Statements from the 2021 winners

Political decision-makers comment on CITY CYCLING 2021 and share statements on the importance of cycling to climate protection.

Marco Siesing

Mayor of Eschelbronn

1st place in the categories of “Most active local parliaments (< 10.000 inhabitants)”

Dear participants in the CITY CYCLING campaign,

This year, the municipality of Eschelbronn once again took part in the CITY CYCLING campaign with great enthusiasm. Despite the pandemic-related restrictions, the cyclists from Eschelbronn managed some remarkable achievements and we were once again able to improve considerably on our results from the previous year that were already good.

189 cyclists covered a total of almost 69,000 kilometres, which meant that we ranked first in the district in terms of the most kilometres per inhabitant.

That being said, the team spirit and sense of community participants experienced were perhaps even more impressive.

Something tangible has happened in a small Kraichgau community. The issues of cycling, climate protection, community and competition have brought together people, who have little to do with each other otherwise. In times of an individualistic society and contact restrictions, this is by all means a pleasing turn of events.

Our local parliamentarians were particularly active again this year: with an average of 389 kilometres cycled per parliamentarian, they placed first in the national ranking of the “Most active local parliaments”.

I am particularly delighted with this ranking and congratulate our local council most sincerely on this achievement. Next year, our aim will be to once again lead by example and defend our first place.

CITY CYCLING has since established itself here, which is most pleasing. The campaign not only appeals to commuters, but also to leisure cyclists who opt to use their bicycle rather than their car for journeys. It was shown time and time again that cycling together is not only fun and good for people, but also for the environment and the climate. Because fewer cars mean more bicycles and that also reduces the car traffic on our roads.

I wish us all many wonderful, accident-free bicycle kilometres and look forward to CITY CYCLING in the coming year.

Patrick Bauser

Mayor of Altshausen

1st place in the category of “Most active municipalities with the most kilometres cycled (< 10,000 inhabitants)” and 2nd place in the categoriy of "Most active local parliaments (< 10,000 inhabitants)”

Following our successful local campaign in 2020 when we placed first in the category of “Most active municipalities with the most kilometres cycled (< 10,000 inhabitants)” and were also named best newcomer, we were able to defend our title again in 2021 to once again place first.

The municipality of Altshausen participated in the CITY CYCLING for the second time this year and was able to repeat its success from the previous year.

With a population of around 4,000, we almost doubled the number of cyclists in 2021: 1,301 cyclists covered a total of 372,964 km. This corresponds to a CO2 saving of about 55 tonnes. We were thus able to contribute decisively to climate protection. I would like to thank all participants for yet another incredible achievement!

A very special thanks goes to our local organiser, Mr Michael Epp, who managed to motivate the local inhabitants again with his commitment and new ideas.

The CITY CYCLING campaign showed just how fun cycling can be and that people enjoy cycling – especially if they are joined by countless others. It was an absolute pleasure to see how the cyclists of the 61 teams in our municipality – whether children, youths, adults or senior citizens – sought to motivate one another.

I look forward to participating in CITY CYCLING again next year and hope that we’ll be able to defend our title for a third year.

I wish all cyclists safe and accident-free travel, and hope to see you all again for CITY CYCLING 2022.

Photo: Michael Epp

Tobias Brändle

Mayor of Ebenweiler

Best newcomer and 3rd place in the category of "Most active local parliaments (< 10,000 inhabitants)”

The citizens of Ebenweiler also showed during CITY CYCLING that they’re capable of achieving extraordinary things together. While the citizens of the first bioenergy village in the Ravensburg district felt almost duty-bound to participate in this competition, they also thoroughly enjoyed it. Indeed, Ebenweiler’s local councillors also seized upon this opportunity to get cycling and participated with a total of 20 teams across the municipality. This commitment ultimately earned them the award of best newcomer in the category of “Most active municipal parliaments (< 10,000 inhabitants)”. As a mayor, who also cycles, I am very proud of all participants for this outstanding communal achievement. We were even able to leave the neighbouring municipalities of Fleischwangen and Altshausen far behind us in a category devised especially for the local competition (kilometres per inhabitant). This also contributed to our outstanding overall ranking.

The bioenergy village of Ebenweiler is very much looking forward to CITY CYCLING in 2022 and thanks all those who took part!

Photo: Tobias Brändle

Jürgen Bernsmann

Mayor of Rhede

1st place in the category of “Most active local parliaments (10,000–49,999 inhabitants)”

A huge THANK YOU to all of the cyclists who contributed to our outstanding result in this year! Before the start of the local campaign, I said as an incentive that it would be great if we could break the 300,000 kilometres mark this time, as we narrowly missed it last year. The outcome? Together the participants in the local campaign cycled almost 350,000 kilometres in 2021 and thus clearly demonstrated their commitment to climate protection and promoting health! A massive thanks also to our local parliamentarians, whose many kilometres meant we came out on top in the category of “Most active local parliaments (10,000–49,999 inhabitants)”: 10,431.2 kilometres in three weeks is a fantastic achievement!

I wish all cyclists pleasant journeys in the future. We’ve already set our goal for next year’s CITY CYCLING campaign ...

Photo: Municipality of Rhede

Richard Richter

First Mayor of Bruckmühl

2nd place in the category of “Most active local parliaments (10,000–49,999 inhabitants)

CITY CYCLING is an annual fixture in our events calendar. In addition to teams from clubs and companies, especially our schools participate with great enthusiasm and commitment, and show us just how important cycling is to them. We have been participating in CITY CYCLING since 2016 and have managed to increase the kilometres cycled every year from the initial 7,385 kilometres to 198,487 kilometres this year – and that despite the pandemic! The enthusiasm is contagious and even our local council got involved.

This year, we were able to place second in the category of “Most active local parliament”. I am absolutely delighted with this achievement and am proud that so many of the local councillors also took to their bikes. It shows that not only the population in general, but also we, the political body, care deeply about cycling and its positive effects, and are eager to act as role models. Our achievements have also spurred on our neighbouring municipalities in the Mangfalltal, who cycle at the same time as us every year. The enthusiasm for cycling has increased noticeably there, too.

The award is also an incentive for us to participate in CITY CYCLING again next year. After all, we have a position to defend now!

Photo: Markt Bruckmühl

Ulrich Berger

Mayor of Salzkotten

3rd placein the category of “Most active local parliaments (10,000–49,999 inhabitants)

Following our successful premiere in 2020, the commitment to this year’s CITY CYCLING campaign was once again outstanding here in Salzkotten.

A total of 1,128 people took to their bikes and covered 266,924 kilometres during the three-week campaign period from 5 to 25 September 2021. This helped to avoid a total of 39 tonnes of CO2. We set a grand total of four new records in our town compared to last year. I believe our results are an outstanding achievement and I am proud of everyone who took part in CITY CYCLING.

I am particularly pleased that our local parliamentarians were so active this year – so much so that we even ranked third in the category of “Most active local parliaments”. I also left my car parked for three weeks and was able to see a few things from a different perspective during the 1,400 kilometres I covered by bike.

I would like to thank our CYCLE STARS in this year, who cycled well over 1,000 kilometres and used all their connections to get as many people as possible excited about CITY CYCLING. There were a number of newcomers, including a team of Franciscan nuns! A great many companies participated in the campaign, too. Fantastic! Many thanks also to our local CITY CYCLING team that coordinated a successful campaign again this year.

The CITY CYCLING campaign appeals to the most diverse people and shows that cycling together is fun, makes us happy, motivates us, keeps us fit and allows us to travel in a sustainable and climate-friendly way. Especially in our region, there are countless beautiful cycle routes to explore, many of which are also perfect in autumn temperatures.

I wish us all many more beautiful and safe kilometres covered by bike and I am already looking forward to CITY CYCLING 2022.

Photo: City of Salzkotten

Oliver Rein

Mayor of Breisach am Rhein

Best newcomer in the category of “Most active local parliaments (10,000–49,999 inhabitants)

Dear participants in the CITY CYCLING campaign,

The town of Breisach am Rhein took part in CITY CYCLING for the first time this year. Together we cycled 73,055 kilometres in 38 teams. This is a powerful message in favour of sustainable mobility and climate protection.

Two of the best known long-distance cycle routes pass through Breisach am Rhein, namely the Rhine Cycle Route (D-Route 8) and Eurovelo Route 15. With the Kaiserstuhl uplands, the River Rhine and nearby Alsace, we from the Upper Rhine Plain have countless beautiful destinations that are perfect for cycling trips. Indeed, they help to make cycling in the region even more fun.

The members of the local and municipal councils were particularly active. Thanks to their commitment, we managed to scoop the newcomer award in the category of “Most active local parliaments (10,000–49,999 inhabitants)”. I would like to congratulate all staff of the local and municipal councils on this great result.
To ensure that people also cycle outside of the campaign period, we’re continuing to expand the cycling network and infrastructure. Since this year, the municipal building yards have used cargo bikes to transport smaller items, and an e-bike charging station is being set up in a central location.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank all participants and look forward to improving even further on our results next year. Until then, I hope you all always have a good and safe journey.

Photo: City of Breisach am Rhein

Patrick Haas

Mayor of Stolberg

1st place in the category of “Most active local parliaments (50,000–99,999 inhabitants)”

We have the most successful local parliament among the municipalities with 50,000 to 99,999 inhabitants!

Stolberg has been an enthusiastic participant in CITY CYCLING since 2019. And sometimes the figures really do speak for themselves: this year, 483 participants from Stolberg cycled 86,500 kilometres. We have thus avoided an unbelievable 13 tonnes of CO2 here – this is how much CO2 would have been emitted if the equivalent number of kilometres had been covered by car. We were thus able to almost triple our result from the previous year! And as if that weren’t enough, we also took first place in the category of the ‘Most active local parliament (50,000–99,999 inhabitants)’ at the national award ceremony in Berlin.
The figures prove that cycling is increasingly seen as a high priority in our town and that the current efforts to make our town more cycling-friendly are falling on fertile ground.

I wish all cyclists safe and accident-free journeys, and hope to see you all again for CITY CYCLING 2022.

Klaus Saemann

Mayor of Peine

Best newcomer and 3rd place in the category of “Most active local parliaments (50,000–99,999 inhabitants)”

In 2021, the town of Peine took part in CITY CYCLING for the first time together with the rural district of Peine and the municipalities belonging to the district. I am all the more pleased that the response to this campaign was so good throughout the entire district of Peine!

Together, the inhabitants of the town of Peine covered 224,179 kilometres by bike and thus helped to avoid the equivalent of around 33 tonnes of CO2. This is a remarkable achievement for which I would like to once again thank all participants in the campaign!

On our very first time participating in CITY CYCLING, we managed to win the best newcomer award in the category of “Most active municipal parliament (50,000–99,999 inhabitants)” and to at the same time place third in this category overall. This is a great result for which I congratulate the members of Peine town council!

I would also like to thank the project managers Inga Heine and Gonhild Kunst from wito GmbH as well as my colleague Annette Szagun from the energy/climate department for organising and supporting the event!

I hope that we can build on this result next year and am already looking forward to CITY CYCLING 2022!

Photo: City of Peine

Martin W. W. Horn

Lord Mayor of Freiburg

1st place and best newcomer in the category of “Most active local parliaments (100,000–499,999 inhabitants)”

Cycling has always been popular in Freiburg. A cycling network covering more than 400 kilometres and an enthusiastic cycling population have made the bicycle the most popular means of transport: more than one third of journeys within the city are covered by bike! We wish to increase this total even further, though, in order to further advance the mobility revolution. Among others, 16 million euros from the current budget have been earmarked for improvements to the pedestrian and cycling infrastructure.

The fact that our local parliament placed first in the category of the “Most active local parliaments” in the 2021 CITY CYCLING campaign shows just how great the consensus for promoting cycling is on the decisive local level. I am extremely pleased about this, as immense challenges still lie ahead for the mobility transition, climate protection and sustainability. I would like to thank the local councillors and all other participants in the CITY CYCLING campaign for their active involvement.

Foto: City of Freiburg/Fionn Große

Dr. Alexander Legler

District Administrator of Aschaffenburg district

2nd place in the category of “Most active local parliaments (100,000–499,999 inhabitants)”

Dear cycling enthusiasts,

Cycling is healthy, fun, helps clears your head and contributes to climate protection!

As a district, we did not reinvent the wheel, but we were able to reach the podium again in our second year of participating in CITY CYCLING, “cycling” our way up the ranking to scoop second prize in the category of “Most active municipal parliaments (100,000–499,999 inhabitants)”. This is another great result for which I would like to congratulate all cyclists from the district council and thank them for their exemplary commitment, which helped to make this success possible.

As part of the competition, we discovered our beautiful district on ever new paths and not only did something for our well-being, but also once again drew our attention to the issues of environmental protection and climate-neutral mobility. However, we don’t only want to cycle during the campaign period, to inspire enthusiasm for topical issues and to raise awareness, but also to convince more and more fellow citizens to leave their car whenever they can in the future and instead switch to using their bike!

To ensure that cycling remains on the “RADar”, the district council and I (together with my team in the district administration office) will actively continue the construction of cycle paths along our district roads and support our municipalities in the exemplary development of their cycle paths. We will thus make a further valuable contribution in this way, hand in hand with the “climate-neutral rural district”, and at the same time increase the leisure and recreational value of our region.

I am confident that we will not run out of steam next year and that we will build on the special successes of the past few years. In this spirit, I am already very much looking forward to CITY CYCLING 2022 and wish us continued fun on our bike, rides that are always accident-free and more good times as well as the best of health at all times!

Photo: Dr. Alexander Legler

Dieter Reiter

Lord Mayor of Munich

1st place in the category of “Most active local parliaments (500,000+ inhabitants)”

Dear initiators,
Dear participants in the CITY CYCLING campaign,

As Lord Mayor of the city of Munich, I am absolutely delighted about our success in the category of “Most active local parliaments”. This achievement is proof of the great affinity for cycling among many of my esteemed colleagues in the city council.

The relevance of cycling to our city is also reflected in our commitment to actively promoting the mobility transition. The city of Munich has participated in this important competition every year since CITY CYCLING was launched back in 2007 and is delighted that the number of participants has increased steadily over the years. We’ve set ourselves a clear goal for 2022: in our fifteenth year of participation, we wish to once again take the lead. Every kilometre counts!

A warm thanks to all past and future cyclists in Munich, who contribute to our CITY CYCLING success story. Let us all keep up the great work!

Photo: Michael Nagy, LHM

Bodo Klimpel

District Administrator of Recklinghausen district

Best newcomer in the categories of “Most active local parliaments (500,000+ inhabitants)” and “Most active municipalities with the most kilometres cycled (500,000+ inhabitants)”

Recklinghausen district participated in CITY CYCLING for the first time this year. While the inhabitants of individual municipalities in the district already took part in this campaign for climate protection in past years, in 2021 all ten towns in the district participated for the first time. More than 5,000 people used their bicycle to complete journeys for professional and private purposes along many of the cycle paths in our district, including through forests such as the Haard

Together they covered more than one million kilometres for our district during the three-week campaign period – a result we can certainly be proud of. I am absolutely delighted to receive the best newcomer award for municipalities with 500,000+ inhabitants in both award categories. This makes clear that both our local inhabitants and our politicians wish to actively play their part in climate protection. Many thanks to all participants for their commitment and the excellent result!

Photo: Recklinghausen district

Lars Leveringhaus, Wilma Hofer, Alfred Wölfle

Administrative collectivity of Obergünzburg

Best newcomer and 2nd place in the category of “Most active municipalities with the most kilometres cycled (< 10,000 inhabitants)”

As the mayors and mayoress of the three municipalities of Obergünzburg, Untrasried and Günzach, we were both surprised and delighted to place first among the newcomers in the 2021 cycling year.

We took up the idea of participating in CITY CYCLING proposed to us by local citizens with relish and enjoyed participating. We are particularly proud of our organising team. The five members, all of whom are members of Obergünzburg local council, organised the CITY CYCLING campaign on a voluntary basis in their free time. With boundless commitment, their hearts and souls, and a great many good ideas. For this, we are most grateful.

However, the focus should not just be on the probably one-off feat of a top ranking, but rather on the countless “side effects” of the campaign:

we succeeded in establishing a community campaign in which over 800 cyclists enjoyed participating. Their active participation has moreover helped to show just how important cycling is in our region. Beautiful nature can be enjoyed in our Günztal – and in the entire Ostallgäu for that matter. Those who cycle here do something good both for themselves and the environment. We believe that the campaign has helped to draw the focus to bicycles as a mode of transport and also helped to increase their importance.
CITY CYCLING has moreover revealed shortcomings in the cycle path network however. As the responsible parties, we wish to work with our local councillors and the district administrator to ensure that the cycling network is maintained – and developed further as necessary.

We congratulate our citizens on their success: the best newcomer in Germany, second place overall in the national ranking and first place overall in the state of Bavaria. We would also like to congratulate the municipalities that placed second and third. And we are also celebrating together with our region, the district of Ostallgäu, that placed third overall in Bavaria.

We, our administrative community, our clubs and our citizens thoroughly enjoyed participating in CITY CYCLING, and will of course be joining in the competition again in 2022.

Michael Beck

Lord Mayor of Tuttlingen

1st place in the category of “Most active municipalities with the most kilometres cycled (10,000–49,999 inhabitants)”

When we first signed up for CITY CYCLING in 2018, we initially hoped for respectable success. After all, as an industrial town in a rural area, Tuttlingen had not been considered a classic cycling stronghold until then. We were all the more pleased to receive the best newcomer award in 2018. And we certainly never would have dared to dream that we would place first for a second time in 2021!

First place signifies more than just sporting success though. Rather, it is also a statement, a sign that Tuttlingen has become a cycling town. Indeed, bicycles are even playing an increasingly important role as a means of getting around in daily life outside of major cities and university towns. Gone are the days when cycling was at best considered a leisure pursuit.

For us as a municipality, this brings with it an obligation, hence we will once again invest a significant sum in further expansion of our cycling network in the coming year, even in these financially difficult times. And should we do well in the CITY CYCLING competition again in 2022, then we’ll be all the more pleased.

Foto: Stadt Tuttlingen

Dr. Wolfgang Hell

Mayor of Marktoberdorf

3rd place in the category of “Most active municipalities with the most kilometres cycled (10,000–49,999 inhabitants)”

Marktoberdorf is located at the heart of the beautiful Allgäu, which is Germany’s most popular cycling region.

In 2021, we were once again able to demonstrate our mighty leg power during CITY CYCLING. Over the three-week campaign period, 2,019 cyclists covered an incredible 413,976 kilometres, thus avoiding 61 tonnes of climate-damaging CO2.

With its mere 18,800 inhabitants, Marktoberdorf ultimately placed third in the national ranking of all participating municipalities in the 10,000–50,000 inhabitants population group. In Bavaria, this was enough to scoop first place, ahead of all towns with up to 100,000 inhabitants even!

My thanks go to our highly committed organising team and all those, who worked hard to cover as many kilometres as possible. Together with all of you, I am already looking forward to summer 2022. Marktoberdorf will definitely be participating again.

I cordially invite all those not from Marktoberdorf to come visit – you’ll love the idyllic scenery and our wonderful hospitality.

Gert Kühling

General Representative of Lohne

2nd place in the category of “Most active municipalities with the most kilometres cycled (10,000–49,999 inhabitants)”

Dear all,

Lohne is located at the heart of the district of Vechta within the flat, attractive cycling region of Oldenburger Münsterland. Our achievements in our first year of participating in the CITY CYCLING campaign showed just how much we appreciate cycling in our region: 1,438 cyclists covered an amazing 214,570 kilometres in three weeks, helping us to avoid 31.5 tonnes of climate-damaging CO2. This makes us the most successful newcomer in our category in Germany. What an outstanding achievement!

For this, I would like to thank all of the citizens of Lohne for their participation and their contribution to climate protection. Climate protection requires teamwork: companies, educational institutions, schools, families and clubs got together and formed teams and made the conscious and collective decision to cycle. The participation of all ten municipalities in the district of Vechta should also be emphasised. This was an important aspect for the successful start in this participatory campaign.

My thanks therefore go to all those who cycled. Together with all of you, I am already looking forward to CITY CYCLING in 2022.

Photo: Mechthild Runnebom

Dietlind Grabe-Bolzn

Lord Mayor of Gießen

1st place in the category of “Most active municipalities with the most kilometres cycled (50,000–99,999 inhabitants)”

I have had the honour of supporting the CITY CYCLING campaign in Gießen as patron since 2015. With 3,132 active cyclists and 609,782 kilometres cycled in 2021, Giessen’s cyclists once again broke two city records. While the number of kilometres cycled is less important, I am rather proud that we managed to cycle our way up from third to second place in the international ranking and even placed first in the category of “Most active local parliaments” this year.

I would like to thank everyone for their participation – especially the schools and universities. After all, the foundations for future sustainable mobility are laid at a young age. And a new stage in life is the ideal time to change mobility behaviour.

I hope that those who only cycle occasionally will remember the good experiences they enjoyed in their daily lives; I also hope that at least as many people will support us again in future campaigns to promote cycling and other climate protection measures in Giessen and thus ensure a better quality of life in our city for all.

It’s time to get out of your chair and into the saddle – not only during the 21 CITY CYCLING days!

Photo: City of Gießen

Dr. Peter Lüttmann

Mayor of Rheine

2nd place in the category of “Most active municipalities with the most kilometres cycled (50,000–99,999 inhabitants)”

I am absolutely delighted that Rheine placed second in the CITY CYCLING category of the most active municipalities in 2021 after a heart-stopping finale, and would above all like to thank the citizens for this. With an unbelievable 594,353 kilometres cycled, 2,790 committed cyclists from almost 200 teams shattered last year’s record and set a brand-new record for CITY CYCLING in Rheine. This great commitment by all of the town’s citizens will help us to get over the fact that we didn’t make it quite to the top of the podium – we would like to take this opportunity to congratulate the city of Gießen fairly and warmly on its narrow victory!

After CITY CYCLING is before CITY CYCLING though and we are already looking forward to next year’s competition. As a mayor, who is himself a cyclist, I am also pleased with the many improvements and innovations to the cycling infrastructure that we are currently implementing in Rheine. We have improved safety for cyclists with the markings on the roads of designated spaces for cyclists, are planning a series of bicycle boulevards, have completed the first section of a designated cycle path through the city centre and, since the summer, have established ten new cycle routes through the beautiful parkland scenery of the Münsterland region around Rheine.

Come visit us in Rheine!

Photo: City of Rheine

Erik Lierenfeld

Mayor of Dormagen

3rd place in the category of “Most active municipalities with the most kilometres cycled ( 50.000 - 99.999 inhabitants)

I am very pleased that the city of Dormagen has done so well in CITY CYCLING’s national ranking. Together, we cycled a total of 402,007 kilometres in three weeks, making us the most active municipality in our district once again. I am proud of all the people of Dormagen, who contributed to this great event.

CITY CYCLING offers a good framework to bring cycling to the public’s attention. And our citizens are really enthusiastic about this issue – as the outstanding successes in this year and the previous years show. I find it particularly remarkable that so many young people joined forces to participate.

Cycling is becoming increasingly important as a means of transport and has one major advantage: it can contribute to climate protection. Meaning it is not only possible to have fun cycling together, but also to do something good.
I am already looking forward to next year's competition and wish all cyclists safe journeys!

Trine Graseld

Trine Grase Mayor of Gladsaxe municipality

Best newcomer in the category of “Most active municipalities with the most kilometres cycled ( 50.000 - 99.999 inhabitants)

Gladsaxe took part in the CITY CYCLING competition for the first time this year, and I am happy and proud that we ranked so highly. Denmark is already known as a cycling country and Gladsaxe actively strives as a municipality to promote cycling as a sustainable mode of transport.
Gladsaxe was the first municipality in Denmark to implement the UN Sustainable Development Goals in all its activities, hence cycling plays an important role in everyday life in our work towards achieving the energy transition and sustainable development. We attach great importance to creating a good framework for everyone who cycles. 95 percent of our roads have either a cycle path or a low speed limit. And that means it is not only sustainable, but also safe for the inhabitants of Gladsaxe to choose to cycle.

All children learn to cycle at a young age and schools take part in the “Alle Børn Cykler” (“All Children Cycle”) campaign every year.  We voluntarily organise traffic days during which children cycle on the bike lanes and learn the traffic rules, and many school trips take place by bike. We always have rental bikes available at the town hall and in other municipal workplaces for staff to use to travel to and from meetings. Cycling promotes a sense of community, health and exercise in everyday life in this way.

We are constantly working to further expand and improve the cycling infrastructure. Over the past few years, we’ve been working with the other municipalities in the Capital Region to create an interconnected network of super bike lanes to enable commuters to get to work quickly and safely. This includes lighting along long, otherwise dark routes that switches on automatically as well as pump stations to allow cyclists to pump up their tyres.

Our many measures have allowed cycling to evolve in leaps and bounds in Gladsaxe. This is good for the energy transition and public health, hence we will continue in our efforts to get even more people to switch to using their bicycle. 

Photo: Anja Voight

Dr. Martin Sommer

District Administrator of Steinfurt district

1st place in the category of “Most active municipalities with the most kilometres cycled (100,000–499,999 inhabitants)”

Dear cyclists of the district of Steinfurt,
Dear fellow citizens,
Dear organisers of CITY CYCLING,

The district of Steinfurt participated in CITY CYCLING for what was the fourth time in 2021. Our citizens not only demonstrate great interest and enthusiasm for this project every year, but we also manage to set new records in terms of the number of participants each time anew. This year, more than 14,000 cyclists from the Steinfurt district covered around 2.9 million kilometres together during the campaign period. Compared to the previous year, both the number of participants and the kilometres cycled were doubled! This achievement makes us the most active municipality in the 100,000–499,999 inhabitants population group and allowed us to secure first place in this category. I’m absolutely delighted with this result!

The district of Steinfurt and the entire Münsterland region are traditionally cycling-friendly areas. Many citizens appreciate the countless advantages of using a bicycle in their daily lives: physical activity, a climate-friendly way of getting around and cost savings – and the CITY CYCLING campaign helps to further boost the popularity of cycling among society, too.

This development is well advanced in the Steinfurt district. As district administrator, I am particularly proud that – in 2021 for the first time – all 24 towns and municipalities in the district invited their citizens to participate in CITY CYCLING. I see the unity demonstrated in this way as an important cornerstone for our success. Local competitions and campaigns further bolstered the participating cyclists’ motivation that was actually already high from the outset and led the district of Steinfurt to achieve an outstanding result in this year.

My heartfelt thanks go to all citizens who participated in CITY CYCLING with such great enthusiasm. I would also like to highlight the commitment of the municipal organisational divisions and the central coordinators from the environment and planning office and the office for climate protection and sustainability of the district of Steinfurt, which accompanied and promoted the campaign throughout the district. Our success would not have been possible without this unity, the sense of community, and the commitment and creativity of the many people involved. I am already looking forward to CITY CYCLING 2022 and am confident that we will be able to repeat the success of the Steinfurt district in the coming year.

Photo: District of Steinfurt

Dr. Kai Zwicker

District Administrator of Borken district

2nd place in the category of “Most active municipalities with the most kilometres cycled (100,000–499,999 inhabitants)”

In the Westmünsterland region, “CITY CYCLING” also means “rural cycling”, as the urban and rural areas merge seamlessly here. The district of Borken covers an area of 1,420 square kilometres and affords a well-connected network of cycle paths that currently extend around 1,250 kilometres. We owe this extensive network to the fact that cycling is a long-standing tradition here – not only for leisure, but also for many other purposes such as the commute to work where it is increasingly a matter of course to switch from travelling by car to using a bike. It is for this reason that our region is always delighted to participate in the CITY CYCLING initiative. I may even say with a smile: the highly commendable idea virtually “cycles” through open doors for us.

We are utterly delighted with our overall result, which is quite literally award-winning (2nd place in the national ranking in our population group!), achieved thanks to the cycling activities of the many participating citizens in the district. My heartfelt thanks go to all those who participated in the district of Borken for their commitment – for the benefit of both the environment and their own health. I would also like to sincerely thank those responsible and the CITY CYCLING team for their excellent organisation of the national campaign again in this year.

Photo: Kreis Borken

Harald Sievers

District Administrator of Ravensburg district

3rd place in the category of “Most active municipalities with the most kilometres cycled (100,000–499,999 inhabitants)”

I am very pleased that a grand total of 8,916 cyclists participated in CITY CYCLING in 2021. Thanks to them, we were able to collect 2,346,826 kilometres for the Ravensburg district – an increase by almost one million kilometres compared to the previous year! This shows how cycling and the campaign are continuing to grow in popularity. Many cyclists followed the district’s invitation to participate in a bike scavenger hunt on the opening weekend, and visited the stations marked with CITY CYCLING banners in the district’s towns and municipalities.

My heartfelt thanks to the cyclists and to all the businesses, schools, clubs, etc. that formed cycling teams as well as to the 23 participating municipalities in the district for their commitment. I am particularly pleased that even small municipalities are successfully participating in the competition. Three of the district’s municipalities in particular ranked very highly in the national ranking of the kilometres cycled per inhabitant: Ebenweiler, Altshausen and Fleischwangen. The municipality of Altshausen once again scooped first place in the category of “Most active municipalities with the most cycling kilometres (less than 10,000 inhabitants)”. The achievements of a number of individuals in these municipalities during the three weeks is also outstanding: five cyclists in the Ravensburg rural district each cycled more than 3,000 kilometres, for example.

Whether 3,000 kilometres or 3 kilometres – when it comes to climate protection and your own health, every kilometre cycled counts! The CITY CYCLING campaign adds to the fun of everyday cycling and motivates people to use their bike more often instead of the car even beyond the campaign period. We wish to support this as a district and are already looking forward to CITY CYCLING in the coming year!

Photo: Ravensburg district

Steffen Krach

Regional President of Hannover Region

1st in the category “Most active municipalities with the most kilometres cycled (500,000+ inhabitants)”

The region of Hanover and its 21 municipalities have enjoyed participating in CITY CYCLING with a whole variety of activities since 2013. Every year, more and more people from our region take part and show how cycling is today an integral component of everyday mobility. This is indispensable in our efforts to advance the transport transition and achieve our climate goals. We are therefore all the more pleased about placing first in the 500,000+ inhabitants population group and take this ranking as an acknowledgement of our investments in the promotion of cycling and at the same time as an incentive to continue making cycling in the Hanover region even faster, more comfortable, safer and attractive all year round!

Many thanks to Climate Alliance, all local CITY CYCLING coordinators and the 21,252 participants from the region!

Photo: Anne Hufnagl