Everyone: Good 1.000 Cyclists in Frankfurt demonstrated that they won't let terrorists stop them from pursuing their hobby. The joint tour, replacing the canceled amateur race, became a demonstration – free beer included. Velomotion joined in.
Eschborn, May 1, 2015, 8.50:XNUMX a.m. Good 1.000 Amateur cyclists have gathered at the place where their amateur race, the SKODA Velotour Eschborn-Frankfurt, was supposed to start. The evening before, the Hesse State Office of Criminal Investigation (LKA) banned the event and the professional race. canceled due to the threat of terrorism. The organizers asked the Jedermann via e-mail not to travel. They came anyway.
The police are on site, but the officials are more engrossed in lively conversations with the cyclists than nervously having to secure the scene. The mood is cheerful. Of course, cancellation is the number one issue. With all the disappointment of having to forego the race, the athletes express understanding for the decision of those responsible. Giving up cycling because of this is out of the question. If not a race, then a joint training tour. Also as a sign not to be defeated.
With a police escort through Frankfurt and into the Taunus
Florian Jöckel co-initiated this ride together with his Guilty 76 Racing Team . The man with the bushy beard is a well-known figure in the Frankfurt cycling scene. When Jöckel shouts into a microphone shortly before 9:00 a.m., "We're still going to ride," applause erupts. And indeed, the starting gun fires shortly afterward. Race organizer Bernd Moos-Achenbach is able to send cyclists on their way again in 2015 – differently than planned, neutralized, without race numbers and with a police escort, but at least they're going. ARD presenter and amateur cyclist Thorsten Schröder says he's riding with a bit of anger in his gut.
"Terrorists don't stop us from pursuing our hobby!"
The peloton rolls through Frankfurt in a tight formation. The lead rider stops at red lights. To ensure everyone stays together, police, support vehicles, and motorcycles secure the intersections, earning much gratitude. The route leads through the banking district, past the Old Opera House, and back out of Frankfurt. There's chatting, laughter, and technical discussions. Ironically, in Oberursel—the very town where the arrested terror suspects live—the entire peloton stops. Jöckel has arranged free beer at the Alt-Oberurseler Brauhaus . After a convivial stop, the cyclists continue into the Taunus Mountains and finally up the steep Mammolshain hill. At the top of the climbs, they wait until everyone is reunited.
After a three-and-a-half-hour ride, the amateur cyclists arrive back at the Alte Oper (Old Opera House) in Frankfurt, broadcast live on HR television. While race organizer Bernd Moos-Achenbach praises the amateur athletes' action as a powerful statement in an interview and promises to hold "Eschborn-Frankfurt" again in 2016, the racing cyclists roll into view behind him. They are finishing their lap here and have demonstrated: "Terrorists won't stop us from pursuing our hobby!"