The German Cycling Federation or BDR (in

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

: ''Bund Deutscher Radfahrer'') is the national

governing body A governing body is a group of people that has the authority to exercise governance over an organization or political entity. The most formal is a government, a body whose sole responsibility and authority is to make binding decisions in a taken ge ...

cycle racing Cycle, cycles, or cyclic may refer to: Anthropology and social sciences * Cyclic history, a theory of history * Cyclical theory, a theory of American political history associated with Arthur Schlesinger, Sr. * Social cycle, various cycles in soc ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. The BDR is a member of the UCI and the UEC.

History

The BDR was first created in 1884 in

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as wel ...

, only to be subsequently dissolved in 1933 after the

Enabling Act of 1933 The Enabling Act (German: ') of 1933, officially titled ' (), was a law that gave the German Cabinet – most importantly, the Chancellor – the powers to make and enforce laws without the involvement of the Reichstag or Weimar Presi ...

, which legally gave Hitler dictatorial control of Germany. The ''

Deutscher Radfahrer-Verband The Deutscher Radfahrer-Verband (DRV), "German Cycling Association", was the cycling unit of the National Socialist League of the Reich for Physical Exercise. History Cycling associations existed in Germany since 1884. On that year the Bund De ...

'' (DRV), a unit (Fachamt) of the Nazi Sports Body took over, until it was disbanded on May 31, 1945 for being the branch of a Nazi organization. The BDR was re-established on 21 November 1948. In

East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

the cycling section of the Deutscher Sportausschuss, the DDR's sports body, was established in 1946. In 1957 it was renamed ''Deutscher Radsport-Verband der DDR'' (DRSV), "East German Cycling Federation", which was responsible for the sport until the merger of both countries on 7 December 1990. Since 2005, the president of the BDR has been former Federal Minister of Defence

Rudolf Scharping Rudolf Albert Scharping (born 2 December 1947) is a German lawyer and politician of the Social Democratic Party (SPD). He was from 1991 to 1994 the 6th Minister President of the State of Rhineland-Palatinate and from 1998 to 2002 Federal Minis ...

. Between 2001 and 2004, former track-and-field athlete Sylvia Schenk led the BDR.

Work

The BDR issues racing licences, organises training for athletes and coaches, undertakes youth work, and oversees cycle races in Germany. It works regionally through a network of local associations. The BDR is also an advocacy organisation, lobbying for the interests of both sporting and leisure cyclists, although it does not aim to represent cyclists who use their bicycles on the road for transportation.

Disciplines

The BDR covers almost all disciplines of cycle sport:

road racing Road racing is a form of motorsport racing held on a paved road surface. The races can be held either on a closed circuit or on a street circuit utilizing temporarily closed public roads. Originally, road races were held almost entirely on publ ...

track racing Track racing is a form of motorcycle racing where teams or individuals race opponents around an unpaved oval track. There are differing variants, with each variant racing on a different surface type. The most common variant is Speedway which has ...

, cyclo-cross,

artistic cycling Artistic cycling is a form of competitive indoor cycling in which athletes perform tricks (called exercises) for points on specialized, fixed-gear bikes in a format similar to ballet or gymnastics. The exercises are performed in front of judge ...

cycle ball Cycle, cycles, or cyclic may refer to: Anthropology and social sciences * Cyclic history, a theory of history * Cyclical theory, a theory of American political history associated with Arthur Schlesinger, Sr. * Social cycle, various cycles in s ...

cycle polo Cycle polo, bicycle polo, or bike polo (''polo-vélo'' in French; ''Radpolo'' in German) is a team sport, similar to traditional polo, except that bicycles are used instead of horses. There are two versions of the sport: grass and Hardcourt B ...

BMX racing BMX racing is a type of off-road bicycle racing. The format of BMX was derived from motocross racing. BMX bicycle racing, races are sprint races on purpose-built off-road single-lap race tracks. The track usually consists of a starting gate for u ...

BMX freestyle Freestyle BMX is bicycle motocross stunt riding on BMX bikes. It is an extreme sport descended from BMX racing that consists of five disciplines: street, park, vert, trails, and flatland. In June 2017, the International Olympic Committee announced t ...

, bike trial and

mountain bike racing Mountain bike racing (shortened MTB or ATB racing) is the competitive cycle sport discipline of mountain biking held on off-road terrain. The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) recognised the discipline relatively late in 1990, when it sanction ...

. In addition to the sporting disciplines, leisure cycling is also covered, including cycle touring.

Regional associations

Other

The '' Bundesradfahrerdenkmal'' (federal monument to cyclists) is located in the Kurpark of

Bad Schmiedeberg Bad Schmiedeberg is a small town in the Wittenberg district of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It lies within the Düben Heath Nature Park. History The town was first mentioned in 1206 as ''Smedeberg''. In 1350, it was granted town rights. Geography ...

External links

German Cycling Federation official website
National members of the European Cycling Union

Cycling Cycling, also, when on a two-wheeled bicycle, called bicycling or biking, is the use of cycles for transport, recreation, exercise or sport. People engaged in cycling are referred to as "cyclists", "bicyclists", or "bikers". Apart from two ...

Cycle racing in Germany Cycle racing organizations Sports organizations established in 1948 {{Germany-sport-stub