01.05.2008 | 17:39 Uhr von Anna

20.000 spectators in Offenburg

Where the world comes to ride mountain bike!
What a weekend! The weather really made the world cup event one to remember. Finally after 3 years of bad weather, the sun was shinning. A pleasant 25°C brought the crowds out in thousands. After months of hard work putting the event together we enjoyed the atmosphere and a great weekends racing. It is amazing how many helper we had, willing to help out where needed. In total we had 110 marshals on the course, 50 volunteers in the start/finish area and main a crew of 22 coordinating the various jobs. Our main jobs over the weekend are to make sure everything runs smoothly. 20 commissars are appointed to help run the races. They make sure the rules are followed, allowing a smooth run. It´s crazy how many people are involved in running such an event. We are very proud to organise such a huge sporting event. To think that visitors from all over the world come to a small wine town like Rammersweier with a population of 2000 people for the world cup, quite amazing really. Offenburg/Rammersweier has been put on the world map you could say.

The Juniors racing on Saturday was very interesting. They are the future of the sport and had an amazing crowd cheering them on.

On Sunday 17.000 spectators made there way into the Rammersweier forest to experience the best mountain bikers in the world live. It was an amazing atmosphere, with thousands of people lining the 5,1 km course. I managed to take a look myself during the men's race. Usually I need to stay in the start/finish area in case something pops up. My phone only rang once in 2 hrs which is very unusual. It was great to get out there amongst the crowd and see just how fast the pro men are.

2009?
Compared to last year the organisation ran extremely well. Being the first year in 2007 we had a lot of unexpected last minute organisation chores that we had to deal with. Our crew of 22 do such a great job and have now being running the cross country event for 5 years. I must say this year we were extremely professional and we improve over the years. We already have new ideas for 2009 how we can bring the sport of mountain biking on another level. We have a very good chance to host the world cup in 2009.

TV
It is possible that the coverage from the world cup will soon be on TV all around the world. Please check your programs to see if it is listed.

4 weeks until the marathon
Now we can concentrate on organising our marathon event. It is on the 1st of June. We expect over 2000 competitors.

Training
This year I could train up until the world cup which is great. I´m really looking forward to my first xterra in June. Jörg has taken a 2 week break from training and is slowly getting back into it. The Ironman did take it out of him, he is only noticing it now that the stress from the world cup is over. He is motivated to race a few xterra races and another Ironman.

Sunny greetings from Offenburg