Tents and mobile homes next to Dixie toilets, food and sales stands, plus a stage framed by large speakers and a video wall. Beats thump across the meadow and can be heard as far away as the nearby old town. The scene in front of the market hall in the centre of Sonthofen is reminiscent of a music festival. But people are wearing Lycra instead of leather, this weekend is all about light carbon fibre instead of heavy metal: the Rad Race 120 celebrates its premiere.
Team format is well received
The announcement promised a great racing bike festival: two days of racing in an innovative team format and on completely closed roads. The team time trial on Saturday is followed by the 126-kilometre race on Sunday, in which the third-fastest time of each team is counted. "I don't know if I would have wanted to take part if there hadn't been a team classification," says Lukas Möllenbeck from Team Hillstreet Larrys. The 28-year-old and three friends have signed up for a bike race for the first time. The team format that the organisers have come up with is a rarity on the cycling calendar and attracts many newcomers.
Mountain time trial at Rad Race 120
On Saturday, they will have to show what they can do when a steep mountain road on the outskirts of Sonthofen becomes the stage for the mountain time trial - four kilometres that pack a punch: 380 metres in altitude and ramps in the double-digit percentage range. Most of the teams compete in uniform jerseys. "Visually, only professionals are at the start," says Sebastian Kronschnabl from Baller Udos in Oy-Mittelberg. After the speaker has sent the riders onto the course, they race straight into a 15 per cent steep wall. From zero to breathless in just a few seconds. The steep serpentines wind their way up between lush green meadows. Spectators stand to the left and right of the track, cheering on the racers as they struggle for breath. After just a few bends, a wide view opens up over Sonthofen and the Allgäu Alps - but most of them are squinting diagonally upwards to guess how far it is to the finish. The fastest racers fly up the mountain at an average speed of 18 km/h.
A look at the results list shows: This is real cycling and not a cosy rock event. Michael Wittek from Gruppetto OAL Triathlon has also realised this: "I'm surprised by the density of performance." For the 33-year-old, the Rad Race 120 is also his first ever bike race - and he is really enjoying it.
The sun shines over the Allgäu
After weeks of continuous rain, the weather also plays along - the sun shines over Sonthofen. The best conditions for a premiere, which strictly speaking is not a premiere: in 2019, the Allgäu Triathlon and Hannes Hawaii Tours team organised the Zötler Gold Race. "I thought to myself, we have a cycling marathon and RTFs in the area, but not a race for everyone," says race inventor Marlon Wörndl, describing his idea. But then corona prevented the second edition, and then there were problems with the authorisation. The Zötler Gold Race still took place without complete road closures and police security. It was not until the repeat attempt that it was realised that this was not possible in Germany. Wörndl, who works for the Allgäu-based sports event specialist Project 808, realised that an elaborate road closure was only worthwhile if the race was big enough. This led to his idea of getting the event agency Rad Race on board to relaunch the event. The agency has built up a strong community over the years - 134,000 followers on Instagram reflect this. Rad Race brought in reach, sponsors and ideas, and the Allgäu team around Marlon Wörndl brought in the beautiful routes and a sharpened event profile: only teams, optimised routes and a complete road closure.
Closed roads at Rad Race 120
The closed roads are the biggest plus point of the Rad Race 120 - but with almost 2000 starters on the flat kilometres at the start of the road race, there is still a risk of accidents. This is why the participants are spread over three starting blocks in the centre of Sonthofen. In addition, the first six kilometres with the many roundabouts and changes of direction are run in a neutralised manner, which is stress-free. Everyone behaves considerately - nobody brakes frantically or crosses the road. Then it's off on large, wide country roads through the Oberallgäu and over the border into Vorarlberg in Austria. The route leads through green mountain meadows and occasionally through villages where the athletes are enthusiastically cheered on. In the Nagelfluhkette Nature Park with its green alpine meadows, small streams, mountain forests and rock faces in the distance, it quickly becomes clear why this is a popular holiday region. The field has stretched out after the first 50 kilometres, so most of the riders have time to admire the landscape.
Young field of participants
Even if not everyone rides together as a team throughout the course, groups in uniform, stylish jerseys can always be seen. The appearance of many riders is visibly different from the usual field of participants at other cycling events: Unusual tattoos, moustaches, large, mirrored glasses dominate, along with clothing from brands such as MAAP, Pas Normal Studio, Rapha and team jerseys. It is also remarkable that the Rad Race 120 is young and female: almost a third of the starting field are women, their average age is 32 (34 for the men). When the presenter had previously asked participants at the briefing to applaud to show whether they were riding a bike race for the first time, around half of them clapped. The Corona racing bike boom is bearing fruit. It's not just the Rad Race 120 website ("One Twenty") that is dominated by English: the speaker who gets people in the mood for the weekend at the briefing is also "totally stoked" with anticipation, Sonthofen becomes "SoHo", the start area becomes a "cage", the organising team wishes "mucho love", and in the end everything was "fuxxxing amazing".
Cool & commercially sophisticated
The Rad Race 120 is also a commercial event: in addition to the stage, major companies in the industry are courting wealthy customers. The sponsors are skilfully integrated into the communication, and the entry fee of 99 euros per person is no bargain. In return, there is information via Rad Race WhatsApp broadcast on mobile phones, a live stream of the race and then photos and videos for the social media profiles of the starters. In short: the Rad Race 120 is unique in its mix.
Many spectators cheer on
But where there is light, there is also shadow: Filled water bottles, bars and gels are handed out at the refreshment stations - a good, perfectly organised service. However, even kilometres after the stations, there is a conspicuous amount of packaging from gels or bars and even drinking bottles in the meadow and on the road. Apparently, many participants simply threw their rubbish away. This is particularly shameful because the region gives the cyclists an enthusiastic welcome: All along the route there are always spectators cheering, clapping or playing music to create a good atmosphere. The cheers are particularly strong at the sporting highlight of the race: the Riedberg Pass. Germany's highest pass road is up to 16 per cent steep and a real climbing test with an average gradient of almost 9 per cent. Up to the top of the pass, groups of spectators keep motivating the participants, who pull desperately on the handlebars. After the Riedberg Pass, there is a fast, safe descent before turning left again towards Sausteig. For the second time on this day, you ride the loop over the narrow road to the Rohrmoossattel: embedded in a lovely mountain landscape, it is one of the most beautiful sections of the route.
Fiery finale at Rad Race 120
A real festival needs a finale where the light show and music build up to an ecstatic finale. At Rad Race 120, a final steep ramp before the finish arch is the highlight: the finish is accompanied by cheering spectators, loud beats, colourful Bengalos and a speaker who uses the microphone to give a final cheer. The car park behind the finishing arch is full of cyclists - Lukas Möllenbeck from the Hillstreet Larrys is also at the finish line with three friends - all between 28 and 29 years old, and they all enjoyed their first bike race very much. "Megacool," is their verdict. The four Hessians come from the Bergstrasse district and discovered road cycling during the coronavirus pandemic.
Insta attracts starters
The coronavirus pandemic has brought a lot of people onto road bikes and the Rad Race Instagram page to their first bike race. This also applies to the "good girls gone ballern" team from Munich. The five women have only been riding narrow tyres for a year and ride together a lot in their free time - 31-year-old Jill Hovekamp came up with the idea via Instagram. The women enjoyed the race. "It was very well organised - only the information about the starting grid came late," says Corinna Assenbrunner (34). They were also motivated by the community effect. They have this in common with the team "ACC - They see us Aperollin" from Lindau: "The ranking wasn't the deciding factor - we were more interested in the shared event." Their conclusion: "Megacool!" Even if the beautiful weather after a long period of rain in the Allgäu certainly had a positive effect on the atmosphere - at the finish line, there were only good things to say about the event. The Rad Race 120 made a strong debut and is an enrichment for the racing calendar - the bar is set high for the repeat festival in 2024.
Kristian Bauer
Editor
