The Bike Days kick off with an awards ceremony for the first time, with "Pro Velo" awarding prizes to the most bike-friendly towns in Switzerland in the Rythalle on Friday afternoon. 15,000 cyclists voted in an online survey and Burgdorf won the "Prix Velostädte" and was also crowned in the small towns category. The most bike-friendly medium-sized city is Chur, and the best large city is Winterthur.

After this overture, it's time for what is essential for the Bike Days: the sporting action begins, the mountain bikers get into the saddle and compete in the Öufi Cup celebrity race, initially exclusively for fame and glory. Team Scott takes the trophy ahead of teams BMC Switzerland and Team Giant.

After the celebrities, it's the professionals' turn on Friday evening, with the Eliminator race taking place for the second time at the Bike Days. The short course was compact and manageable in the jump trench, allowing visitors to follow the fast-paced race from start to finish. Patrick Lüthi and 2013 Swiss Eliminator Champion Marcel Wildhaber fought a dramatic neck-and-neck race, with Lüthi coming out on top. Third place went to the 2012 Eliminator World Champion Ralph Näf. Italian World Cup leader Eva Lechner was the clear winner in the women's race, ahead of world number 7 Kathrin Stirnemann and junior Aline Seitz.

The winner of the BMC Racing Cup on Saturday in the elite category is Nino Schurter, who clearly prevailed against his permanent rival Julien Absalon. Esther Süss dominated the women's race, also clearly pulling away from World Cup leader Eva Lechner.

Fresh line-up for 2014
"We will continue to develop the Bike Days program for next year," OC President Erwin Flury told Ride at the end of Bike Days 2013. And the event professional and his team are keeping their promise and taking the event to a new level in the run-up to and on site.The annual rendezvous did not have to be reinvented for the 2014 event, as the mixture of competition, contest, bike test and bike exhibition has already proven itself five times in Solothurn. Prior to Bike Days 2013, the event was separated from FAF AG, which is also responsible for freestyle.ch, and Bike Days.ch GmbH was founded. In the run-up to Bike Days 2014, the organizer restructured its personnel once again and used the twelve months of preparation time.New appearance
In January 2014, the national bike festival presented itself in a fresh new look, with the Kreienbühl und Vogler advertising agency giving the Bike Days media presence a major makeover. The advertising material with a stylized heart, formed from a bicycle chain, is bursting with affection for bikes. The #velolove14 campaign blows the same horn.

The social media audience was called upon to show their love for bikes via pictures, and many did. In line with the motto "After the event is before the event", the Bike Days media managers tirelessly fed the event page on Facebook with posts throughout the winter. This shows that the Bike Days organizers have their finger on the pulse of the times and have mastered the social media keyboard via Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

New elements in the Schanzengraben
The organizers have also made several adjustments to the event itself. In line with the promise of further development, the dirt jump features a higher take-off jump in the jump trench, while at the end of the course there is now a hip jump that pushes the riders to perform a variety of jumps. The dirt jump area is tidier overall and looks more harmoniously arranged in conjunction with the start/finish area of the BMC Racing Cup.

On Sunday, the dirt jumpers defied a gusty south-westerly wind and provided spectacle and emotion for the crowd, which lined up in large numbers in front of the jump trench. Ten riders started the final, the best of them all was the Englishman Matt Jones, who impressed the jury and the audience with a double back flip. The best Swiss rider was 21-year-old Jonas Turin from Ecublens in 6th place. Last year's Highest Air Contest gave way to the Team Battle this year and was a real treat for the spectators, as the team riders jumped over the dirtline in patriotic costumes.

New elements in the Rythalle
There is a new spectator stand in the Rythalle - because the Solothurn Theater is a guest there for a year - and gives this event area a new ambience. Access to this area from the Kiesplatz is narrow, unmarked and almost turns the supporting program there into an insider tip. To counteract this, security staff were posted in front of the hall from Sunday afternoon to show the public the way to the BMX finals. The final turned into a heated duel between the two BMX Flatland pros Viki Gomez and Dominik Nekolny, with the Czech Nekolny coming out on top.

New to the supporting program in the Rythalle are artistic cyclists and break dancers, who compete with BMX Flatland athletes. The organizer manages to elegantly incorporate these fringe sports into the supporting program and ensure a packed hall and a great atmosphere. The integration of breakdancing at a cycling event undoubtedly carries the risk of appearing silly - but the organizer manages to ensure that the flatland breakdance battle does not appear artificial, but comes across as natural. This creation of authenticity is probably one of the strengths of Bikedays.ch GmbH. The event and therefore the bike industry benefit from the organizer's experience with the freestyle.ch event, which is all about action sports and lifestyle.

The biggest change: the Chantierwiese
At previous events, exhibitors have repeatedly criticized the space allocation on the Chantierwiese. Sometimes the E-Bike Village, including the test course, was too big or too small or the composition of the bike brands on display was too heterogeneous. This year, the organizer has decided to take a radical step.

The Minidrome is disappearing from the Rythalle and is now located in a tent on the Chantierwiese, where it is creating a small but enthusiastic scene around the cult of the entry-level bike. The exhibitors from the urban bike sector located next door round off this innovation in a harmonious way. Toni Lecce from folding bike specialist Tern says: "We feel very much at home here. We are in much better hands at this location than last year up on the gravel square".The trial athletes, who, as in previous years, celebrate their spectacular sport on the Chantierwiese, now have much more space and stage their shows as a competition. The result is a harmonious event ping-pong between the minidrome and trial shows, offering the audience plenty of entertainment. Further ahead on the Chantierwiese - and no longer in the entrance area of the main site - is the pump track, which also attracts dedicated athletes and enthusiastic spectators.There is less activity in the e-bike area of the Chantierwiese; this part of the exhibition has shrunk in size compared to previous years. Reto Meyer, Managing Director of TDS Rad AG, has an explanation for this: "The big e-bike boom is over. Many people have already experienced the sensation of riding an e-bike and this test opportunity alone no longer attracts anyone to Solothurn".

Tiny record number of visitors
For the national bike festival from 9 to 11 May 2014, the organizer reports 23,700 visitors, which is a new record (2013 and 2012: 23,000 visitors, 2011: 22,000, 2010: 17,500). "The popularity of the Bike Days is steadily increasing and bikes are gaining in importance. This year, the weather was also very pleasant for us until almost the end and attracted many visitors," said OC President Erwin Flury happily.

The next Bike Days will take place in Solothurn from May 8 to 10, 2015.

www.bikedays.ch