ROLLER COASTER RIDE FOR 3RIDES AACHEN
The fourth edition of 3RIDES Aachen came to a premature end on Sunday with a rollercoaster of emotions. After World Champion Marianne Vos had put her stamp on the first race of the major event with a commanding victory and secured 3RIDES a dream start to the race weekend, the 3RIDES Gran Fondo had to be canceled at the start on Sunday morning.
“I can't describe what's going on inside me right now,” said Björn Müller, CEO of 3RIDES Aachen, in front of the participants who were already in the starting block. “It hurts my soul.”
On Saturday, the organizers had to keep a close eye on the weather situation before the 3RIDES Gravel Race could start. After a shower at the start, however, it remained dry and the more than 1600 participants delivered an exciting race through the Eifel.
World champion Marianne Vos from Team Visma | Lease a Bike and Niels Vandenputte from the Alpecin-Deceuninck Development Team were unbeatable over the 122 kilometers of the new course. While the Dutchwoman, who rode her only race in the rainbow jersey of the Gravel World Champion in Aachen, had already broken away from her last chasers in the second part of the first lap and pulled out a lead of 2:25 minutes by the finish, the 24-year-old Belgian won in a sprint. The cross specialist came out on top ahead of WorldTour pro Jonas Koch from Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe and Swiss rider Felix Stehli. In the women's race, Larissa Hartog from the Netherlands won the battle for second place ahead of Romy Kasper from Team Human Powered Health.
The organizers were able to chalk up the new route concept as a success. The 61-kilometre circuit, which has to be completed twice and starts and finishes in the south of Aachen, received rave reviews from elite and amateur riders alike. “It was a fantastic circuit, fast but challenging, lots of climbs, constantly changing terrain, it was great fun,” said three-time cyclo-cross world champion Mike Kluge.
3RIDES Aachen had already started on Friday with the first rides, which were also attended by 14-time Tour stage winner Marcel Kittel. The 37-year-old also took part in the 3RIDES Gravel Race.
The program at the new start and finish area included a large expo, workshops and a wide range of activities for young cyclists. There were also large starting fields for the so-called rides, the rides without timekeeping. On Saturday and Sunday, there were four distances each on the road and off-road.
Across all races and rides, a good 4,000 participants were registered for 3RIDES this year. Despite the weather conditions, the organizers were able to welcome around 15,000 visitors.
