The EKZ CrossTour international cross-country cycling series has been taking place since 2014. Young and professional riders and amateur athletes battle their way over hill and dale, fields and meadows and, depending on the weather, through dirt and mud in this multi-part race series. For the Urban Bike Festival, the organizers, together with those responsible for the EKZ CrossTour, are adapting this fast-paced race format to the city and bringing it to Zurich-West. Urban Cyclocross is the name of the latest prank from the cycling enthusiasts and is one of the sporting highlights of the three-day festival. Where trend-conscious city dwellers usually do their shopping and party people cavort at night, the daredevil cyclocrossers hurtle over kerbs, up and down steps, race across the Letten Viaduct and Josefwiese.

Urban Cyclocross - pre-qualification in the Freitag Tower
For the athletes, the new race format offers an exceptional route. A select field of 18 women and 64 men will compete in the Urban Cyclocross. In addition to direct qualifiers from the EKZ CrossTour, there will be a battle for the limited starting places in the run-up to the festival in the Freitag flagship store: in the roller sprint, on the Gold Sprint course, which is well known in the scene, the athletes will pedal until their pulse is at 180 and their legs are just jelly.

www.urbanbikefestival.ch