When you enter the Kö at 5:30 a.m. on Sunday, the morning of the event, and watch the hustle and bustle and relatively quickly get to work setting up your own stand and messing around a bit, you can't help but feel a massive tingling sensation. Many days of preparation are concentrated on one day, and it's all decided in a few hours. And then time sometimes flies by without stopping and leaves you a little perplexed because the event had so many facets, so many conversations were held, so much praise and sometimes criticism arose that you first need some distance to sort things out.

But let’s start from the beginning.

The organization team has spent a lot of time in recent months to manage the 53rd edition of Rund um die Kö. This year, "managing" was really the right term, because despite experience and routine, things got pretty serious. The budget is a challenge every year, but in 2024, many companies in the cycling industry had to lick their wounds again, marketing budgets were reduced, and support for local cycling events was scaled back. Reason enough to say a big thank you to everyone who helped to make our races on Königsallee take place again this year.

In recent years, there have been repeated campaigns and ideas to expand Rund um die Kö both in terms of time and space. The start of the 2024 edition on Thursday evening at our main sponsor sipgate can be considered a complete success in this context. Almost 120 participants first listened to Michael Krähe's reading about his path to becoming the Japanese D-class cycling champion in a relaxed atmosphere, before attending the draw for the pairings for the Düsseldorf city championships. But this was only the start of a big get-together for the local cycling scene - teams from the city championships, race starters, visitors, sponsors, partners and fellow riders seized the opportunity and enjoyed the long evening with snacks and drinks inside and outside on the sipgate campus.

While we had the joy and work of being the scene of the action with the Mütze all Friday, both as an inspiring meeting point and, quite pragmatically, as a storage and transshipment point, our little special edition of our Friday round, "Thank God it's Rund um die Kö", rolled out of the yard at 6 p.m. After a swing over Ratingen, the ride ended at the Lightroast Hall in Flingern, where Marcel from Van Doorn Media had prepared a selection of short films. Sporty cycling in all its forms was once again the focus, people watched inside, chatted outside and at the end everyone was happy about a second communicative evening as part of Rund um die Kö.

On Saturday morning, the focus was on vintage racing bikes from the sixties and seventies. The classic ride was calling and participants from all over Germany came together. The Rheinische Post enjoyed the hustle and bustle with the pretty treasures in the sunshine. Saturday evening belonged to the peloton of the women's racing bike movement and their group. Instead of finishing at Büdchentag, this year there was music, drinks and snacks in the Mützenhof.

Not only was the preparatory program lavish, Rund um die Kö also had the largest program ever for race day this year. I would like to make a few comments on this: we are always quite late with the race program and the overview, but you can be sure that the publication will not only generate enthusiasm. We in the organization team are aware that we have to make numerous compromises in order to organize a day on the Kö in such a way that it fits as a whole, promises fun and reflects our ideas. These are also diverse in the organization team, just don't let anyone get the idea that we always agree on this. So we also have numerous discussions about how we can fill the race day in such a way that as many aspects as possible are covered and not too many wishes are left unfulfilled. Nobody goes and cancels a race for the sake of it, the time corset sets the pace. We try to give as many starters as possible the chance to race on the Kö within the scope of our possibilities. By the way, this has absolutely nothing to do with greed for profit, but simply with the desire to offer all participants a great environment in as many different races as possible. Believe us, anyone who has dollar signs in their eyes in this context will quickly look for another field of activity.

The individual race formats have been examined sufficiently over the last two weeks, the press coverage of Rund um die Kö 2024 is extensive and varied. Therefore, we will take another look at general issues, preferably more forward than backward.

While many races in Germany are suffering from falling registration numbers and a lack of sponsors despite the cycling boom, we have seen a turnaround in Düsseldorf in recent years, which is certainly related to the location of the event and the appeal of the Königsallee, but also has other reasons. We in the organization team can say with healthy self-confidence that the combination of traditional racing formats, participatory races for everyone and a good portion of "good clean family entertainment" results in a contemporary event from which many benefit. We have enough registrations across all age groups, across the traditional races, because we have spectators at the side of the track and the atmosphere is positive. We want to celebrate an entertaining cycling festival with as many guests as possible, combine cycling with culture and a touch of entertainment and generate enthusiasm at the side of the track, regardless of whether it is the families of the participants or simple passers-by on the Kö.

The course on Königsallee is legendary for many riders because it is so simple and yet so complicated at the same time. A simple square with two long straights, you can really pick up speed in the ambitious races. Spectators can see almost the entire course from many places, you are really in the middle of it. Whether it is the children's races, cargo bike, folding bike or folding bike races, the race of the Kö-Queen or the city championships, everyone can enjoy the atmosphere along the course, with numerous spectators at the barriers and in the deck chairs and beer benches behind them.

We had more crashes in 2024 than in previous years, which annoyed us enormously. Even though we know that we can only ever minimize risks, we still see every crash as one too many and we will use all mechanisms internally to continue working on making Rund um die Kö better and safer. If you have suggestions, good ideas or simply feel the need to make your contribution in the spirit of #supportyourlocalradrennen: we look forward to support and a breath of fresh air in the organization team. Contact us here or via www.rundumdiekoe.de

In addition to food trucks and exhibitors, this year we hosted a small, fine classic car parts market on the Girardet Bridge for the first time. An addition that felt good to us because it encourages people to stroll around and provides another point of variety along the route. The operators of the stands were impressed by the Königsallee location and felt very well looked after in the hustle and bustle of the racing event.

We have been working with Mütze since 2016 with a lot of passion on the development of Rund um die Kö, our concept has laid the foundation for many changes. It is important to us to have fun and work on an equal footing in a creative and responsible team, only then can we continue down the path with motivation and commitment and enthusiasm. Let's see how the team feels after the event. Rund um die Kö 2025 is finally in the starting blocks.

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