Yesterday was 100 days until the start of the Tour de France, which for the first time in history starts in Denmark. Ahead of the Grand Départ, Wednesday’s festivities were about the inauguration of a 31 km cycle path: one of the country’s so-called cycle super motorways.
The new Roskilder route runs through the municipalities of Roskilde, Høje-Taastrup, Albertslund, Glostrup, Brøndby, Rødovre, Frederiksberg and Copenhagen. The honor of officially opening the new trail was given to none other than the race director general, Christian Prudhomme.
Under Prudhomme’s signal, a peloton of cyclists left Roskilde with the official Grand Départ trophy along the Roskilder route to Copenhagen City Hall, where it will be shown to the public. Previously, it sat with Région Bretagne, the last ‘region’ to host the Grand Départ.
The Danes’ cycling habits in the light
“The Tour de France has come to Denmark because we are a strong everyday cycling country. The event is an opportunity to focus on everyday cycling heroes and what we can be proud of in Denmark, ”explains Sidsel Birk Hjuler, head of the secretariat for Super Cycling Partnership.
The Roskilde route is the country’s 11th super motorway, laid out like the others to suit the needs of commuters. It passes train and metro stations as well as planned light rail stops, so users can easily combine with other means of transport.
Five new super motorways in 2022
“Our vision is to create more than 60 routes that cover over 850 km with the super motorways, which will be a network that covers the entire capital region. We can already see that bicycle traffic is increasing significantly on the established routes, ”Hjuler added.
In addition to the new Roskilde route, cyclists can look forward to four more super motorways in the metropolitan area in 2022: Avedørerruten, Københavnerruten, Ørestadsruten and Lyngbyruten.
The super motorways are more direct than existing routes and of higher quality. In total, 31 municipalities are involved. The target of 850 km must be reached by 2045.
Source: The Nordic Page