Translated, brevet means, among other things, certificate. In cycling, successfully completing a brevet means having covered a certain number of kilometres in a given time. Year in, year out, old and new randonneurs, as long-distance cyclists are called, take part in various such tests. It starts in spring with a 200-kilometre ride, followed a little later by a 300-kilometre tour, then 400, 600 and in some places even 1000 or 1200 kilometres.
Step by step, you feel your way towards longer and longer distances. With a successfully completed brevet series (200, 300, 400, 600 kilometres), you can qualify for Paris-Brest-Paris. Like the Olympic Games, the Paris-Brest-Paris brevet only takes place every four years and is over 1200 kilometres long.
A brevet is not a race
A brevet is not a race, nor is the legendary Paris-Brest-Paris overland event. A brevet is about completing the route in the maximum time allowed - and in the minimum time allowed. In 2023, the fastest Paris-Brest-Paris participant was too fast, TOUR reported.
Paris-Brest-Paris: You have to look for women
The legendary Paris-Brest-Paris long-distance bike ride takes place every four years, including in 2023. ARA Munich / Upper Bavaria, the organisers of the Munich Brevet Series, have analysed the participants in the 1200-kilometre ride through France.
Well, I guess we have to do something for the women's quota - Jörg Kurzke, ARA Munich Upper Bavaria
Short digression
ARA stands for Audax Randonneurs Allemagne, the name under which brevet organisers have joined forces. "Audax Randonneurs Allemagne generously translates as independent (also: "independent", "daring") cyclists of Germany." according to the ARA website.
- Brevet: Long-distance cycling marathon
- Audax: organised long-distance event in which a long distance (200 km or more) is completed in a closed formation at an average speed of 22.5 km/h
Back to Paris
20 August 2023, Rambouillet near Paris, the starting point of the Brevet Paris-Brest-Paris since 2019, thousands of people with bikes set off on the route in their respective starting windows. To be precise, there were 6810 people and certainly a similar number of bikes. Of these, 759 people were from Germany and 45 of them were women, about 6 per cent. Wow, how few. And the number of women from Germany taking part in the Paris-Brest-Paris Brevet is stagnating, in other countries it looks a little different writes Sara Hallbauer on her blog bikepackers.de.
Jörg Kurzke, organiser of the Munich brevets, has also noticed this and takes up the topic in his welcoming speech for the German participants: "Well, I guess we have to do something about the women's quota".
An autumn brevet, an idea
To round off the season, ARA München Oberbayern organised the 200-kilometre Inntal-Rundfahrt. Sara Hallbauer did not miss out on this tour. You might think Sara is at home on the long distance. Of course, she was also at the start of the 2023 Paris-Brest-Paris Brevet, and of course she noticed the low number of women there. Sara ... who? Tour readers may recognise her from her 4500 kilometre tour to the North Cape as part of the Northcape4000 event. Sara completed the qualifying brevets for Paris-Brest-Paris at ARA München Oberbayern. She is therefore well connected in the scene and knows the names and faces - and the people know her. During the Inntal Tour, Sara forges a plan together with Kathi and Lisa: a women-only brevet is needed!
Said ...
The Werdenfels Women's Tour
... done. The wild idea quickly turned into a concrete plan. On 20 July 2024, the very first women-only brevet will take place in Germany. Starting at 3mills, a bike shop and café in Munich, the route will take riders to Lake Starnberg, through Murnauer Moos and over the Ettaler Sattel to Partenkirchen. Walchensee, Kochel and Benediktbeuern are highlights on the way back to Munich. As befits a 200 brevet, a time limit of 13.5 hours has been set. And in true brevet style, each participant can choose her own pace and ride alone or in a group.
There is great interest in the women-only brevet, and just a few days after registration opened, the 120 starting places for the Werdenfelser Frauen Rundfahrt were already fully booked.
Sandra Schuberth
Editor
