Short Review on the History of Cycle Sports

In terms of cost-effectiveness, the bicycle is one of mankind's most ingenious inventions. The bicycle is also a leader in terms of environmental impact, with a fantastic track record in terms of pollutant emissions and raw material and space consumption.

Cycling and cycling sports until the 1970s

At the time of its development between around 1860 and 1900, the focus was solely on increasing human mobility. For this reason, overcoming distances was the issue of the day, rather than travelling across terrain. There was also no need to leave the idyllic little roads and paths of the time, which were still free of motorised traffic and yet at the same time the fastest route. The lack of off-road capability of the early high wheelers was therefore hardly perceived as a limitation. The situation was different with regard to their dangerousness and difficult rideability, i.e. the safety aspect that led to the development of the low wheel in the 1880s. Indirect drive via a bicycle chain now enabled a gear ratio that allowed for smaller wheels and a more comfortable seating position between the two wheels. The bicycle had now become safer and easier to ride. The 1890s saw a tremendous boom in bicycle sales, with bicycles becoming cheaper and affordable for a wider range of people. This development was naturally also reflected in cycling. Many new cycle races emerged during this period, some of which are now considered classics.

However, off-road sports were still not included, even though bicycles had become more suitable for off-road use. One exception was cyclo-cross, which originated from training sessions for road racers who trained on meadows and forest paths to toughen themselves up and improve their fitness. The fact that the racing bike had to be shouldered and run with on the steep or stair-covered intermediate passages that connected the individual sections of the route to form a circuit makes it clear that the aim was actually to improve fitness under difficult conditions and not to ride off-road. Incidentally, this has not changed much to this day; many cross-country cyclists are in excellent physical condition, but do not have the same riding skills in difficult terrain, and even the racing bikes used today are not ideal for this. Cross-country cycling, which has always occupied a special place in cycling, somewhat obscured the fact that until the 1970s, there was actually no such thing as off-road cycling.

It took the example of motorcycling for cycling to slowly begin to close this gap. This only happened on a larger scale from the 1970s onwards, when bicycle trials and BMX became popular, followed somewhat later by mountain biking. However, individual enthusiasts in the motorcycling community were ahead of the curve. The oldest known bicycle trial took place in England in 1947 (see Windlesham Wheelers' Trial) and, similarly, ‘Fietscross’ already existed in the Netherlands in the 1950s. ¹ or bicycle cross, which was much more similar to motocross than the later BMX.