BICICLETA-FRANCIA 2026

Calor, alta tecnología y un estilo de vida lujoso en la región de Champaña.

por Sascha Göbel, EW Europe Corresponsal

Four days, three nights, three countries. Heat that made the asphalt shimmer like a bad mirage. Anyone who thinks of the elevator industry as a dry, wiry affair — nothing but standards, committees and spreadsheets — should have seen this crew: swinging onto motorcycles in Völklingen, Germany; dismounting again in Dieppe, France, with dusty boots, sunburned necks and the firm conviction: It was worth it.

It started with a full tank and a touch of bravado. What followed was a mix of hairpin-bend euphoria, chain technology and champagne — not exactly the combination you’d expect at a trade show, but that’s exactly what made it better. by Sascha Göbel, EW Europe Corresponsal

Day 1: A Sparkling Start in Dizy

From Völklingen, the route led straight into the heart of France’s Champagne region, to Dizy. Endless green rows of vineyards rolled by, and the heat clung stubbornly to everyone’s necks — but who’s complaining when a glass of champagne is waiting at the end of the day?

Serapid hosted the evening: First a champagne tasting, which quickly turned into an opportunity to talk with the other riders about more than just tire pressure and motorcycle setup. Between the glasses, the kind of conversations emerged that

make a tour like this worthwhile — looser, more direct and more honest than any small talk at a trade-show booth.

After a delicious dinner and an overnight stay at Les Grains d'Argent, the next day could come.

Day 2: Coastal Breeze and Push-Chain Technology in Dieppe

The route continued northwest — toward Normandy. And finally — finally! — the temperatures dropped a few degrees. The ride to the coast felt like a reward for sticking it out.

In Dieppe, a professional highlight of the tour was on the agenda: a visit to Serapid. The company presented its Rigid Chain Technology — a push-chain technology that, according to Serapid, offers clear advantages over conventional drive systems, particularly for heavy loads and large lifting heights. The plant tour and the look into the product range were exciting and informative in the early evening. Gears, chains, engineering logic you could touch: a treat for anyone who otherwise only pores over datasheets.

The day wrapped up with a barbecue and a food truck — simple, uncomplicated, but done right. Exactly what one appreciates after a long day in the sun: no fuss, just genuinely good food and good company.

Day 3: Hairpin Euphoria in the Ardennes

The return trip through the Ardennes turned into a genuine heat battle once more — as if the sun had saved something special for the last day. But the roads made up for every drop of sweat: narrow valleys, endless combinations of curves, exactly the kind of route that's the reason to get on a motorcycle in the first place.

The night was spent at Le Dormeur du Val in Charleville-Mézières, France, a hotel housed in the historic building that once was the printing works of the magazine L'Usine Nouvelle. The hotel is dedicated to the poet Arthur Rimbaud, who lived in the city and whose name is linked to the title of his famous poem "Le Dormeur du val."

Industrial architecture and very stylish furnishings, paired with working air conditioning — priceless! Sometimes the simple things in life are the most important.

Finale: Back on the Saar

The final leg led back to Saarland, Germany. A shared Thai dinner in Saarbrücken rounded off the tour culinarily before the group scattered for the trip home – for some, all the way to Berlin. Tired faces, but satisfied ones.

Conclusión

What this tour really shows is less the participants' capacity for suffering at well over 38°C in the shade and, more, the function such formats serve for an industry that otherwise mostly meets at trade shows and in committees. A plant visit in a motorcycle suit creates a different kind of conversation than a trade-show booth – more informal, more relaxed, but by no means less relevant for it. On the contrary: Some of the best ideas don't come up at the standing table with coffee, but over champagne after a long day in the sun.

That Serapid initiated and organized this tour was, visibly, also networking with foresight for the company – a smart move, your author has to say. For the participants, it was, above all, three days in which the industry briefly traded suits for leather and still, between curves, chains and champagne glasses, cheerfully talked about more than just drive technology – though certainly that, too.