How to Make Your Corporate Cycling Challenge a Success

A corporate cycling challenge brings together physical activity, health, and climate action in a shared experience for your organisation. It encourages employees to cycle more often, strengthens team spirit, and helps establish sustainable mobility as an integral part of everyday working life.

The Health Benefits of a Corporate Cycling Challenge for Your Organisation

A corporate cycling challenge can encourage employees to commute to work by bike. Pedelecs (e-bikes) make it easier to cover longer distances by bicycle, and the health benefits apply even when employees choose an e-bike. A study conducted by Hannover Medical School and published in the BMJ Open Sport & Exercise Medicine journal found that regular e-bike use can reduce the risk of heart attacks by more than 40%. Incorporating regular physical activity into everyday life can also lower the risk of cancer and diabetes.

Cycling is much more than a leisure activity – it is an effective way to improve both physical health and overall well-being. Even short bouts of exercise have been shown to benefit employees’ health. Research demonstrates that it is the regularity of physical activity that has the greatest positive impact on cardiovascular health. The Framingham Heart Study, for example, found measurable health benefits even from exercise sessions lasting less than ten minutes. These include lower body mass index (BMI), reduced waist circumference, and improved fasting blood glucose levels.

The type of physical activity is just as important as its frequency. The Dutch MORGEN Study found that cycling and sports are among the most beneficial forms of exercise for cardiovascular health. By comparison, walking and gardening did not show the same positive effects on heart health. A corporate cycling challenge helps employees incorporate regular cycling into their daily routines, making it easier to establish a sustainable, health-promoting habit.

Cycling every day also contributes to improved mental well-being. It helps reduce stress and promotes better sleep by providing natural physical activity that supports healthy fatigue and recovery.

Bicycle Challenge

Implementing a corporate cycling challenge in your company is a great way to promote workplace health management and motivate employees to exercise regularly. This type of exercise competition not only improves employee health but also fosters team spirit and strengthens employee loyalty.

Steps to implement a corporate cycling challenge for your team

1. Define goals
   The first step is to establish what you aim to achieve. Your goals could range from boosting physical activity and fostering team spirit to cutting down on carbon emissions.
2. Planning and organization
   To plan and organize a corporate cycling challenge, you need to determine how long it will last, the rules, and the criteria for winning. The challenge must be fair and give all participants equal opportunities.
3. Communication
   Promote the corporate cycle challenge to employees through email, intranet, and meetings. Make sure they have all the necessary details and feel motivated to take part.
4. Technical support
   Use digital tools like the Changers Fit app to track and analyze cycling activity. This will allow participants to monitor their progress and engage in friendly competition.
5. Create incentives
   Incentives, such as bonuses for the most active individuals or teams, can boost participation. Prizes that promote health, like vouchers for bicycle accessories or extra days off, could also be used to motivate participants. You can also, for instance, connect participation achievements with the funding of social projects or planting trees together. In this way, every kilometer cycled turns into a donation amount defined by you in advance for a social project of your choice. Find two examples here, PSD HerzFahrt and planting trees in local reforestation projects.
6. Provide a Strong Start
   Offer an incentive to encourage employees to sign up for the challenge. For example, organise a cycling awareness day with free bike safety checks at your workplace, or provide a voucher for a complimentary bike inspection to everyone who registers for the challenge.

Tips for a successful corporate cycling challenge

• Ensure Inclusivity
  Make sure your corporate cycle challenge is accessible to everyone, regardless of their fitness level. For example, consider offering pedelecs (e-bikes) to make participation easier for employees who are less experienced or less physically active.
• Provide Regular Updates
  Keep participants informed about the progress of the challenge by sharing regular updates and celebrating milestones along the way. This helps maintain motivation and engagement throughout the challenge.
• Make Success Visible
  Use your internal communication channels to showcase participants’ achievements and share inspiring stories. Highlighting successes can motivate others to join in and encourage continued participation.

Benefits for employees 

Participation in the corporate cycling challenge of your company should not only promote the health and well-being of employees, but also be associated with attractive benefits. By using the Changers Fit app and regularly cycling to work, employees can benefit from a range of benefits that both increase their motivation and strengthen their loyalty to the company.

Potential Benefits for Participants

1. Public transport tickets for rainy days
   To support sustainability even in bad weather, participants who regularly cycle to work can receive free public transport tickets. This ensures flexibility and shows that the company also recognizes the practical challenges of cycling.
2. Bicycle safety accessories 
   To promote safety, participants can receive high-quality safety accessories for their bicycle such as helmets, lights or reflectors. This not only increases safety on the way to work, but also emphasizes the company’s concern for its employees.
3. Additional days off for top participants 
   As a special incentive, the three most active participants in the challenge can win additional free days. This reward serves as a strong motivator to actively participate and supports a balanced work-life balance.
4. Tickets for entertainment events 
   To enrich leisure activities, tickets for local events such as concerts, bowling evenings or cinema visits could be offered. Such experiences not only promote team spirit outside of working hours, but also offer a welcome change.
5. Gift cards for streaming services and online shopping
   Vouchers for services such as Netflix or Amazon offer another form of appreciation that is directly tailored to the personal interests of the employees.

Make sure that a challenge app can be flexibly adapted to your requirements

Companies using a challenge app should ensure that it allows them to add their own rewards and incentives to a dedicated rewards section. Ideally, the app should support the following features:

1. Limit premium claims 
   It should be possible to define restrictions on how often an employee can receive a certain premium. This prevents particularly active participants from buying all the attractive prizes and promotes a fairer distribution of rewards.
2. Raffles with health coins 
   An exciting possibility are raffles in which employees can buy tickets with the health coins they receive for cycling kilometers. This system allows particularly committed employees to increase their chances of winning by buying additional tickets.
3. Limitation of winnings in raffles 
   It should be ensured that despite the possibility of acquiring more tickets, each participant can only receive one win per raffle. This ensures that active employees have a higher probability of winning, but every participant has a fair chance of a prize.

Successfully promoting your corporate cycling challenge

The successful promotion of a corporate cycling challenge requires creative and diverse approaches. Here are effective methods and places where you can advertise participation in the challenge to achieve maximum participation:

Advertising Strategies that Work

1. Intranet
   Feature a prominent banner or article on the intranet homepage with a direct link to download the Changers Fit app. This will encourage participation and make the app easily accessible for employees.
2. Cafeteria
   Promote the corporate cycling challenge in the canteen with posters and table displays. Feature a special “cyclist meal” to grab attention and further encourage participation.
3. Break Rooms and Entrance Areas
   High visibility will be ensured by placing posters, roll-ups, and floor stickers in the social rooms and entrance area.
4. Elevators and Stairwells
   Utilize posters in the elevator and stairwell to reach a high volume of employees daily.
5. Digital Communication Platforms
   Utilize social media platforms like WhatsApp and Facebook to engage with employees directly and personally.
6. Bicycle Parking and Car Parks
   Target bicycle riders and car drivers by distributing saddle covers and flyers in bicycle parking spaces and parking lots.
7. Payslips
   Attach a flyer or sticker to the monthly salary statements to promote the challenge.
8. Mobile Promotion
   Distribute saddle covers and flyers with the date of the challenge to company employees to promote the cycling challenge.
9. Travelling Trophy
   A large golden trophy displayed in the entrance area and engraved with the winning team’s name would draw attention to the challenge and motivate participants.

In a challenge with the Heineken brewery, we recommended to the management to include the newly launched non-alcoholic beers as rewards in the marketplace. The success was enormous. Within a very short time, we achieved a participation rate of over 90%. In this way, the employees were not only motivated to engage in healthy exercise, but also educated about the advantages of non-alcoholic beers and ultimately became brand ambassadors for the product launch.

Cycle to work

Why cycle to work?

Commuting to work by bicycle offers many benefits. It is not only environmentally friendly, but also improves your physical health and mental well-being. Cycling to work can help reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, increase fitness and reduce stress. It can also significantly reduce your transportation costs and lessen the need for a time-consuming and expensive gym membership.

The right equipment and a little planning can make cycling to work a safe, comfortable, and enjoyable experience. A well-maintained bicycle with properly functioning lights, brakes, and reflectors helps ensure both safety and peace of mind while riding.

Choosing suitable clothing is equally important. Comfortable, close-fitting trousers and weather-appropriate clothing make commuting by bike much more pleasant. Lightweight, packable rain gear that is easy to carry and quick to put on is a worthwhile investment.

Navigation apps such as Google Maps and Apple Maps make it easy to find suitable cycling routes. With a weatherproof smartphone mount attached to the handlebars, you can conveniently follow the most efficient route throughout your journey.

Choosing the Right Bike for Your Commute

If a maintenance check reveals that it is time for a new bicycle, there are a few factors worth considering when choosing the right bike for commuting to work.

If part of your journey involves public transport followed by cycling, a folding bike is a practical option. City bikes are another excellent choice, as they prioritise comfort over speed and are well suited to everyday commuting.

Security is equally important. A secure, covered bicycle parking area provided by the employer demonstrates support for sustainable commuting. Investing in a high-quality bike lock is always worthwhile.

As an employer, you can also offer employees company bikes through a bike leasing scheme. Company bikes often provide attractive tax advantages, with lease costs commonly financed through salary sacrifice arrangements, making them a cost-effective option for employees.

In addition, since 2026, employees in Germany have been able to claim €0.38 per kilometre (one-way distance) for commuting by company bike as a tax deduction.

Key Takeaways for Running a Successful Corporate Cycling Challenge

• Health benefits and environmental protection
  The corporate cycling challenge encourages employee well-being and sustainable transportation, which reduces the environmental effect of both the firm and its employees. Participants can lower their risk of disease while supporting eco-friendly commuting by bicycle regularly.
• Increase in employee retention and motivation
  The challenge fosters a sense of community and boosts employee loyalty to the company by providing attractive incentives and fair distribution of rewards. This also increases employee motivation.
• Flexible and fair design of the challenge
  A flexible challenge app with an adaptable design ensures that all employees, regardless of their fitness level, have equal opportunities to earn rewards. This fosters an inclusive and motivating environment that encourages everyone to participate.

Ready to enhance your employees’ well-being and promote environmental sustainability? Launch a corporate cycling challenge today! Register your company now and witness the power of shared goals as your team comes together and thrives.

Please reach out if you have any questions!

We look forward to getting to know you and working with you to set up the first corporate cycling challenge

Daniela Schiffer
d.schiffer@changers.com
+49 172 367 40 38