The multi-storey car park at the Lengermann & Trieschmann (L&T) fashion store in Osnabrück was transformed into an unusual criterium circuit spread over two floors – complete with tight bends, inclines, mass starts and thrilling sprints. The ‘Tour de Park(h)our’ event was organised by the Osnabrück cycling community ‘Team Tanke’, which introduced a new urban racing format to the city.
From 9 am, participants began arriving to check in, before taking the time to familiarise themselves with the course during a walkabout. There were 75 starting places available for adults, with a further 25 reserved for a free kids’ race for children aged three to five. The race demanded technical skill rather than traditional endurance. Particularly tricky bends were secured with bales of straw for safety – yet there were still a number of falls throughout the day. However, there were only grazes and no serious injuries.
Mass start in the car park
The competition was divided into several stages: in qualifying, all competitors first raced individually against the clock. After two warm-up laps, two timed laps counted, with the faster of the two being included in the rankings. These rankings formed the basis for the allocation of semi-final groups, in each of which a maximum of five riders competed simultaneously in a mass start. Women and men rode on separate courses. Only the top-placed rider in each group progressed to the final; the remaining places in the final were allocated based on finishing times. In the final race, the order of arrival once again determined who won the ‘Tour de Park(h)our’ and stood on the podium at the end.
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A fun event
As well as the sporting competition, the event also featured a supporting programme of music, street food and a festival atmosphere right in the city centre. According to the organisers, the concept is designed to combine sporting achievement with urban lifestyle, food culture and modern mobility – bringing cycling to places where you wouldn’t expect it. The people of Osnabrück didn’t invent the idea of a cycle race in a multi-storey car park: cycle races had already taken place in multi-storey car parks in Düsseldorf, Cologne and also in Eindhoven.
The winners of the inaugural event
The fastest riders and the winners of the first final:
Women
- Vera Baye – 08:08 mins.
- Sophia Grass – 08:10 mins.
- Julia Brockmeyer – 08:13 mins.
Men
Fynn’s appointment – 7 minutes
Janis Zipfel – 7 minutes 9 seconds
Fynn Bergmann – 07:23 mins
Kristian Bauer
Editor
