Nordic Sport & Event, which organizes the Gotland Grand National in collaboration with EMX Gotland, is introducing a brand-new class for this year's competition.

The Gotland Grand National, now in its 38th consecutive year and attracting approximately 3,000 participants annually, is now focusing on e-bikes in collaboration with two different sports federations. The Swedish Motor Sports Federation (Svemo) and the Swedish Cycling Federation (SCF) are both enthusiastically and energetically supporting this new initiative, which is now being launched on Gotland and at the GGN.

The races to be held on Thursday, October 28, 2021 (the day before GGN begins) will follow the same basic format and rules as GGN. The race will last 2 hours, and the winner in each class will be the rider who completes the most laps in the shortest time.

“E-bike racing is a growing sport in Europe and is gaining traction in Sweden, but there aren’t any major competitions yet, and we’re really looking forward to organizing an e-bike race that will cover about 10 km of the total 22 km of the entire GGN course,” says Conny Bohlin, CEO of Nordic Sport & Event.

The competition is divided into two different categories: one organized by the Swedish Cycling Federation (Svenska Cykelförbundet) for MTB e-bikes (Pedalec 250w/25 km/h), and another organized by Svemo for e-bikes (Pedalec) over 250w.

The classes that will be offered during the first year are:

1. MTB E-Bike Pedalec 250W/25 km/h Motion, Women's
2. MTB E-Bike Pedalec 250W/25 km/h Motion, Men's
3. MTB E-Bike Pedalec 250 W/25 km/h Elitmotion, Women's
4. MTB E-Bike Pedalec 250W/25 km/h Elitmotion, Men's
5. Pedalec E-Bike Over 250 W, Women's
6. Pedalec E-Bike Over 250 W, Men's

– It feels a bit surreal to go from a spontaneous conversation with Conny Bolin (CEO of Nordic Sport & Event) in mid-June regarding a possible interest in including E-Bikes (Pedalec) as a separate class in this year’s GGN, to being able to announce this launch today. But this is the result of intensive collaboration in a positive spirit among all three parties involved: Svemo, Nordic Sport & Event, and the Swedish Cycling Federation. Hopefully, this opportunity marks the beginning of strong growth for the E-Bike sector in Sweden going forward,” says Tony Olsson, head of E-Bike at the Swedish Motor Sports Federation (Svemo).

– Malin Lindgren of the Swedish Cycling Federation: “This is something of a historic milestone—that we’ve now come this far in launching MTB E-Bike at such a well-established race as GGN. We are very grateful for this opportunity, which we have through our collaboration with Svemo and Nordic Sport & Event.” Looking ahead to 2022, we look forward to introducing national competition classes for MTB E-Bikes as a step forward in the Swedish Cycling Federation’s development.”

Registration is available at gotlandgrandnational.se

For more information, contact
Conny Bohlin, Nordic Sport & Event, 0708-249494,
Tony Olsson, Swedish Motor Sports Federation, 011-4600739,
Malin Lindgren, Swedish Cycling Federation, 076-6962815