It’s done and dusted! The inaugural European Mechanics Championship was a resounding success. Shimano was pleased to host the participants, who traveled from across Europe (and Brazil), for the 2024 European Mechanics Championship, which took place 5 — 7 October 2024 in Mechelen, Belgium (BE). And when all was said and done, the Netherlands took home First Place.

Considering the contestants all have one of the most awesome jobs in cycling, everyone felt like a winner. Watch the after-movie and experience the intensity, the battle, and determination of all 14 participating countries. With magnificent support and hosting from Orla Chennaoui.

Hailing from three separate Shimano Service Centers in the Netherlands, Jelmer Bijvang, Berend Bervoets and Kevin Smit (Team Netherlands) have been announced as the first-ever European Bike Mechanics Championship winners. Demonstrating their technical prowess, clear communication, and teamwork, as well as their ability to quickly identify and fix complex mechanic issues, impressed the judges over the course of the Championship.

The podium was a who’s who of bike mechanics:

• First Place: The Netherlands (Jelmer Bijvang, Berend Bervoets and Kevin Smit)
• Second Place: Italy (Tommaso Pastorino, Federico Sardu and Davide Bardelloni)
• Third Place: Germany (Patrick Rittmann, Klaus Molitor and Erik Stratmann)

With an ever-increasing number of bicycles on the market and the growing demand for professional maintenance, the need for well-trained, highly skilled mechanics has never been higher. Shimano is committed to advancing the quality of bike service by showcasing the expertise of mechanics from across Europe in this exciting competition.

Team Italy and Team NL faced off in an exciting final task that tested their knowledge.

Following the judges’ decision, Kevin Smit, of Wielercentrum Bruggemann in Ede, NL and Jelmer Bijvang, who works in Zwolle at Scholten Fietsgoed, were elated after finding out they won:

“In one word? Amazing! We actually won,” said Kevin.

“We did it! And that’s all we came here for, and we pulled it off,” added Jelmer.

Team NL’s Coach and Shimano Benelux’s Retail Store Concept Manager, Kenny van Hummel, had a little more to say about his team’s performance: “I was truly impressed by our guys at the Bike Mechanics Championship. What stood out to me was their ability to balance speed with precision. They moved efficiently through the tasks, but never at the expense of accuracy, focusing on each step and detail of the challenges before them.

“The past few days have been incredibly exciting, and I'm proud of how our team performed. Berend [Bervoets] was so confident and said, ‘We're going to win this,’ so we weren't going for anything less. Now, the guys take home with them the experience of competing at the highest level, where they will continue providing a high-quality service back at their Shimano Service Centers.”

The mechanics, who traveled from 14 countries to attend the Championship in Mechelen, competed in a series of technical challenges designed to assess their skills and knowledge in specific bike servicing and maintenance areas.

The competitors faced seven demanding challenges with multiple subtasks. These tests covered the widest range possible of bike maintenance skills, including:

• Drivetrain Setup: Installing a SHIMANO CUES front crank, choosing and installing a cassette compatible with the CUES drivetrain, and fine-tuning the front and rear derailleurs using E-TUBE PROJECT Cyclist to customize SHIMANO ULTEGRA Di2 shift buttons.
• Wheel Maintenance: Servicing a freehub, replacing the freehub body and performing a brake bleed.
• Shimano E-Bike Systems: Installing a SHIMANO EP5 Drive Unit, and mounting the correct chainrings and cranks, and using E-TUBE PROJECT Professional to diagnose battery errors.
• Hub Gear Maintenance: Disassembling, cleaning and reassembling SHIMANO NEXUS internal hub gear.

The championships showed that becoming a bike mechanic is a future-proof career. Increased cycling can be crucial in tackling climate change and reducing city air pollution and congestion. Around the world, cities continue to make changes to enable more cycling. The demand for skilled mechanics will only grow against this backdrop, and Shimano is at the forefront of providing the necessary education and training to meet this need.

Through its extensive network of over 2,000 Shimano Service Centers worldwide, Shimano is an essential partner in the cycling industry, providing training, high-quality servicing and customer advice.