the city. “The numerous spectators in the park, including many families, rejoice.
Urban Cycle cross is the race that took place on Saturday for the second time in the middle of Zurich’s industrial quarter. It is part of the international cross-country cycling circuit EKZ Cross Tour on the occasion of the Urban Bike Festival, which lasts till tonight. President Christian Rocha says: «Today Vela is driven mainly in the city. That is why we have moved one of our races into the urban environment and adjusted the conditions somewhat.
In contrast to open field runs, the circuit is shorter. Started in small groups, amateurs and professionals mixed. The best drivers are coming.
At the other end of the viaduct the first athletes race down the stairs, one running, and the others in the saddle. Take course direction children’s pool. “Hoppy, hoppy”, call the audience. A trainer who wear reflective jacket runs over the meadow back to the goal at Josef stressed. His driver passes the Pump track crosses the line as the second of the series. Two men are warming up on the bicycle roller next to the refuse incineration.
The trend from cycling to top sport has long since arrived in the city. One and a half bicycles are owned by every Zurich household, the Vela is a lifestyle product. The Urban Bike Festival, which takes place for the second time around the shipbuilding sector, is also a showcase of vela culture and urban mobility. The place reflects the atmosphere that fits the current vela culture. Co-organizer Erwin Flurry says: “The traditional means of transport is currently undergoing enormous development. Just like the Zurich-West district.
Where the Vela trend is about cycling must wear safety vest, the festival is unmistakable. Almost every second booth, electric bikes are ready for the test, the selection almost overwhelming. It ranges from the purist, whose battery is hardly noticeable in the frame, over the sprung e-mountain bike, which resembles a motorcycle, to the sleek E-design wheel, which has installed the whole on-board computer in the frame. The paragraph gives the manufacturers the right. Last year alone, the 325,000 bicycles sold in Switzerland sold more than one in five.