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Vätternrundan 2014 Opens for Registrations

by Nick Gregory

The world's largest recreational bike ride, Vätternrundan in Sweden, will have a new registration procedure in place for the 2014 event.

Last year it took less than three hours to fill all 21,000 places for the 300 km Vätternrundan ride when registrations opened. With extreme demand, the underlying IT infrastructure reached its limit. While the number of places available for 2014 remains the same as this year, the system has now been redesigned to ensure no one misses out on a place due to technical glitches.

Pre-registration opened last month, and registration for the main event - the 300 km Vätternrundan - will open on November 4, at 19:00 CET. Places are allocated on a first come, first served basis, however, a certain amount have been set aside for international participants so that they are not disadvantaged by time differences or language barriers.

Image: Menage a Moi (Flickr)

"We are very keen to encourage international participation in Vätternrundan, and want to ensure that overseas cyclists get a fair chance to enter," says Vätternrundan's managing director Eva-Lena Frick.

Large groups of more than 40 participants can make reservations before November 4 for an additional fee. Vätternrundan is the world's largest cycling event. The main event will be held 13-14 of June 2014. This year, over 30,000 cyclists participated in three events, covering nearly seven million kilometres between them.

The event starts and finishes in Motala in south-central Sweden, halfway between Stockholm and Gothenburg. The 300 km ride circles the scenic Lake Vättern, Europe's fifth largest lake, while the shorter events take place on the eastern shores of the lake.

For more information, please visit www.vatternrundan.se