Cycle ball
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Cycle-ball, also known as "radball" (from German), is a sport similar to association football played on bicycles. The two people on each team ride a fixed-gear bicycle with no brakes or freewheel. The ball is controlled by the bike and the head, except when defending the goal.
History
The sport was introduced in 1883 by American artistic cyclist Nicholas Edward Kaufmann.<ref name="mallon">Template:Cite book</ref> The first match was played on September 14 that year between Kaufmann and fellow artistic cyclist John Featherly.<ref name="mallon"/> Its first world championships were in 1929. In the early 20th century, the sport spread to Germany; in the modern day, Germany is the location of the sport's largest fanbase.<ref name="mallon"/> Cycle-ball is also popular in Austria, Switzerland, and the Czech Republic.<ref name="mallon"/> The most successful players were the Pospíšil brothers of Czechoslovakia, world champions 20 times between 1965 and 1988.
Closely related is artistic cycling in which the athletes perform a kind of gymnastics on cycles.
Rules
The game is played by two teams of two players in a field of 11 meters length by 9 meters width.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Championships
- UCI Indoor Cycling World Championships since 1930 (Men) / 2023 (Women) / Artistic since 1956/1959 / Pair 1986 / Quartets 2003
- Cycle-ball at the 2005 and 2007 Asian Indoor Games
- Cycle-ball at the 1989 World Games
- European Cycleball Championship since 1967
- 15th Asian Indoor Indoor Cycling Championships in Hong Kong 2024<ref>https://www.indoorcyclingworldwide.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/20240811_ACWC_III_startlist.pdf Template:Bare URL PDF</ref>
- UEC Indoor Cycling Juniors European Championships (Union Européenne de Cyclisme)<ref>https://www.insidethegames.biz/articles/1143069/european-cycling-championships-locations Template:Bare URL inline</ref>