Safe cycling and two-wheeled culture - that's what the Urban Bike Festival is all about in its fourth edition. The annual spring get-together will take place from March 29 to 31, 2019. "With the Urban Bike Festival, we want to focus on the topic of bikes in a comprehensive and fresh way. This year, we are focusing on promoting respect among all road users. In collaboration with the Traffic Department and the Civil Engineering Office of the City of Zurich, we have developed a safety course - a campaign for safe interaction in urban traffic," explains OC President Erwin Flury.

The aim of the safety course is to enable visitors to the Urban Bike Festival to experience real-life traffic situations: Cyclists from the truck driver's perspective, crossing streetcar tracks, ABS for bikes, the relevance of "looking back" as a car driver and simulating dicey situations on a bike with virtual reality goggles. In addition, the Züri-Velo-Quiz with SRF3 producer Stefan Flury will playfully test knowledge about cycling. All participants in the safety course will be entered into a prize draw to win a Flyer e-bike with ABS worth 5,000 Swiss francs.

Sports supporting program

The Urban Cyclocross on Saturday - the cyclo-cross race in cooperation with the EKZ CrossTour and the Urban Bike Festival - will be both epic and adventurous: professional riders such as last year's winner Simon Zahner, the current Swiss champion Timon Rüegg and the multiple German runner-up Sascha Weber will not only tackle the roads at the Viadukt, but also beach volleyball courts, water ditches and stairs in the race.

Women's favorites are Elisabeth Brandau, the 2017 winner and German champion, Nicole Koller, the Swiss runner-up, and Ellen van Loy from Belgium, who finished fifth at the European Championships and tenth at the World Championships. Non-licensed riders can also pedal against the pros at the sporting highlight of the Urban Bike Festival.

In order to put your own skills to the test in jumping hurdles, sand and stairs, cyclocross can also be attempted by everyone on the cyclocross course on Turbinenplatz. The course is also part of the four-discipline Urban Bike Games competition, in which spontaneous participation is also possible. The other disciplines are: Trackstand, shortrace and roller sprint. To qualify for the final, you must be among the top three in each discipline. In the final on Sunday afternoon, the winner will be the one who has mastered all four disciplines best and fastest.

Various other bike-related performances invite visitors to actively participate in the program or be inspired. In the Nipper Race, the cycling passion of toddlers from the age of two gets its money's worth on the running bike circuit - even with fun races. The last person to cross the finish line on their bike, i.e. the one who takes the longest time without putting a foot down, wins the Slow Race at the Velafrica stand. And in the Bike Lovers Contest with this year's motto "Craft 2.0: Craft Reloaded", the bike becomes an object of art. The hand-built creations

Danny MacAskill as a role model for young people

For the fourth time at Turbinenplatz and always a magnet for visitors - the Drop and Roll Show: Scottish YouTube star Danny MacAskill impresses with his friends Fabio Wibmer and Ducan Shaw in a spectacular and imaginative bike stunt demonstration. Ingenious tricks, precise jumps, dizzying balancing maneuvers and a huge portion of cycling fun - a true cycling firework.

The organizer expects around 20,000 visitors over the three days of the event from 29 to 31 March 2019. With over 60 exhibitors and around 120 brands, the bike industry will be paying tribute to the event and offering visitors a wide range of bike tests for city bikes with and without electric drive. And if you're not interested in bikes, you're still not in the wrong place at the event. Numerous concerts on the Unplugged Stage are sure to provide a good atmosphere or a change from the bike biz. Entry to the Urban Bike Festival is free of charge.