After three incredible years, it's time to bring VeryLirens to a close.

When I started this project together with Lorenzo, it was just an idea, a way to explore cycling differently and build a community around grassroots cycling. It came from the desire to give Copenhagen’s cycling scene a breath of fresh air, offering independent, uncommercial races for the people, with a pack of pasta as the only prize. Over the years, it grew into something I could never have imagined. It evolved too, as I started our cycling team, Pasta Racing, which has exceeded all expectations and is now where much of our energy lies.

The Copenhagen cycling scene is thriving, with more rides and races than there are days in the week, thanks in many ways to many passionate actors. The energy we’ve been able to put into VeryLirens as a small, voluntary initiative simply isn’t there anymore. Priorities change, and so have mine: I’ve started my little business and been enjoying training and racing myself.

VeryLirens was always about the people who showed up, the energy riders brought, and the culture we built together. It was a playground for experimentation and expression, and like all playgrounds, there is a beginning and an end.

With that being said, this isn’t the end of my contribution to the cycling community as a race organizer. The spirit will live on through other projects, Pasta Racing being one of them, and CopenHill Climb will most likely continue, in a new format. Fewer productions, but better, more focused ones. For me, it’s about creating meaningful and memorable events whilst distancing myself from the pressure of having to organize events on a regular basis.

Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, to everyone who rode, cheered, shared a moment with VeryLirens. And a special mention to all those who believed in the project, and supported it day in day out. This is the end of a chapter, but hey, it takes several chapters to write a book.

With gratitude, Antoine