Züri-Metzgete

Züri-Metzgete (Zürich German; English: Championship of Zürich; German: Meisterschaft von Zürich) was a European Classic cycle race held annually in Zürich, Switzerland, and continued as a non-professional mass participation event from 2007 until 2014.[1] It was a race with a long history dating back to 1914, on a demanding course in the hilly region around Zürich. In its heyday the race was considered the sixth monument of cycling, alongside the five most prestigious one-day races on the calendar (Milan–San Remo, Tour of Flanders, Paris–Roubaix, Liège–Bastogne–Liège and the Tour of Lombardy). It was the most prominent of the summer classics.[2]

Züri-Metzgete
Race details
DateEarly October
RegionZürich, Switzerland
English nameChampionship of Zürich
Local name(s)Züri-Metzgete (Zürich German)
Meisterschaft von Zürich (in German)
DisciplineRoad race
Competition
TypeOne-day
Web sitewww.zueri-metzgete.ch
History
First edition1914 (1914)
Editions91
Final edition2006
First winner Henri Rheinwald (SUI)
Most wins Heiri Suter (SUI) (6 wins)
Final winner Samuel Sánchez (ESP)

The Züri-Metzgete was included in every edition of the former UCI Road World Cup which ran from 1989 to 2004, and a leg of the inaugural UCI ProTour in 2005. In 2005 the race was moved to the end of the season for the first time in its history. The 2007 edition of the race was canceled after organizers failed to attract enough sponsors in the wake of several doping scandals in international cycling.[3] In 2008, the race was held on September 7, but the format has been changed to an amateur competition.

History and background

The Züri-Metzgete was first held in 1914 and has been held annually since 1917, including the second World War years, giving it the longest continued existence of any of cycling's major races. Originally, the race was billed as "Meisterschaft von Zürich" (Championship of Zurich), and this designation is still being used in some places. However, the colloquial expression "Züri Metzgete" soon became popular and has long been adapted by the organisers themselves and also by the UCI. "Züri" is Swiss dialect for Zurich. "Metzgete" (from "metzgern", to butcher) is a dialect word as well and a tongue-in-cheek reference to the supposedly ruthless character of the race. (Originally, a "Metzgete" is a special form of agricultural festivity usually held in autumn when farmers had to reduce their livestock to get through the winter. The fresh meat was then sold and distributed in barbecue-like village festivals.)

For many years the event was held in early May, not an ideal date as the majority of the top classic riders were jaded after contesting the "Monuments" in March and April. Also during the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s the race was often held the day after the Rund um den Henninger Turm in Frankfurt and this affected the quality of the field and the racing. In 1988 the race was switched to a date in mid August which attracted many of the Tour de France stars and gave the race a new lease of life. The 2005 edition of the race has been switched to yet another new date in early October, as the UCI rearranged the cycling calendar to bring the World Championships a few weeks earlier in the season.

In the early days, the Züri-Metzgete was dominated by home riders with the race being won on 34 occasions by the Swiss in the first 41 editions of the race between 1914 and 1956. The most notable foreign winner in this period was Gino Bartali. In 1946, the Italian beat arch rival Fausto Coppi in a contentious race, the two Italians rode together at a breakneck pace shaking off all their rivals with Bartali winning in controversial circumstances, sprinting away while Coppi was tightening his toe straps. Many people say this incident was the start of the "war" between Bartali and Coppi. That 1946 race was won at an average speed of 42.228 km/h (26.239 mph), a record speed which stood for over 50 years. Spaniard Juan Antonio Flecha won the 2004 edition of the race in a record average speed of 42.707 km/h (26.537 mph).[4]

Many of the Swiss winners at this time never went on to win another major race but two of Switzerland's greatest riders Ferdinand Kübler (1943) and Hugo Koblet (1952 and 1954) were triumphant at Zürich in this era, another Swiss Henri Suter set the record for the most victories at six between 1919 and 1929. After 1956 the race winners have become more international with only five Swiss winners in this period compared to 15 victories for Italy and 13 for Belgium. The quality of the race winners has been very high with classic specialists such as Paolo Bettini, Francesco Moser, Roger De Vlaeminck, Freddy Maertens, Giuseppe Saronni and Johan Museeuw all winning while the switch to an August date in 1988 allowed Tour de France riders such as Lance Armstrong, Jan Ullrich and Laurent Dufaux to do well in the race.[5]

1977 edition: the peloton passing through Berg am Irchel

The route

The present day race starts and finishes in Zürich, in previous years the finish was on the Oerlikon velodrome in Zürich but that was abandoned a number of years ago. The race is held over a distance of 241 km with over 3000 metres of climbing, consisting of one 72.5 km lap and four 42.1 km circuits, this shorter lap includes four ascents of both the Pfannenstiel and Forch climbs, the final climb of the Pfannenstiel is just 15 km from the finish in Zürich and is often the launching point for the winning move in the race. Between 1993 and 1999 the race started in Basel and finished in Zürich and was known as the Grand Prix Suisse.

Winners

List of winners

Year Country Rider Team
1914   Switzerland Henri Rheinwald
1917   Switzerland Charles Martinet
1918   Switzerland Anton Sieger
1919   Switzerland Heiri Suter
1920   Switzerland Heiri Suter
1921  Italy Ricardo Maffeo
1922   Switzerland Heiri Suter
1923  Germany Adolf Huschke
1924   Switzerland Heiri Suter
1925   Switzerland Hans Kaspar
1926   Switzerland Albert Blattmann
1927   Switzerland Kastor Notter
1928   Switzerland Heiri Suter
1929   Switzerland Heiri Suter
1930  Belgium Omer Taverne
1931  Austria Max Bulla
1932   Switzerland Auguste Erne
1933   Switzerland Walter Blattmann
1934   Switzerland Paul Egli
1935   Switzerland Paul Egli
1936   Switzerland Werner Buchwalder
1937   Switzerland Leo Amberg
1938   Switzerland Hans Martin
1939   Switzerland Karl Litschi
1940   Switzerland Robert Zimmermann
1941   Switzerland Walter Diggelmann
1942   Switzerland Paul Egli
1943   Switzerland Ferdinand Kübler
1944   Switzerland Ernst Naef
1945   Switzerland Léo Weilenmann
1946  Italy Gino Bartali
1947   Switzerland Charles Guyot
1948  Italy Gino Bartali
1949   Switzerland Fritz Schaer
1950   Switzerland Fritz Schaer
1951   Switzerland Jean Brun
1952   Switzerland Hugo Koblet
1953   Switzerland Eugène Kamber
1954   Switzerland Hugo Koblet
1955   Switzerland Max Schellenberg
1956   Switzerland Carlo Clerici
1957  West Germany Hans Junkermann
1958  Italy Giuseppe Cainero
1959  Italy Angelo Conterno
1960   Switzerland Alfred Ruegg
1961   Switzerland Rolf Maurer
1962  Netherlands Jan Janssen
1963  Italy Franco Balmamion
1964  Belgium Guido Reybrouck
1965  Italy Franco Bitossi
1966  Italy Italo Zilioli
1967   Switzerland Robert Hagmann
1968  Italy Franco Bitossi
1969  Belgium Roger Swerts
1970  Belgium Walter Godefroot
1971  Belgium Herman Van Springel
1972  Belgium Willy Van Neste
1973  Belgium André Dierickx
1974  Belgium Walter Godefroot
1975  Belgium Roger De Vlaeminck
1976  Belgium Freddy Maertens
1977  Italy Francesco Moser
1978  West Germany Dietrich Thurau
1979  Italy Giuseppe Saronni
1980  Belgium Gerry Verlinden
1981   Switzerland Beat Breu
1982  Netherlands Adri van der Poel
1983  Netherlands Johan van der Velde
1984  Australia Phil Anderson
1985  Belgium Ludo Peeters
1986  Portugal Acácio da Silva Mura
1987  West Germany Rolf Gölz
1988  Netherlands Steven Rooks
1989  Canada Steve Bauer
1990  France Charly Mottet
1991  Belgium Johan Museeuw
1992  Russia Viatcheslav Ekimov
1993  Italy Maurizio Fondriest
1994  Italy Gianluca Bortolami
1995  Belgium Johan Museeuw
1996  Italy Andrea Ferrigato
1997  Italy Davide Rebellin
1998  Italy Michele Bartoli
1999  Poland Grzegorz Gwiazdowski
2000   Switzerland Laurent Dufaux
2001  Italy Paolo Bettini
2002  Italy Dario Frigo
2003  Italy Daniele Nardello
2004  Spain Juan Antonio Flecha
2005  Italy Paolo Bettini
2006  Spain Samuel Sánchez

Multiple winners

WinsRiderNationalityEditions
6Heiri Suter  Switzerland1919, 1920, 1922, 1924, 1928, 1929
3Paul Egli  Switzerland1934, 1935, 1942
2Gino Bartali Italy1946, 1948
Fritz Schär  Switzerland1949, 1950
Hugo Koblet  Switzerland1952, 1954
Franco Bitossi Italy1965, 1968
Walter Godefroot Belgium1970, 1974
Johan Museeuw Belgium1991, 1995
Paolo Bettini Italy2001, 2005

Wins per country

WinsCountry
40  Switzerland
20 Italy
13 Belgium
4 Germany/ West Germany
 Netherlands
2 Spain
1 Australia
 Austria
 Canada
 France
 Poland
 Portugal
 Russia

References

  1. Zueri Metzgete [@ZueriMetzgete] (2 April 2015). "t.co/mXdakscXGw t.co/VJcMmRpaHN" (Tweet) via Twitter.
  2. "Championship of Zurich". FirstCycling.com. 5 October 2023.
  3. Doreen Carvajal (3 May 2007). "Cycling struggles for support as doping takes a toll". International Herald Tribune. Archived from the original on 5 May 2007. Retrieved 4 February 2018.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  4. "Championnat de Zürich (Sui) - Cat. NE". Memoire-du-cyclisme.eu (in French). Retrieved 5 October 2023.
  5. "Züri Metzgete(1.PT2)". ProcyclingStats. 6 October 2023.
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