The interest in cycling is great, but not in cycling rides. Many small but also large events are closed. Leader of the Norwegian Cycling Association Arild Salte shouts a warning: – I am very worried about sports in general. When the small rides disappear, so do the medium-sized rides. It also has consequences for the big races, he says. Gloomy figures The figures are very gloomy for many bicycle races that were very popular for years: So far, 3,000 have signed up for Birken – a preliminary decline of over 80 percent from the peak years when the race was fully booked in seconds. In Stavanger, the North Sea Race this year had around 1000 participants. This is a decrease of 90 per cent from 2010. So far, the Border Ride between Strømstad and Halden has just over 500 registered, compared to seven thousand ten years ago. In Gudbrandsdalen, the terrain grit Furusjøen has around 40 participants so far. The same applies to TransØsterdalen on Tynset. Concerned Birken boss The decline in participants and rides worries the boss of Norway’s largest mountain bike race, Eirik Torbjørnsen in Birken. – It is very worrying that very many tour organizers both on the road and in the terrain are struggling with recruitment. We depend on them succeeding for us to get good numbers of participants with us. He states that the interest in cycling is great, and believes that the rules for arranging rides may have become too strict and complicated: – Today, there are regulations that make it very demanding in terms of planning and cost to implement. That must change, says Torbjørnsen. CONCERNED: Birken boss Eirik Torbjørnsen is worried about failing participation. Photo: Sindre Auståker Johansen / news One of the races that has had to be canceled is Hedmarksvidda Rundt i Innlandet. They could not set in motion a large charity, but risked having to pay the bill themselves. Organizer Martin Skramstad believes the corona is one of the reasons. – Now many competitions take place on digital surfaces. He also points to another trend: – People wait until the last minute to sign up because they want to see the weather. It must be good weather and tailwind. We struggle a bit with that because we have to rig a fairly large device to get a ride, says Skramstad. Is still optimistic But Arild Salte in the Norwegian Cycling Association is still optimistic. – There have probably never been more cyclists out on the roads. But they have not gotten into the limelight to attend events. We as organizers simply have to get people back. He believes there must be more focus on public health and ordinary people and not just the fastest. – We must have the breadth, you do not live only on top sports. And there are promising signs in the recruitment: – To get more young people on the bike seat, it is important that the cycling schools get started after the pandemic, says Leader of the Norwegian Cycling Federation Innlandet, Kjell Bjertnes. When the cycling school in Elverum started after being closed to the corona, it gained 50 new members. The kids involve the parents, and then they sign up together. – Make it easy to join. But we must reckon that it will take some time to build up a new such wave, says Bjertnes.
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Dramatic decline for cycling, Birken is worried – news Innlandet – Local news, TV and radio
