The international cycling festival is growing on all fronts and will have Girona and the Costa Brava brimming with sports activities and a wide range of races
This morning, the curtain was raised on the seventh edition of the Sea Otter Europe Costa Brava-Girona Bike Show, the leading international cycling festival that will be held until Sunday in the area around Fontajau Municipal Sports Pavilion in Girona. This year the organisers estimate that nearly 6,000 cyclists will take part in the different races and they are confident of attracting 60,000 visitors as it did last year.
A congress to discuss the challenges of urban mobility
This year’s festival is making a firm commitment to the urban mobility segment and the conferences of the Sea Otter Connect congress, new to this edition, were held today. The meetings strive to bring together industry professionals, the cycling industry and local authorities to discuss the future of mobility, market trends and urban users.
The European Mobility Festival has also been launched, bringing together manufacturers, suppliers and organisations involved in offering different forms of urban mobility, as key players in the transformation of mobility. The event, currently part of Sea Otter Europe, strives to be a catalyst for new travel needs in urban areas, in a sustainable and city-friendly way.
Throughout the first day, thousands of visitors already had the opportunity to enjoy the festival’s expanded exhibition area, which hosts the 400 international brands showcasing their products at more than 250 stands with everything from bikes, electric bikes, accessories and technology applied to cycling.
Among the exhibitors and cyclists there will be participants from more than 80 countries, while one hundred journalists from all over the world have been accredited for an international event that will turn Girona and the Costa Brava into the cycling capital of Europe.
The festival was inaugurated by the vice-president of the Provincial Council of Girona, Pau Presas, the vice-mayor of Girona, Gemma Geis, the vice-president of the Catalan Cycling Federation, Carles Ferrer, and the director of Sea Otter Europe, Albert Balcells.
The sports programme has already crowned its first champions
The German Sofia Wiedenroth of Specialized and, once again, the Frenchman Jerôme Gilloux of Lapierre Overvolt, were the winners of the first of the two races of the World E-Bike Series held at Sea Otter Europe Costa Brava Girona by Continental 2023.
Furthermore, the Short Track of Sea Otter Europe, held in the afternoon, was an exciting and explosive event, as one would expect from races of this type. The men’s category was won by Sondre Rokke and the women’s category by Sophie Von Bersword.
A top-class programme awaits for Saturday
Tomorrow, Saturday, the festival area will be buzzing, with a wide range of races such as the Canyon Girona Gravel Ride, the Scott Marathon, the Super Cup Youth children’s races, the explosiveness of the Eliminators, the nostalgic MTB classics and the second leg of the E-Bike World Championship race. There will also be trial exhibitions, school bike rides and the exhaustive demobike activity, featuring bikes that visitors can put to the test on special circuits.
The full programme of activities is available at www.seaottereurope.com
22 September 2023
