Women’s Bicycle Race along the Garden Ring, 1957
Photo by Evgeniy Volkov
The To the Finish Line photo taken by Evgeny Volkov in 1957 at the bicycle race along the Sadovoe Ring became one of his first photos published by the Izvestia newspaper. The young photographer did not have professional equipment, he experimented with exposure to get the effect of blurred background and clear figures.
His experiments were successful. In 1958, this photo by Evgeny Volkov got the World Press Photo Award in the Netherlands along with two of his other works.
Bicycle Race along the Sadovoe Ring
The bicycle race along the Sadovoe Ring first took place in 1920. In the beginning, only Muscovites participated in it but soon it became one of the most interesting events of the bicycle season in the Soviet Union. For many years, up to 1000 people took part in it.
Start of the bicycle race along the Sadovoe Ring, 1946
The Sadovoe ring is a circular highway of the central part of Moscow. It appeared in the 1820s in place of the 17th century fortifications, the rampants around the Zemlyanoy Gorod that were no longer of military value.
The Sadovoe ring consists of seventeen streets and fifteen squares. Its circumference is sixteen kilometres, and in the narrowest place, near the Krymsky Bridge, there are six lanes.
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Bicycle Race along the Sadovoe Ring on the Krymsky Bridge, 1953
Photo by Nikolay Volkov
Photo by Nikolay Volkov
The significance of the race can be seen by the names of its judges, among whom were generals, field marshals and heroes of the USSR, such as Bogdanov, Budyonny, Papanin, Rotmistrov and others.
The course of the race was covered in detail in the All-Union newspaper Red Sports (later, Sovetsky Sport).
Bicycle Race in the War Years
Even during the Great Patriotic War, races continued. From 1941 to 1945, the best cycles rode along the Sadovoe Ring, showing their courage, sportsmanship, and strength, inspiring the Muscovites and raising their spirits.
Bicycle Race Participants Marching along the Sadovoe Ring, 1944
Photo by Nikolay Volkov
Photo by Nikolay Volkov
Bicycle Race around the Garden Ring during the War, 1942
Photo by Nikolay Volkov
Photo by Nikolay Volkov
Today, the bicycle race along the Sadovoe Ring is the most popular amateur bicycle race in Russia. It is held annually in the heart of Moscow, continuing its heroic history.
It is organized by the National Amateur Cyclist and Veteran Cyclist Association.
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