Update: 99-03-31

A Brief History of Mälaren Runt

Inaugurated more than a century ago, the one-day "regional classic" Mälaren runt was for many decades one of the most prominent and celebrated annual fixtures of the Swedish sports calendar.

When, in 1892, the editor of the sports magazine Tidning för Idrott, Alex Lindman, announced his plans for a bicycle race covering a loop of more than 320 kilometers, he was no doubt influenced by the previous season's continental instant successes: the marathon races Bordeaux-Paris (600 km) och Paris-Brest-Paris (1200 km). Bicycle racing in Sweden was still at a rather undeveloped stage. Of course neither the machines available nor the state of country roads were much more advanced at the time. The whole proposition, therefore, was judged by popular opinion to be an immensely daring, even foolish trial of strength. Nevertheless, the venture was undertaken without any serious misfortunes.

 

The premiere

In the premiere race nine distinguished wheelmen was "offed" in the Saturday afternoon of 2 July 1892. Several thousand spectators had gathered at the starting line on the old highway bridge at Hornstull in Stockholm. Many stayed up late into the night to study the bulletins which were being wired from telegraph stations along the course. Several newspapers published special editions for the occasion. The contestants were favoured by ideal weather conditions enabling them to arrive back at the finish much earlier than predicted. The winner was Gustaf Fjæstad in 15 hours 56 minutes, i.e. an average speed of almost 21 km/h!

 

The next year

The race of 1-2 July 1893 saw 11 starters, among others the veterans from the year before Fjæstad, Lars From and (the soon-to-become US pro circuit racer) John Larsson.The winner was Gideon Ericsson. At the finish at Haga (near Stockholm northern city limits) a crowd exceeding 10 000 had gathered! Only seven participants completed the race. After that year´s race, authorities enforced a total ban on road racing with bunched starts. This effectively postponed the race until 1901, when 20 cyclists participated. From then on the race was run every year, with few exceptions, until and including 1961.

 

And so on...

Among notable years, the1906 edition is remarkable for the appalling conditions, caused by torrential rains which rendered many road stretches practically unpassable. Only 3 out of 14 starters made it all the way! In 1910 it was even worse. It had been raining for a week prior to racing day, and continued to do so without end. The majority of participants wanted to cancel, but Henrik Morén succeeded in convincing the officials to launch the race as planned anyway, despite the fact that only 18 out of 29 racers finally decided to have a go. Road conditions were so miserable that the racers had to carry their machines for long stretches, in cyclo-cross fashion. Already in Strängnäs 14 had thrown in the towel, and at Eskilstuna (about one third of the way) there were only three men left! In the end Morén himself won in 16 hours 27 minutes, which stands out as the worse winner's time on record.

The 1961 edition proved to be the very last in the row of "classic" Mälaren runt races, it seems. In 1984 SCF (the national cycle racing union), in partnership with several sponsors, attempted to revive the event in the form of a regular elite race combined with a popular "mass-ride". The course was now officially 330 km long and , apart from a short-cut across Kvicksund (which is situated about half-way), the itinerary was virtually identical to the one presently used. Nearly 2000 cyclists took part that year and everything seemed to indicate a continuing success. But after the three additional races/rides over shortened distances, and no doubt due to lack of sponsor interest, the whole scheme was again discontinued in 1988.

Fredrikshof IF Cykel, the largest cycling club in the Stockholm area, is the instigator of Mälaren Runt Randonné which enjoys a steady participation from about a hundred enthusiasts and die-hard randonneurs every year since 1992.

 

Random facts and trivia

* For the first two years in the race's history the start was "bunched", i.e. riders were not separated in time and allowed to ride together. From 1901 the race was technically a long distance time trial up and until 1931 (except 1916-19). All other years it was to be a regular road race.

* The starting intervals used varied greatly during the 26 years which were done in time trialling fashion. [Data listed here].

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* The Stockholm Olympic Games road race of 1912 was held on the official Mälaren runt course. South-African Rudolph Lewis won, having been in the lead for nearly the entire race. The Swedish team won the Olympic team event.

* Until serviceable derailleurs became available in the early thirties, even the long distance road racers generally used fixed wheels.

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* Fredrikshofs IF was one of the leading cycle racing clubs in Sweden during the 1940's and 50's.

* The race was run clockwise around lake Mälaren until 1933, then anti-clockwise for a long period. In modern times it has been back to clockwise.

* The course has varied somewhat due to road network changes, etc, but was basically always in excess of 300 km until the "declining" years.

* The exact location of start and finish lines has also varied a great deal, but has always remained within the greater Stockholm area. [Venues listed here].

* The start-cum-finish line of the Mälaren Runt Randonné course is situated in the north-western suburb of Barkarby.

* Henrik Morén finished in second place in 1901 and went on to win a total of ten races (nine in a row!). Not surprisingly he became a true racing legend. Runner-up in the all-time race statictics is Ragnar Malm who won six times in all, keeping the best time record for ten years.

Among other prominent racers are Sven Johansson (four times winner) and triple winners A.W.Persson, Georg Jonsson, Ingvar Ericsson and Harry Snell.

Historien page (Swedish):  
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