A new report has ranked Utrecht as the best city to be a cyclist in the world, with Amsterdam coming in fifth place. 

Cycling in Utrecht

The report looked at 90 cities across the world and aimed to evaluate the cycling climate in these cities based on factors relevant to cyclists to find the best city for cycling.

Other cities that were looked into include Paris, which ended in 32nd place, London in 62nd place, New York in 67th, and Moscow in 86th place.

Amsterdam and Utrecht were the only Dutch cities included in the study, so it’s a testament to Dutch biking culture that both made it into the top five.

How were cities ranked?

The study, titled the Global Bicycle Cities Index, was carried out by Coya, a company that offers insurance for bikes. The 90 cities that were surveyed were selected based on their willingness to invest and work on initiatives to improve cycling infrastructure and safety.

Cities were then scored from one to 100 on a range of issues, including weather, crime and safety, infrastructure, bike-sharing / rental schemes, and pro-bicycle events. An average was then calculated for each city based on the score for all matters assessed. 

Utrecht scored a total of 77,84 points, while Amsterdam scored 60,46. The main difference in scores comes from the number of cycling accidents. The Dutch capital sees 1.019 accidents a year for every 100.000 inhabitants, while Utrecht sees just 280. Utrecht also beats Amsterdam on the percentage of people who use bikes on a daily basis - 51 percent to Amsterdam’s 32 percent.

Amsterdam does, however, beat Utrecht when it comes to the availability of bicycle sharing and rental schemes. 

How did your city do?

The study ranked cities from all over the world, from Sydney to Seattle, and Bangkok to Beijing. Take a look at the top 10 cities for cycling below:

1. Utrecht, Netherlands 
2. Munster, Germany
3. Antwerp, Belgium
4. Copenhagen, Denmark
5. Amsterdam, Netherlands
6. Malmo, Sweden
7. Hangzhou, China
8. Bern, Switzerland
9. Bremen, Germany
10. Hannover, Germany

To check out the full rankings, visit the Coya website.