New bike race coming to the University Park – World Tour rider set to compete

Cyclists will be riding faster than usual in the University Park when the new street race ASC Unipark Grand Prix makes its debut on Tuesday, 5 August.

The new criterium takes place in Universitetsparken, where the riders will race on a 1.5-kilometre circuit through the park. The race kicks off at 14:00 with riders from the U11 and U13 categories and continues throughout the day with the older youth groups, before the women’s elite race at 18:15 and the men’s elite race at 20:00. The elite riders race for one hour + three laps.

A look at the start list confirms that spectators on Tuesday are sure to see at least one big name in cycling. 24-year-old Anders Foldager, who rides for the professional World Tour team Team Jayco-AlUla, will be competing. Last year, he finished third overall in the PostNord Denmark Tour.

The Aarhus Studenternes Cykelklub (the Aarhus student cycling association) are the organisers of the new street race. Race organiser Asbjørn Ravn Rasmussen, a club member and project assistant at the Danmarks Cykle Union (the Danish cycling union), promises a technical and challenging race. Among Danish races, only the Hadsten Gade Grand Prix, described by former Tour de France winner Chris Froome as the toughest street race in the world, is said to be tougher.

"It will probably be the second toughest street race route we have in Denmark. It's a super tough route. It’s approximately one and a half kilometres around, and there is a 23-metre elevation gain per lap. The only place with more than that is Hadsten. The elevation gain comes from the climb along Bartholins Allé and up the hill by the Main Hall," Asbjørn Ravn Rasmussen says:

"It may not be so bad for a good rider to climb it once (the hill by the Main Hall, ed.), but they have to ride it 30 times, and they have to go full throttle when they go up it. I’ve measured it myself, and the incline is 10 percent. It rises 5-6 per cent past the Social Sciences Canteen, where we’ve placed the finish line. It’s also a bit technical, with two sharp turns near the Main Hall that come quite quickly after each other,” he says.

"It's extraordinary”

Asbjørn Ravn Rasmussen explains that the University Park was an obvious choice for ASC.

“We’ve looked closely at how to do it best and what cool opportunities there are. We set our sights on the University Park because we’re a student cycling club, we are affiliated with AU-Sport (an umbrella organisation for member clubs in Aarhus, ed.), and it’s an ideal location in the middle of the city. It has three entrances, it’s easy to block off, and it’s used for events in general. It fits perfectly," Asbjørn Ravn Rasmussen says.

The route runs along Bartholins Allé, Wilhelm Meyers Allé, Ole Worms Allé, Karl Verners Vej and Victor Albecks Vej.

"Very few bike races are allowed to take place so far inside one of Denmark's largest cities. It's extraordinary, and we're really happy about it," he says.

He contacted AU's Rector's Office about a year ago, and six months after, the club finally received approval from the university management.

"Fortunately, we have been given permission by the university, which is delighted to be involved. We’ve been met with a positive attitude from everyone. It had to pass through the entire university. It has been out for consultation, and building managers, construction managers and gardeners have been involved. It's a big business, after all," Asbjørn Ravn Rasmussen says.

There are several other Danish street races next week, and it’s not without reason that the organisers have chosen this particular time.

"It's during the week of the street races in Denmark, and there isn't much activity in the University Park right now, so there isn't much concern about whether there will be a lot of people going to work and so on," the organiser says.

Will become a tradition 

The Aarhus student cycling association has over 100 members and is aimed at students, alumni and young people in Aarhus, but is open to everyone. The club was founded in 2016. Normally, cycling clubs under the Danish cycling union must organise an annual race to be allowed to have licensed riders –riders registered and authorised to compete in official races – but as a relatively new club, ASC has been granted an exemption from this rule. But the time has now come, and the plan is to make the race in the University Park an annual event.

"We have excellent partners and full support to make this a tradition. The race aligns well with the university’s strategy to open up the park more to the city, and it fits in with Aarhus Municipality’s future plans leading up to the 2029 World Championships (individual time trial is held in Aarhus, ed.), and helps boost the cycling community,” Asbjørn Ravn Rasmussen says.

It’s free to attend the event as a spectator and everyone is welcome.  Asbjørn Ravn Rasmussen is excited to see how many people will turn up. 

"As it's our first year, it's really hard to say. If spectators come, I would say it's a success. In regular official races, which is what this is – it's our official bike race – there aren't hundreds of people. So if anyone comes, we'll be delighted, and I have a feeling that they will. That’s my impression, from what I’m hearing both at university and downtown,” he says.

So far, there are 43 riders on the start list, divided into different classes, who will be racing during the day.

"We hope more will join us over the weekend, and it's not unusual for registrations to come in at the last minute. We are reaching out to all Danish cycling teams for men's and women's elite and junior teams," Asbjørn Ravn Rasmussen says.

Blocked streets and closed parking lots

The aforementioned five roads that make up the race route will be closed on 5 August from 08:00 to midnight. All staff car parks listed will be closed between 20:00 on 4 August and 00:00 on 5 August.

There will be four passages where pedestrians can cross the route – for example, if they need to enter buildings at AU – from 8:00 to midnight. These passages will be staffed during the race.

View the programme for the day here.

This text is machine translated and post-edited by Cecillia Jensen