With the 2026 UCI Cycle-ball World Cup about to start (in Kobe, Japan, on Sunday 22 February) we learn about the game’s format, rules, history, equipment and champions.
The game & its rules
Cycle-ball – also known as ‘radball’, especially in German-speaking countries and regions – is a fast-paced sport similar in principle to football, where teams play against each other to hit a ball into their opponent’s goal. Also like football, whoever scores the most goals wins the match. The big difference, of course, is it’s played on bicycles, and players don’t use their feet!
Cycle-ball teams comprise two highly-skilled players: a goalkeeper and an outfield player. Roles can alternate, but normally players specialise.
The players control the ball and shoot with their bike’s front or back wheel, and their heads, but hands and feet may not come in contact with the ball to shoot. However, within the marked-out penalty area the goalkeepers are allowed to use their hands to catch or deflect the ball in defending their goal.
Players must stay on their bikes during play and may not touch the floor; if they do so they must ride or walk behind their own goal line before continuing play. Rule breaches and fouls – as deemed by the referee who is on foot in the playing field – are penalised by a free kick or a penalty from a distance of 4 metres from the goal, and are often converted into goals.
Cycle-ball history
Legend has it that, at the end of the 19th century, a small dog ran in front of the wheel of the then well-known artistic cyclist Nick Kaufmann. To save himself from falling and the animal from injury, he gently pushed it to the side with the front wheel. This gave rise to the idea of the ball game on a bike.
In 1883, Kaufmann – a German immigrant – played the first cycling ball game with a polo ball in Rochester, USA, together with fellow artistic cyclist John Featherly. They rode specially elevated bicycles, known as the American Star Bicycle.
The sport quickly became popular among artistic cyclists in the USA, and it soon came to Europe where two Berlin-based artistic cyclists, Paul and Otto Lüders, were officially the first players to present cycle-ball to the German public. That was in 1901. Since then, cycle-ball has developed mainly in Central Europe.
In the early 20th century, two types of cycle-ball emerged: with 2-person teams indoors in halls, and 6-person cycle-ball played outdoors on the grass. The first UCI World Championships for cycle-ball were held in 1930, with Germany winning the first title in the 2-man variant, and France victorious in the 6-man final. Today, the two-player variant is recognised, for men and women, by the UCI.
While popularity for cycle-ball waned in the USA, it grew in Canada, and is increasingly popular in Asia – notably in Japan, Hong Kong and Malaysia – and across Europe.
Playing field & equipment
Cycle-ball is played on a ‘field’ measuring 14 x 11 metres, limited by 30cm high boards. The goals measure 2 x 2 metres. Playing time for each match is 14 minutes: two 7-minute halves with a 90-second half-time break.
The specialised bicycles, typically weighing about 13kg, have good handling and stability thanks to a very short wheelbase and reinforced frames. A fixed gear enables the player to balance, stand still and ride forwards and backwards with rapid acceleration. Players can sit far back on their bicycles – seemingly as if on a luggage rack – helping to achieve highly flexible weight distribution. The unusual form of the handlebar enables impressive technical tricks with the ball.
The ball is 17-18cm in diameter and weighs 500-600g, being filled with animal hair, usually horsehair. Attacking shots reach a speed of up to 90km/h.
Major cycle-ball competitions
The pinnacle of global cycle-ball is the annual UCI World Championships, as well as the UCI Cycle-ball World Cup, a series of competitions held in different venues throughout the season.
The UCI World Championships for cycle-ball has seen 88 editions, initially with male competitors only. The structure evolved to consist of a ‘top six’ A division and a B division. Since 2025, this has been replaced by a new Elite League system featuring the top eight ranked teams from the previous year, and a Challenger League where nations fight for promotion to the Elite League.
The UCI World Championships for cycle-ball are part of the UCI Indoor Cycling World Championships which also include artistic cycling. Since 2023, a women’s cycle-ball tournament has also been organised at the event, with medals so far shared between Germany, Switzerland, Japan and Czechia. The 2026 UCI Indoor Cycling World Championships will be hosted in Derby, United Kingdom.
The most successful nation across all UCI World Championships for cycle-ball is Germany with 35 gold, 28 silver and 11 bronze medals, followed by Czechia, Switzerland, Austria, France and Belgium. The record UCI World Champions are the Pospíšil brothers from Czechia with 20 titles between 1965 and 1988. They are followed by the still active Austrian Patrick Schnetzer, who has won 15 medals including 8 gold, with various partners since 2010, as well as the overall UCI World Cup title nine times.
The UCI Cycle-ball World Cup has existed since 2002. Until now comprising men’s teams only, from 2026 there will also be a women’s tournament at the UCI World Cup, which comprises numerous rounds – qualifying tournaments – between February and October.
At the end of the season, the best teams compete in a final tournament, where the overall winners can be decided. The most successful nation at the UCI Cycle-ball World Cup so far is Austria with 11 overall victories ahead of Germany (7) and Switzerland (4).