This aspiring race seemed to pique the interest of the pro scene as this year’s edition features a record number of 15 WorldTour teams. If we just cherry-pick the big names, the starting line will see e.g. Gerraint Thomas (Team Ineos), Vincenzo Nibali (Bahrain-Merida), Emanuel Buchmann (Bora-Hansgrohe) or Julian Alaphilippe (Deceuninck–Quick-Step), the man who kept stealing the spotlight at the 2019 Tour de France. The setup is completed by three ProContinental and four Continental division teams, including domestic German rising stars.
According to the organizers, each stage offers a lot of opportunities to suit every type of rider and the course designers planned it with true classic races, scenic views, and local history in mind. The complete route covers more than 703 kilometres and runs through the richly varied terrain of central Germany, pleasing sprinters and climbers alike. The grand finale in the Thuringian capital, the city of Erfurt, includes three climbs scattered over the last 40 km, which is a sure-fire way to attract the punchers and attackers and to also keep the ranking interesting until the very end.
Speaking of the results, the registered 132 riders will battle it out for four colours. The overall leader red jersey, covered with thousands of fan names in fine print, the green sprint jersey sponsored by Škoda, the blue mountain jersey, sponsored by the race’s official charity partner, and the best young rider white jersey, for riders born after 1994.
The Deutschland Tour has not yet qualified for the WorldTour classification but the World Cycling Federation (UCI) has officially levelled the event up into the 2.HC race category, which signals good status progress and it seems like there’s a bright future ahead of the race. Are you planning on watching? Let us know!
