History
Indoor cycling is actually two very different disciplines: Artistic cycling, which is basically gymnastics on a bicycle, and cycle-ball, which is something like indoor hockey or soccer played by cyclists. Although virtually unknown in the United States, indoor cycling was largely created by an American, Nicholas Edward Kaufmann.
A trick cyclist who performed with his dog, Mops, Kaufmann is said to have staged artistic cycling world championships in 1988. There are no details, and it's likely that this competition was essentially a public relations stunt.
Kaufmann and a partner, John Featherly, demonstrated cycle-ball in Rochester, New York, on September 14, 1893. Supposedly, Kaufmann got the idea for the sport from a routine in which he moved his dog around with the front wheel of the bike.
Cycle-ball didn't catch on in the U. S., but somehow it traveled to Germany, where Paul and Otto Lueders demonstrated the sport in Berlin in 1901. It became very popular among German cyclists, with two players a side indoors and six players a side outdoors. The game soon spread to other European countries. The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) held the first world championships in 1930.
Artistic cycling began to win followers only after World War II. The UCI added world championships gradually: Men's singles in 1956, women's singles in 1960, men's and women's pairs in 1986, and women's fours in 2001.
Germany is still indoor cycling's world leader, with 10,000 licensed competitors. The sport is also popular in Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, France, and Switzerland.
During the last 20 years, indoor cycling has been developing rapidly in East Asia, including China, Japan, and Malaysia. In 1993, Hong Kong hosted the first world championships held outside of Europe. Malaysia hosted the championships in 1996, Japan in 2001.
How They're Played
Cycle-ball is played on a wooden court 11 meters wide and 14 meters long, bordered by a wooden railing 30 centimeters high. The goal is a net, 2 meters square and at least 20 centimeters deep.
There are two players on each team, one of whom is a goalkeeper. The ball is 17 to 18 centimeters in diameter and is usually filled with horsehair. It can be moved by the action of the bicycle or the player's body, but not with the hands or feet. However, the goalkeeper is allowed to use his hands to catch the ball in the act of defending his goal.
The goal area is a semicircle, with a 2-meter radius, surrounding the goal. Only one defending player is allowed within the goal area. A member of the attacking team can move inside the goal area only after the ball has already entered the area.
A game is made up of two halves of seven minutes each.
Artistic cycling competition also takes place within an 11 by 14-meter rectangle, containing three concentric circles, 8 meters, 4 meters, and 1/2 meter in diameter.
To the accompaniment of music, a competitor or team of competitors performs a 6-minute routine made up of figures. Each figure is assigned a number of points based on difficulty and the points are totalled to assign a value to whole performance. Judges then deduct points because of mistakes during the routine.