2014 19th Vattenfall Cyclassics: 246km, August 24

[roundabout]

Going to Austria beats having overhyped queen stages like this one

http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/results/2000/may00/tourofgermany003.shtml

How Cyclassics is going on in the WT is also a bit of mystery to me despite the emergence of multiple world class sprinters

 

[kingjr]

Going to Austria beats having overhyped queen stages like this one

http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/results/2000/may00/tourofgermany003.shtml

Ohh I remember that stage, I watched it on TV with my father way back in the day

 

[Cult Classics]

Going to Austria beats having overhyped queen stages like this one

http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/results/2000/may00/tourofgermany003.shtml

How Cyclassics is going on in the WT is also a bit of mystery to me despite the emergence of multiple world class sprinters

Wish they'd bring back Zurich.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Going to Austria beats having overhyped queen stages like this one

http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/results/2000/may00/tourofgermany003.shtml

How Cyclassics is going on in the WT is also a bit of mystery to me despite the emergence of multiple world class sprinters

There are plenty of great climbs that Germany has though. There are some ungodly steep ones in the German Alps, though apart from around Berchtesgaden chaining them together is tough. The Schwarzwald could see some genuine tough stages with several genuine cat.1 climbs backed into each other. Lots of medium mountain territory as well of course, and the Friedensfahrt fan in me will always mark out for the Teufelstein.

 

[Echoes]

The day CN'ers realize that cycling is not just about mountain climbing, the sun might start rising in the West ...

 

[Libertine Seguros]

But we're talking specifically about a race that tried to ape the Tour... of course climbing mountains is going to come into it.

And in the Race Design Thread you will see a few German races that have been all about the cobbles in the former DDR, and if you look around the forum you'll find quite some talk about the old Friedensfahrt and much love for the Steiler Wand von Meerane, arguably Germany's most famous climb of all - a 350m cobbled berg. My Deutschlandtour design had a "king of the cobblestones" jersey. But don't kid yourself: in stage racing, especially younger stage races, organizers like to follow the model of the biggest events. And a lot of the romance of the biggest stage races comes from the mountains.

 

[Echoes]

I wasn't talking about you in particular but the discussion here is merely about mountains in Germany, showing that the posters regret this race being too flat.

I'm no longer reading your thread because I realized it was 90% about stage races and there was no room for single-day races, sorry . While I thought the idea was great in the beginning.


What I meant though is that there's a lot of cobbled sections around Hamburg and Lübeck or between Hannover and Hamburg.

The race promoters may very well use them and finish the race with the Waseberg, just like it is now. But I guess it will never happen because there's a need to remain close to the big city to attract people on the roadside.

There's no need to visit other parts of Germany.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Shame, my re-design of Paris-Bruxelles was with you in mind

The best area for cobbles in the region would be in the Lüneburger Heide imo, but those sections would probably be a bit too far away from Hamburg to be able to be decisive if they went that way about it. Similar to the Rund um Köln, which has some good little hills and cobbled stretches and narrow roads, then finishes on a pan-flat city centre circuit. They could also make a real echelon hell in the region as well, I would wager.

Frankfurt should be Germany's World Tour one-day race though. That's a fantastic parcours that balances the climbs and the sprinters well, because we've had races where with 500m to go you still have both Domenico Pozzovivo and Andre Greipel in the running for victory.

 

[Echoes]

Shame, my re-design of Paris-Bruxelles was with you in mind

Oh that's so kind of you, Libertine. I appreciate a lot, thank you. There's a lot I should apologize to you about, I think.

The best area for cobbles in the region would be in the Lüneburger Heide imo, but those sections would probably be a bit too far away from Hamburg to be able to be decisive if they went that way about it. Similar to the Rund um Köln, which has some good little hills and cobbled stretches and narrow roads, then finishes on a pan-flat city centre circuit. They could also make a real echelon hell in the region as well, I would wager.

Yes Lünenburger Heide is what I had in mind between Hannover and Hamburg. Too far to be decisive, yes but I guess if these cobbles can be so hard, if the riders have them in the legs while they reach the finale, the Waseberg would be much harder than it is on the current route. But I've been told on another forum that there are also cobbles in the region of Lübeck, closer to Hamburg I guess.

Frankfurt should be Germany's World Tour one-day race though. That's a fantastic parcours that balances the climbs and the sprinters well, because we've had races where with 500m to go you still have both Domenico Pozzovivo and Andre Greipel in the running for victory.

I've read and heard a lot of debates with nostalgics of Francfurt but to be honest I never really could understand that. The Taunus mounts are far from finish as well and there's not a proper climb around Francfurt. I can't see how climbers can win it.

Usually, people would argue that Hamburg was just a race sponsored by the UCI World Cup at the time and that would never have had such prestige if it wasn't the case, which is true, but Francfurt was in the same way sponsored by the Team World Cup ("Intermarque") and the Superprestige back in the 1960's. It's just a little older but that's it.

In my opinion the real German classic is the Tour of Cologne. Back in the 1920's it was already a international race with all the top riders of the time!