Amsterdam

The world's cycling city. Flat polder roads, an English-speaking expat scene, and the Ronde Hoep loop minutes from the canals.

Cycos Score8.6/10 · World-class

Score breakdown

Scored on climate and bike infrastructure — each computed from a real datapoint, not a guess. Ridership and sport-scene dimensions are on the way. How scoring works.

Climate

7.1/10

260 rideable days/yr · Open-Meteo daily history 2019–2024 ↗

Bike infrastructure

10/10

1251.3 km cycleway within 10 km of center · OpenStreetMap (Overpass) ↗

The Amsterdam cycling scene

Amsterdam is built for bikes, but the road-cycling scene is its own world: once you clear the canal ring you're into pancake-flat polder roads through Waterland, the Amstel valley and the Ronde Hoep. The terrain has no climbs to speak of, so group rides are about smooth pacelines, wind and steady kilometres rather than elevation. The international community is large and English-friendly, anchored by the Rapha Amsterdam clubhouse, the fast-growing Cycle Capital club, and historic Dutch racing clubs like WV Amsterdam and ASC Olympia (the Netherlands' oldest cycling club). Track racing happens at the Velodrome Amsterdam, and crit-style racing runs on closed circuits at Sloten.

Start here

For visitors and expats, the easiest entry is the Rapha Amsterdam clubhouse on Wolvenstraat, which runs weekly open group rides (Wednesday 'Breek de Week' and Sunday rides, including a no-drop 'Look Pro Go Slow') that welcome non-members. Cycle Capital runs monthly social rides of 50-90 km around the city. If you want structured racing, ASC Olympia and WV Amsterdam are the long-running Dutch clubs.

Routes & trails

0 routes

The climbs, trails, and rides that define riding here, the ones locals ride and recommend first.

No routes documented yet for Amsterdam. Suggest a route or check back soon.

Group rides & cycling clubs

5 clubs

Rapha Cycling Club Amsterdam

Website ↗

The Rapha clubhouse on Wolvenstraat is the de facto hub for Amsterdam's international road scene, running open group rides every week that welcome both RCC members and non-members. The midweek 'Breek de Week' is a brisker intermediate ride out of the city, while Sundays offer a regular open ride plus a deliberately relaxed, no-drop 'Look Pro Go Slow' aimed at people new to group riding. Rides roll out from the clubhouse and finish back at the cafe; you register online the evening before.

Cycle Capital Cycling Club

Website ↗

Cycle Capital bills itself as the fastest-growing cycling club in Amsterdam, for amateurs, semi-pros and fans alike, and runs both competitive teams (including women's and para-cycling squads) and open social rides. Its headline community ride is a monthly social outing of 50-90 km in the green surroundings around Amsterdam, pitched as relaxed and welcoming to newcomers. The club is based at Tussen de Bogen 24 and also runs Zwift community rides midweek.

ASC Olympia

Website ↗

ASC Olympia describes itself as the oldest cycling club in the Netherlands, with Dutch, European and World Champions among its alumni. It is a full-spectrum competitive club covering road, track (at the Velodrome Amsterdam), mountain biking, cyclo-cross and hand-cycling, with dedicated women's programs and its own clubhouse and training circuit. It's a club to join for structured training and racing rather than casual visitor drop-ins.

WV Amsterdam

Website ↗

WV Amsterdam is a historic racing club founded in 1933, centred on its own closed racing circuit at Sloten where it hosts amateur and licensed criterium-style races through the week. It runs separate race evenings for licensed riders, masters and entry-level newcomers, plus signature events like the Driedaagse van Sloten and 100 van Sloten. This is a racing organization first, with a clubhouse and volunteer-run canteen rather than a casual social-ride club.

ARC Ulysses

Website ↗

ARC Ulysses is the cycling club of Amsterdam-Noord, founded in 1921, serving 'young and old' across road racing and cyclo-cross. It runs a Tuesday-evening competition series from April through September, plus youth training on Tuesday and Thursday evenings and off-road/cyclo-cross training in season. Prospective members can request a trial training before joining.

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Local bike shops

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This page was last verified on 2026-06-01. Cycos curates listings from public sources (club websites, Strava club pages, Reddit threads) and verbal recommendations from local riders and shops. We don't scrape behind logins. If a listing is wrong or you're a club/shop that wants it removed, email hello@cycos.cc and we'll update or remove it within 7 days.