Manfred Neun, former President and now Honorary President of the European Cyclists’ Federation (ECF), has been awarded the German Federal Cross of Merit for his extraordinary contribution to the development of cycling and sustainable mobility.

The prestigious award was presented by Bavarian State Minister Carolina Trautner at a ceremony in the city of Augsburg on Friday, 25 June 2021, with representatives of ECF and Allgemeiner Deutscher Fahrrad-Club Bayern in attendance.

Jill Warren, CEO of ECF, said: “We are delighted and proud that our long-time ECF President and, since 2018, Honorary President, Manfred Neun, has been awarded a German Federal Cross of Merit for his extraordinary engagement and advocacy for cycling.”

Manfred Neun was President of ECF from 2005 to 2017, making him ECF’s longest-serving President to date. In this period, he oversaw ECF’s dramatic growth from a one-person office to the powerful and well-known organisation it is today with nearly 70 member and associate member organisations from all over Europe and beyond.

Henk Swarttouw, President of ECF, said: “We congratulate Manfred on this well-deserved honour. We wish to thank him not only for helping shape ECF into the influential organisation it is today, but also for his continued commitment to furthering the cause of cycling and sustainable mobility.”

After two decades in the cycling industry, Manfred Neun helped to further strengthen the ties between cycling advocates and the bicycle sector, while his passion for science brought to ECF a stronger focus on research and evidence-based cycling advocacy. He helped put cycling on the global agenda, contributed to making Velo-city the world’s largest annual cycling conference and was instrumental in founding the World Cycling Alliance.

In May 2018, he was named Honorary President of ECF in recognition of his accomplishments. Manfred Neun remains an active cycling advocate and features as a speaker at Velo-city Lisboa, which will take place from 6 to 9 September 2021.