Please read the Interview with organiser, Albrecht Dietze further down.
Seiffen in the Ore Mountains. For some, it is a village in the Saxon outback, where the density of woodcarving shops is higher than anywhere else in this country. For bikers, on the other hand, it is a holy spot. A kind of place of pilgrimage. Similar to Wacken for heavy metal fans. Or Hawaii for triathletes. Seiffen is synonymous with an attitude to life. For marathon biking.
The Erzgebirge Bike Marathon in Seiffen celebrated its 30th anniversary this August. It came as a shock to the endurance scene that this historic event was overshadowed by the news that the event might be cancelled. After all, the EBM is not only Germany's oldest mountain bike marathon, but also a very special kind of endurance event that is celebrated with dedication and passion by both organisers and participants.
Organiser Albrecht Dietze's reason for questioning the continuation of the EBM sounded regrettable, but understandable. The pandemic has changed people's planning behaviour. At music festivals. For major events. And unfortunately also for marathons. Where the season used to be planned through at the beginning of the year, including marathon registration, there is now restraint, according to Dietze's observation. Everything is planned more spontaneously. In addition, many people are under economic pressure and there is still a great deal of uncertainty regarding possible coronavirus restrictions.
Not only the Erzgebirgs Bike Marathon, but almost all events are struggling with a decline in participants. This makes it difficult to organise the event economically. Dietze announced that a decision would be made after the anniversary EBM. Will it continue. Or not. There was a glimmer of hope. After all.
Expectations for the weekend were high. And the crew around Albrecht Dietze, who had once founded the marathon together with his father Günter, went all out to make the anniversary worthy. In addition to the actual marathon, there was a spectacular supporting programme. The programme started on Saturday with a kids' race, gravel cracker tour, underpant ride, mountain sprint and the start of the hardcore EBM300 ultramarathon. The triple version of the Erzgebirge Bike Marathon, held for only the third time, was a gruelling 300 kilometres and 9,000 metres in altitude to conquer.
Only 50 starting places were allocated. Anyone who wanted to take on this hellish ride had to apply with their sporting CV. The small, select group set off on the ten-lap course in the afternoon, with the front runners immediately setting a murderous pace.
In the thick of it instead of just being there: BIKE reporter Henri Lesewitz. The selective, rough route and a night-time drop in temperature to almost zero degrees put the riders under extreme pressure. Almost a third of the starters had to abandon the race. Favourite Roy Bruns, who had already won the last edition of the EBM300 in 2018, seemed to be controlled by an invisible clock. He reached the finish line three minutes before the start of the main marathon. Which fuelled the atmosphere even more.
Energised by Brun's impressive performance and Manowar's sacred battle anthem "The Crown and the Ring", the colourful crowd started to move. It couldn't have been more emotional and epic. It was also a goosebump moment for the spectators, who had come to Seiffen en masse and now swarmed out to the best spots along the route. To the steep descent at the Seiffener Grund, whose root-ridden ground penalised every riding mistake, which is why a chicken line was also fluttered down as an alternative.
However, the nasty, super steep ramp up to the Wettiner Höhe, known as the "Alpe de Wettin", once again proved to be a uniquely atmospheric cauldron. The images at the top were reminiscent of those from Tour de France mountain stages. Riders battling to the limit, shouted upwards out of control by a trellis of spectators. The symbol of the Erzgebirge Bike Marathon.
The fastest 100 kilometre rider, Christian Kreuchler, sprinted to the finish line after exactly 4 hours. The women's winner, Dörte Martischewsky, finished an hour later. After two years of the pandemic, in which the EBM could only take place to a limited extent (in 2020 even only as an individual variant on a permanently marked course with Strava time recording), everything seemed to be as usual. Relaxed, full throttle on the course, relaxed surroundings.
The future of the EBM - an interview with Albrecht Dietze, the organiser
But even during the award ceremony, the organisers Albrecht Dietze and his father Günter (now in his eighties) were clearly wistful. Was this really the end? Once and for all? Or will Seiffen remain a place of pilgrimage for the marathon scene? As the hustle and bustle on the fairground died down, we had the opportunity for a chat.
BIKE: Are you satisfied with the anniversary?
Albrecht Dietze: Very. The 30th EBM was an all-round successful "birthday party" with many positive participants who obviously felt very comfortable. As we ultimately "only" had to cope with a loss of participants of 10 per cent in relation to the average of the last 20 years and all sponsors stayed on board, we are in the "green zone" economically despite a noticeable increase in expenditure. Thanks to our experienced helpers and professional partners, the event ran absolutely smoothly. At one point or another, luck also played a part: the 300s arrived on time during the mountain sprint at Alp de Wettin, which gave the spectators and participants real goosebumps. EBM300 winner Roy Bruns reached the finish 3 minutes before the start of the main field, called me briefly from the road and we guided him directly past the starting field, allowing him to collect the frenetic applause of 900 starters.
How did you yourself feel about this anniversary?
Very exhausting. We had a tight schedule and everything had to be perfect, of course, so you're extremely tense and you can't sleep. But the happy and grateful participants make up for everything, it's worth every effort. When the effort is over, all that remains is a feeling of elation - just like a marathon. I think we have organised a wonderful experience for people in these challenging times that they won't forget in a hurry, that's what counts. But one more thing, a race like this is ultimately made by the participants with their attitude, mood and emotions and in this respect we had the best birthday guests you could wish for.
What is the effort behind the event?
The EBM is now a year-round task for 2 to 3 people, 10 helpers work one week and around 100 others work two days. 30 years ago I organised the EBM as a student without a mobile phone, internet and emails from a phone box and it worked. Today, we have a range of technical aids, but the workload is increasing. The social media channels alone need to be constantly filled with high-quality content, plus there are countless details that you don't see, but which are important and ultimately make the event a success. Apart from the stressful preparation time of 4 weeks immediately before the event, it's also a lot of fun. The problem for me during this time is that my job has to continue full-time, the double burden is quite stressful. If I didn't have to work "on the side", it would all be easy to manage. Real professional organisers have it easier.
How does the scene that took part in the 1st EBM differ from today's participants?
That's an exciting question, especially when you compare the first years and the 30th EBM. The perhaps surprising answer is that the scene no longer differs at all. It used to be different, but now the "wheat has obviously been separated from the chaff". Almost only people who really love the sport and are passionate about it still come to the races, just like in the early years. They are very relaxed, friendly and grateful. The posers ride up the local mountain with their carbon Fully, take a photo of themselves in front of the sunset, post the picture on Instagram and are happy about the likes. They no longer need a finisher shirt, it's just the way of the times. We have veterans here at the EBM who have taken part 28 times and have remained loyal to us all these years. This is the real sport, not the make-believe world that you sometimes see on social media. We had the Champions Dinner on Saturday and the winners of the 90s were there, and I asked them the same question. They were also of the opinion that sport hasn't changed at its core, the DNA has remained the same. But there is one difference: in the past, most participants started over 100 km, that was the big challenge, everything else was a supporting programme. Today, the trend is towards extremes, in other words, either 40 km and a yeast after 2 hours or pushing yourself to the limit at 300 km.
Will there be an EBM in 2023?
We are motivated, but we have to analyse exactly how the fields of participants will develop. The contract with a large and long-standing sponsor is coming to an end, we have to renegotiate with Forst and prices are rising. In any case, we want to avoid death by instalments as far as the number of participants is concerned. It's not just about our personal free time, but also that of our helpers and partners, and we have to act responsibly in this context too. Before the anniversary, we said that we needed 1000 participants over 40, 70, 100 and 300 kilometres alone, and in the end there were 963. If we include the 155 starters in the Individual Challenge and the fantastic mountain sprint and the over 200 kids in the EBM Mini, we have already achieved our goal. The starter field also has an absolute human quality that makes it difficult to let go. One EBM veteran said: "Please keep going, something would be missing." What are you trying to say? At the moment we are analysing the situation and looking for sponsors, the decision must be made by the end of October at the latest.
