Swedish cycling, including mountain biking, has had a major boost in recent years and became one of the winners of the pandemic in Sports Sweden.
As many as 1,100 cyclists compete at the mountain bike championships in Järfälla during the weekend. The vast majority of them in the youth classes.
When DN visits the SM, both the caravan and car parks are almost full even though it is only on Sunday, two days later, that the biggest competition XCO, the sport’s Olympic discipline, will be run. As a spectator, you can watch as children and young people pass by on their bicycles around the competition area.
– I want to say that we see that the interest in mountain biking is increasing every year and it is a good go in Cycling Sweden with good audience attendance and many participants. Today is a bit of a pre-day as most are run on Saturday and Sunday, but there are still quite a lot of people who found their way here, says Petter Mattsson, Sweden’s national mountain bike captain.
Between 2019 and 2021 increased the local activity support, LOK support, for cycling by 19 percent for youth activities up to 16 years of age. It was the biggest increase among distinct outdoor sports according to figures from the National Sports Confederation.
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– Bild 1 of 6 Photo: Henrik Gustafsson Nicander
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– Bild 2 of 6 Photo: Henrik Gustafsson Nicander
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– Bild 3 of 6 Photo: Henrik Gustafsson Nicander
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– Bild 4 of 6 Photo: Henrik Gustafsson Nicander
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– Bild 5 of 6 Photo: Henrik Gustafsson Nicander
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– Bild 6 of 6 Photo: Henrik Gustafsson Nicander
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The number of activities in the sport of cycling held for those aged 7-16 increased from 49,600 to 59,000 between 2019 and 2021. For cyclists aged 17 and over, the number of activities during the same period was unchanged.
– It is a sport where you are close to the environment all the time. In addition, it can be practiced on many different levels. If you just want to have a fun outdoor life on a mountain bike, that’s fine, and if you want to compete, you can do that too. I think it was a gateway for many, says Petter Mattsson.
Within mountain biking in particular, Sweden also had its greatest success in the sport just before the boom. In the 2016 Olympics, Jenny Rissveds won gold in the discipline XCO, cross country olympic, and thus became a well-known face even outside the already inveterate cycling public.
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– Bild 1 of 2 Photo: Henrik Gustafsson Nicander
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– Bild 2 of 2 Photo: Henrik Gustafsson Nicander
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– I want to say that there has been a boom on the youth side since 2016 and now it is starting to be seen among older youth and in the junior classes, says Petter Mattsson.
In the ladies’ short track Jenny Rissveds was superior in the finish and her popularity among the young crowd was evident with many minutes of signing autographs. The increase among young practitioners makes the sport hope that more can achieve her international success.
– Right now Linn Gustafzzon is our biggest name after Jenny. She came 23rd at the World Cup last week. But above all, I think we have exciting skaters coming from the junior classes and U23, both on the men’s and women’s side. Within a few years, I think we will see someone there who takes the step up to the same fine room as Jenny, says Petter Mattsson.
On the men’s short track, the youthful dominance was clear. The winner was 20-year-old André Eriksson and second was 19-year-old Oscar Lind.
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– Bild 1 of 3 Photo: Henrik Gustafsson Nicander
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– Bild 2 of 3 Photo: Henrik Gustafsson Nicander
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– Bild 3 of 3 Photo: Henrik Gustafsson Nicander
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Olympic gold medalist Jenny Rissveds is also committed to keeping young people in the sport.
– There were only nine of us who competed in our class today. But if you look at the youth classes and how many compete there, the conditions look great. The difficult thing is to keep them motivated when they reach the age of 16-17. It is something our team tries to make time for and holds activities where we meet children and young people and hopefully inspire them to continue, she says.
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