European Cycling Challenge

Bologna challenges Italian and European cities on a cycling contest in May, 2014. The first edition of the European Cycling Challenge was held in 2012, when the Municipality of Bologna launched a challenge at European level in which participating cities competed to measure which city would have covered more kilometers by bike in May. The goal of the challenge, in addition to the fun that didn’t fall short!, was to sensitise people to use bicycles for their commuting, instead of other pollutant vehicles. The participating teams were directly managed by local government, which provided greater value to the initiative and ensured a remarkable visibility. In the first edition, 715 cyclists in 7 teams – including Barcelona and Tallinn – challenged each other, cycling a total of 90,000 km. In 2013 Bologna re-launched the challenge and achieved a result better than expected: 12 participating cities, 3,067 cyclists and 313,000 km cycled (www.ecc2013.net). At the end of the challenge every city organizes a local public event to reward their cyclists. The prizes, all related to the world of urban cycling were purchased by the city or offered by bike shops or large retail stores of sporting goods in exchange for visibility among the participants in the challenge. Bologna is now launching the European Cycling Challenge – 2014 edition, and some cities have already expressed their willingness to join the challenge next May.