Schlagwort-Archive: ASO

Paris-Roubaix et Paris-Roubaix Femmes avec Zwift : team selection

The organisers of Paris-Roubaix Femmes avec Zwift have selected the teams for the 4th edition, Saturday, April 6th.

In accordance with the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) regulations, the fifteen UCI Women’s WorldTeams automatically entered are:

AG Insurance – Soudal Team (Bel)
Canyon / / SRAM Racing (Ger)
Ceratizit-WNT Pro Cycling Team (Ger)
FDJ – Suez (Fra)
Fenix – Deceuninck (Bel)
Human Powered Health (Usa)
Lidl-Trek (Usa)
Liv-AlUla-Jayco (Aus)
Movistar Team (Esp)
Roland (Sui)
Team dsm-firmenich PostNL (Ned)
Team SD Worx-Pro Time (Ned)
Team Visma | Lease a Bike (Ned)
UAE Team ADQ (Uae)
Uno-X Mobility (Nor)

Furthermore, the best 2023 UCI Women’s Continental teams will participate by right in Paris-Roubaix Femmes avec Zwift :

Cofidis (Fra)

The organisers have invited the following teams:

Arkéa-B&B Hôtels Women (Fra)
EF Education-Cannondale (Usa)
LifePlus Wahoo (Gbr)
St Michel – Mavic – Auber 93 (Fra)
Team Coop-Repsol (Nor)
Team Komugi-Grand Est (Fra)
Volkerwessel Women’s Pro Cycling Team (Ned)
Winspace (Fra)

PARIS-ROUBAIX: TEAM SELECTION

The organisers of Paris-Roubaix have selected the teams for the 121th edition, Sunday, April 7th.

In accordance with the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) rules, the eighteen UCI WorldTeams are invited:

Alpecin-Deceuninck (Bel)
Arkéa-B&B Hôtels (Fra)
Astana Qazaqstan Team (Kaz)
Bahrain Victorious (Brn)
Bora-Hansgrohe (All)
Cofidis (Fra)
Décathlon Ag2r La Mondiale Team (Fra)
EF Education-Easypost (Usa)
Groupama-FDJ (Fra)
Ineos Grenadiers (Gbr)
Intermarché-Wanty (Bel)
Lidl-Trek (Usa)
Movistar Team (Esp)
Soudal Quick-Step (Bel)
Team dsm-firmenich PostNL (Ned)
Team Jayco AlUla (Aus)
Team Visma | Lease a Bike (Ned)
UAE Team Emirates (Uae)

Furthermore, the three highest ranked UCI ProTeams in 2023 will participate by right in Paris-Roubaix:

Lotto Dstny (Bel)
Israel Premier Tech (Isr)
Uno-X Mobility (Nor)

The organisers have invited the following teams:

Bingoal Pauwels Sauces WB (Bel)
Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team (Sui)
Team Flanders-Baloise (Bel)
TotalEnergies (Fra)

2024 ARDENNES CLASSICS:

Key points:
 As a special „treat“ for the 40th finish of La Flèche Wallonne atop the Mur de Huy, the peloton will tackle the brutal ascent of the Chemin des Chapelles on four occasions for the very first time. Another major change to the programme for Wednesday, 17 April is that the women will start in the early afternoon and finish an hour after the men at the end of an extended course (143.5 km).

 The programme for Sunday, 21 April has also been inverted. Remco Evenepoel and his rivals will lead the vanguard to the Ardent City for the 110th edition of Liège–Bastogne–Liège. A while later, the women will follow the same course from Bastogne to Liège (147.6 km), clashing on climbs such as the Côte de Cornémont, which comes between La Redoute and the Côte des Forges.
 25 squads —including four wildcard teams— of seven riders each will make up the 175-strong pelotons of La Flèche Wallonne and Liège–Bastogne–Liège, while 144 cyclists representing 24 outfits will get to grips with La Flèche Wallonne Femmes and Liège–Bastogne–Liège Femmes.

Once a year, the roads of the Province of Liège lead to Huy and Liège and rekindle the fire of the Ardennes classics, a sequence of races that have gone down in cycling history. First raced in 1936 (on a course from Tournai to Liège), La Flèche Wallonne went through a watershed moment in 1985, when it moved its finish line to the summit of the Mur de Huy. The upcoming 88th edition, scheduled for 17 April 2024, will therefore be the 40th time that the race culminates on an ascent that immediately earned a spot among the toughest climbs in pro cycling.

To mark the occasion, the final circuit has been compacted to 31.6 km, with the Côte d’Ereffe and the Mur de Huy as the pièces de résistance. For the first time ever, the riders will have to drag their bicycles up these slopes (1.3 km at an average gradient of 9.6%, peaking at close to 20%, most notably on the Claudy Criquielion turn, named for the first victor on the Mur) an eye-watering four times! The successor to Tadej Pogacar, who clinched his first victory in 2023, will blast across the finish line around 4:30 pm, after 199.1 km of racing from Charleroi, which will host the start of the race for the 30th time.

Minutes after the gripping finale of the men’s race, the stars of La Flèche Wallonne Femmes will embark on their own adventure to tame the Mur too, in keeping with a fine tradition that goes all the way back to 1998. As usual, the women’s race will roll out of the Grand-Place in Huy, but the start of the 28th edition has been moved to 2 pm so that the crowds can give them a wild reception around 6 pm. On their way to the Mur, they will discover new ascents in Gives, Courrière and Évrehailles, coming at the beginning of a course that will be about 15 kilometres longer (143.5 km).

The order of the races will also be switched around on Sunday, 21 April. Liège–Bastogne–Liège Femmes will start in the early afternoon and draw to a close about an hour and a half after the Old Lady. Remco Evenepoel, eager to join Léon Houa, Eddy Merckx and Moreno Argentin in the ultra-select club of riders who have won the race three times in a row since its inaugural edition in 1892, will face the same climbs that sent him on a trajectory to his second triumph in 2023, including the detour to Cornémont, just after La Redoute, where he left Tom Pidcock in the dust.

Heading out from Bastogne, the women’s peloton will follow the very same route to Quai des Ardennes: a 147.6 km roller coaster peppered with nine climbs, starting with the Côte de Saint-Roch and also featuring the Wanne–Stockeu–Haute-Levée triptych before the Côte de La Roche-aux-Faucons, the last major challenge of the day. At the end of the adventure, glory awaits in the Ardent City.

ALULA TOUR 2024 : BETWEEN MOUNTAINS AND DESERT, SUBSTANTIAL MENU FOR THE RIDERS

Key points:
• The 2024 edition of the AlUla Tour will take place from 30 January to 3 February 2024 over five stages in the heart of the historic and mountainous region of AlUla, giving the puncheurs-grimpeurs and sprinters a chance to express themselves.
• The route, around the historic site of AlUla, will take the riders through several exceptional sites such as AlManshiyah train station, the Sharaan nature reserve and Hegra, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The AlUla Tour (formerly the Saudi Tour) is living up to its new name, with five stages contested in the AlUla region, a tourist destination with a rich historical heritage and timeless landscapes. The unprecedented start at the foot of the Hegra tombs, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2008, promises a grandiose visual spectacle that the riders in the international peloton will not soon forget.

Early season races in the Middle East have often been favourable for sprinters, and Dylan Groenewegen will be keen on winning once again in the Saudi desert and wear the jersey of his Jayco-AlUla team with pride. The climbers and puncheurs will also be out in force, with Simon Yates, who finished fourth in the last Tour de France, expected to liven up the mountain stage. The final stage of the AlUla Tour and the final climb towards Skyviews of Harrat Uwayrid promises a fierce battle for the overall classification, with an average gradient of 17% over one kilometer.

Before reaching the end of this fifth and final stage, the riders will have to cover several hundred kilometers through the winding roads of the Saudi desert and mountains. After a first stage promised to the sprinters and a second which could smile to the puncheurs with its bumpy finish leading to the Sharaan nature reserve. The third stage has the potential to shake up the expected scenario with a brand new finish around the AlUla Camel Cup Track. Race director Jean-Marc Marino warns: „With this straight stretch of almost twenty kilometers exposed to the wind, we can expect to see a lot of echelons, as was the case in 2023 during the second stage“.

The fourth leg, from Hegra to Maraya, is a small-scale reflection of Saudi Arabia. A site steeped in history as the starting point, combined with the modernity of Maraya, a cultural space made up of mirrors offering a unique perception of the neighbouring desert landscape, as the finishing point.

The stages of the AlUla Tour 2024 :
1st stage, Tuesday 30 January: AlManshiyah Train Station – AlManshiyah Train Station, 149.1 km
2nd stage, Wednesday 31 January: Winter Park – Sharaan Nature Reserve, 199.1 km
3rd stage, Thursday 1 February: AlUla International Airport – AlUla Camel Cup Track, 170.6 km
4th stage, Friday 2 February: Hegra – Maraya, 142.2 km
5th stage, Saturday 3 February: AlUla Old Town – Skyviews of Harrat Uwayrid, 150.2 km

18 teams selected

Nine UCI WorldTeams
Astana Qazaqstan Team (Kaz)
Bahrain Victorious (Brn)
Bora-Hansgrohe (Ger)
Cofidis (Fra)
Movistar Team (Esp)
Team Jayco AlUla (Aus)
Team dsm-firmenich PostNL (Ned)
Soudal Quick-Step (Bel)
UAE Team Emirates (Uae)

Five UCI ProTeams
Euskaltel – Euskadi (Esp)
Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team (Sui)
TotalEnergies (Fra)
Tudor Pro Cycling Team (Sui)
Uno-X Mobility (Nor)

These 13 teams will be joined by four others
JCL Team Ukyo (Jap)
Roojai Insurance (Thai)
Terengganu Cycling Team (Mas)
Saudi National Team (Sau)

The route of La Vuelta 24

This Tuesday, the Madrid Marriott Auditorium Hotel hosted the official presentation of the route of La Vuelta 24. The 79th edition of the Spanish tour will take off from Lisbon on the 17th of August and will conclude in Madrid on the 8th of September. Its 21 stages will include 10 unprecedented departures and 6 unprecedented finish-lines, will visit 9 autonomous communities and 2 countries: Portugal and Spain. In sporting terms, the cyclists will face 9 high-altitude arrivals, three of which makes its La Vuelta debut (Yunquera, Cazorla and Puerto de Ancares), 2 individual time trials, 5 mid-mountain stages, 8 mountain stages and 6 flat or undulating stages.

Unipublic presented the route of La Vuelta 24 on Tuesday, the 19th of December. The race will take place between the 17th of August and the 8th of September. It will depart from Portugal, with Lisbon, Oeiras and Cascais hosting the first few stages. It will be the second time in the history of the race that Portugal hosts La Vuelta’s Grand Departure, after the Portuguese capital hosted the race’s first international Grand Departure back in 1997.

La Vuelta 24 will commence with an individual time trial between Lisbon and Oeiras. In Stage 2, the peloton will leave from Cascais and head North, to the city of Ourém. The third stage of La Vuelta 24 through Portuguese territory will take place between the cities of Lousã and Castello Branco.

Following the Grand Departure in Portugal, the peloton will enter Spain through Extremadura. This autonomous community will host a mountain stage in Cáceres, between Plasencia and Villuercas Peak – a finish-line that returns to La Vuelta since making its debut in 2021. The next day, the race will leave from Fuente del Maestre in Badajoz, and head South, with Seville as its first destination.
Following a year’s absence, Andalusia will again be one of La Vuelta’s greatest protagonists with 4 stages held entirely within the autonomous community, crossing 7 of its provinces. Once it arrives in Seville, the race will then continue with a stage between Carrefour Sur in Jerez de la Frontera and Yunquera. Then, there will be another stage with a possible sprint to the finish-line between Archidona and Córdoba. The conclusion of the first week will consist of two stages that could well determine the race’s outcome: first is a mid-mountain stage between Úbeda and Cazorla and, later, a high-mountain stage between Motril and Granada with three Category 1 mountain passes.

Mountains will be the absolute stars of the race’s second week, which will commence in the Province of Pontevedra with a stage between Ponteaereas and Baiona. The Campus Tecnológico Cortizo, in Padrón, will host both the starting line and finish-line for Stage 11 and the Manzaneda Ski Resort, which has already hosted the peloton of the women’s edition, will host Stage 12, after a departure from Ourense. The final leg of the Galician part of the race will conclude with a final mountain stage between Lugo and the Ancares Mountain Pass. Ten years later, this setting, the protagonist of such victories as that of Alberto Contador in 2014 or Purito Rodríguez in 2012, will debut a new slope that has yet to be seen in La Vuelta. Giving the riders no option to recover, the weekend will bring stages held in León, between Villafranca del Bierzo and Villablino, and in Asturias, with a departure from Infiesto and a finish-line in the dreaded Cuitu Negru.
The third week of racing will start in the North, with Asturias and Cantabria as the stars of the show. Following the second rest day, the final week of La Vuelta 24 will depart from Luanco and conclude at Lagos de Covadonga – the most climbed mountain pass in the history of the race. The peloton will continue riding through the Cantabrian Coast with Stage 17 held between Arnuero and Santander.

From then on, the peloton will begin its descent towards Madrid with three stages that will take place between Vitoria-Gasteiz – Maeztu and the Izki Natural Park, Logroño and the Alto de Moncalvillo, and Villarcayo and Picón Blanco. Both the Alto de Moncalvillo and Picón Blanco made their recent La Vuelta debuts with victories by Primoz Roglic (2020) and Rein Taaramäe (2021), respectively.
Yet again, Madrid will host the La Vuelta’s grand finale – this time with a time trial that will start at the Distrito Telefónica and will come to an end at the Gran Vía in Madrid, in front of the Telefónica Building in order to commemorate the company’s 100 years.

MID-MOUNTAIN PROMINENCE
True to its DNA, La Vuelta 24 continues to reflect its innovative character and that toughness that has characterised the race in recent years. Not only will there be 9 high-altitude finales, but also one very demanding mid-mountain stage that will affect the race’s outcome. La Vuelta 24 brings together a combination of mountain passes that are already a part of the race’s history, such as Lagos de Covadonga, that will host a finish-line following a rest day for the very first time, and the recent discoveries of Moncalvillo, Cuitu Negru and the previously unseen slope of the Ancares Mountain Pass.

PORTUGAL, A PIONEER THAT WILL GO DOWN IN HISTORY
On the 6th of September 1997, Portugal and La Vuelta made history when the race began on foreign territory for the very first time. On the 17th of August 2024, 27 years later, history will repeat itself as Lisbon becomes the first non-Spanish city to host La Vuelta’s Grand Departure twice.

LA VUELTA 24, AT HOME WITH ROUVY
As in previous years, the stages of La Vuelta can also be completed virtually through ROUVY. Cycling fans can do so using a smart indoor bike trainer, a screen and the ROUVY app. Likewise, until the 14th of January, all app users will find a ‘Best Of La Vuelta 23’, featuring last edition’s most notable stages. ROUVY, which combines sports and technology, is the number 1 indoor cycling app offering a realistic and immersive video experience, featuring a selection of over 1,300 virtual reality routes all over the world to choose from.

PARIS-NICE 2024

Key points:

 For the 15th year running, Paris-Nice will start in the Yvelines department. Les Mureaux takes over from La Verrière, where the race set off from last year.
 A team time trial (26.9 km in Auxerre) will again be on offer, using the format tried out last March: the time recorded by the first rider from each team.
 The Paris-Nice map sees Mont Brouilly and La Colle-sur-Loup back on the programme, both cancelled in 2016 and 2023 due to inclement weather.
 Paris-Nice offers a preview of the next Tour de France during the final weekend around Nice, with an unprecedented finish in Auron.

As with the composition of a fine wine, the preparation of a race requires a subtle blend. As the recent Paris-Nice vintages have been of excellent quality, the organisers have stayed true to their favourite ingredients, adding a touch of novelty to give the vintage its own flavour. „Over time, we’ve found a balanced formula that offers something for everyone while reconciling the interests of the race with the safety of the riders”, sums up François Lemarchand. The route of the 82nd edition respects the fundamentals: a loop in the Yvelines, a stage of „bordures“, a time trial, a medium mountain climb, a finish for sprinters, a chance for daredevils and a thrilling weekend around Nice. Each day of the race has its own unique character.

So, for the 15th start of the event in the Yvelines, around Les Mureaux, the spirit of recent editions has been preserved, with a 100 km loop, a shorter second half and a false flat finish. There are two short hills to pass twice, the last 12 km from the finish. The second stage, between Thoiry and Montargis, is likely to be prone to breaks if the wind picks up, even more so as the course changes direction. But the straight finish is also ideal for sprinters. The new-style team time trial introduced last year that won everyone over will return around Auxerre, with a shorter distance (26.9 km) and, more importantly, a more undulating terrain, particularly in the final stretch, which should provide further opportunities for tactical jousting, with time once again taken on the first rider.

The race returns to the Beaujolais region the following day. Tribute will be paid to Mont Brouilly, which could not host the race in 2016 due to snow. It will be climbed twice in this difficult stage, with 3,300 metres of ascent. The Col du Fut d’Avenas, some 20 kilometres from the finish, also should inspire the more ambitious riders. The second good chance for the sprinters comes on the following day on the stage to Sisteron, the gateway to Provence and a traditional venue for Paris-Nice, where the final loop will be shorter for a long, wide finish ideally suited for sprinters.

The Colle-sur-Loup, deprived of its stage in 2023 due to violent and unpredictable winds, will provide a remarkable battleground for the attackers on Friday with 70 km of flat terrain after the start in Sisteron. Then comes a succession of hills to allow the daring to try their luck, particularly the final kilometres of the stage that feature steep climbs.

During the final weekend, the showpiece stage on Saturday will provide riders with a preview of the Tour de France. As in July, the riders will climb the Colmiane and head for Isola 2000 but then turn off towards Auron, where the ski resort will offer a steady climb of just over 7 km, peaking at 9%. It is an unprecedented climb that promises to be decisive. Sunday’s stage follows in part the route of the final time trial of the 2024 Tour, notably with a short ascent to the Col d’Èze, punctuated by a compelling novelty: the descent to Nice after crossing the Chemin du Vinaigrier is much shorter, with the end of the climb only 9 km from the finish line on the Promenade des Anglais. Any time lost at the top will be hard to make up.

 Paris-Nice 2024 stages

Sunday 3 March, Stage 1: Les Mureaux > Les Mureaux, 157,7 km
Monday 4 March, Stage 2: Thoiry > Montargis, 177,6 km
Tuesday 5 March, Stage 3: Auxerre > Auxerre (team time trial), 26,9 km
Wednesday 6 March, Stage 4: Chalon-sur-Saône > Mont Brouilly, 183 km
Thursday 7 March, Stage 5: Saint-Sauveur-de-Montagut > Sisteron, 193,5 km
Friday 8 March, Stage 6: Sisteron > La-Colle-sur-Loup, 198,2 km
Saturday 9 March, Stage 7: Nice > Auron, 173 km
Sunday 10 March, Stage 8: Nice > Nice, 109,3 km

Gesellschaft zur Förderung des Radsports (GFR/ASO) ist neuer Veranstalter der BEMER Cyclassics Hamburg

Die Gesellschaft zur Förderung des Radsports mbH (GFR) übernimmt die Organisation der BEMER Cyclassics. Damit wechselt das Hamburger Radrennen zum weltweit größten Radsportveranstalter: die GFR ist die deutsche Niederlassung des Tour de France-Veranstalters Amaury Sport Organisation (A.S.O.).

Mit der Übernahme erweitert die GFR ihr Event-Portfolio und veranstaltet nun die drei wichtigsten Radrennen Deutschlands. Die BEMER Cyclassics und Eschborn-Frankfurt -der Radklassiker am 1. Mai- sind die einzigen WorldTour-Rennen in Deutschland. Neben den beiden Events in der weltweit höchsten Rennserie veranstaltet die GFR auch die Deutschland Tour – das einzige deutsche Etappenrennen der Männer.

Im Rahmen der drei Veranstaltungen nehmen die weltbesten Radsport-Profis und 25.000 Hobbyathleten teil. Angebote für den Nachwuchsradsport, das Alltagsradfahren und für Kinder unterstreichen bei allen GFR-Events die Begeisterung rund um das Fahrrad.

Matthias Pietsch, Geschäftsführer der Gesellschaft zur Förderung des Radsports: „Mit unserem klaren Radsport-Fokus wollen wir das große Potenzial der BEMER Cyclassics weiter heben. Die Cyclassics sind jedem deutschen Radsport-Fan ein Begriff, denn in Hamburg haben viele Hobbysportlerinnen und Hobbysportler erstmals ein Radrennen selbst erlebt. Wir haben uns viel vorgenommen, um dieses Erlebnis für alle Athleten auszubauen und nach 27 Jahren Tradition den nächsten Schritt in der Cyclassics-Geschichte zu gehen.“

Yann Le Moënner, CEO der A.S.O.: „Wir freuen uns, die BEMER Cyclassics zu unseren Radsportveranstaltungen zu zählen. Seit fast dreißig Jahren küren die Cyclassics die besten Sprinter der Welt. Deutschland gehört zu den Kernmärkten der A.S.O., in denen wir den Radsport für alle weiterentwickeln wollen. Dies machen wir bereits mit der Deutschland Tour, die 2018 neu aufgelegt wurde, und dem Radklassiker Eschborn-Frankfurt, der jedes Jahr am 1. Mai Tausende anlockt. Unsere Vision ist klar: wir bauen die sportliche Seite des Rennens und die Erlebnisse für Hobbyradsportler im Rahmen des Profi-Rennens aus. Die Hamburg BEMER Cyclassics werden da keine Ausnahme machen, und wir haben allen Grund, begeistert in die Zukunft zu blicken.“

Hamburgs Sportsenator Andy Grote: „Die Cyclassics sind eine Ikone des Hamburger Straßensports. Die Atmosphäre mit Tausenden Zuschauern entlang der Strecke ist überwältigend, Elite und Altersklassenfeld erleben die Stadt aus einer einzigartigen Perspektive. Genau das macht Hamburg und die Cyclassics so attraktiv. Das Ruder bei der Organisation wechselt nun von einem erfahrenen Veranstaltungsprofi zum anderen. Das sichert auch in Zukunft die hohe Qualität, um die Erfolgsgeschichte der Cyclassics fortzuschreiben.“

Ab dem kommenden Donnerstag (21. Dezember) können die Startplätze für die nächsten BEMER Cyclassics gebucht werden. Das Rennen findet 2024 am 8. September statt.

Eschborn-Frankfurt (UCI WorldTour): 1. Mai 2024
Deutschland Tour (UCI ProSeries): 21. – 25. August 2024
BEMER Cyclassics (UCI WorldTour): 8. September 2024

Presse Bemer Cyclassics | Sandra Schmitz | presse@flessner-schmitz.com

Finale der Deutschland Tour 2024 in Saarbrücken

Die Landeshauptstadt des Saarlandes ist Gastgeber für das Finale der Deutschland Tour 2024. Am 25. August wird in Saarbrücken über den Gesamtsieg von Deutschlands wichtigstem Radrennen entschieden. Bereits am Vormittag werden tausende Hobbyradsportler zur Cycling Tour erwartet, um die Deutschland Tour-Atmosphäre selbst zu erleben. Das perfekte Geschenk für alle Rennrad-Fans: Auf www.deutschland-tour.com sind die Startplätze ab sofort erhältlich.

Uwe Conradt, Oberbürgermeister von Saarbrücken, sagt: „Saarbrücken freut sich auf die Deutschland Tour! Einige große Radrennen haben die begeisterte Atmosphäre bei uns bereits erlebt. Für die Deutschland Tour ist es nach so vielen Jahren ein Comeback. Dass tausende Hobbyradfahrerinnen und Hobbyradfahrer kurz vor den Profis bereits die Strecken testen können, hat einen ganz besonderen Reiz. Ich bin mir sicher, es wird ein großer Sport-Sonntag für alle in Saarbrücken“

Reinhold Jost, saarländischer Minister für Inneres, Bauen und Sport, sagt: „Es ist kaum 100 Tage her, dass die Deutschland Tour wunderbare Bilder aus dem Saarland in die Welt getragen hat. Jetzt kommt das große Finale in unsere Landeshauptstadt. Neben dem enormen sportlichen Stellenwert des Profi-Rennens bringt der Schlusstag auch viele Menschen selbst auf das Rennrad. Diese attraktive Kombination wird viele Gäste anziehen, die sich die Deutschland Tour in Saarbrücken nicht entgehen lassen wollen.“

Mit Saarbrücken als Final-Gastgeber nimmt die Deutschland Tour 2024 Konturen an. Bereits bekannt ist, dass die 2. Etappe in Schwäbisch Gmünd zu Ende geht. Von hier startet auch die 3. Etappe am vorletzten Tag der Deutschland Tour. Das Teilstück wird komplett in Baden-Württemberg ausgefahren und führt ins Etappenziel nach Villingen-Schwenningen.

„Wir haben die große Radsport-Begeisterung im Saarland in sehr guter Erinnerung und freuen uns bereits jetzt, diese besondere Kulisse im kommenden Sommer erneut zu erleben. Das Finale in einer Landeshauptstadt – das hat Tradition bei der Deutschland Tour. Nach Stuttgart, Erfurt und Bremen trägt sich nun auch Saarbrücken in diese namhafte Liste ein“, sagt Matthias Pietsch, Geschäftsführer der Gesellschaft zur Förderung des Radsports.

Traditionell am Schlusstag der Deutschland Tour starten tausende Hobbyradsportler zu ihrem eigenen Rennen. Bevor die Profis für Spannung sorgen, gehören die Straßen am Morgen allen Fans, die bei der Cycling Tour selbst fahren. Nach einem flachen Kurs rund um Bremen in diesem Jahr, hält das Saarland im kommenden August einige Höhenmeter bereit. Bei zwei Strecken auf komplett gesperrten Straßen ist etwas zum Einstieg oder zum ambitionierten Fahren dabei: circa 60 oder mehr als 100 Kilometer, jeweils mit Start und Ziel in Saarbrücken, stehen zur Auswahl. Höhepunkt der Cycling Tour ist das Finale: auf der Zielgeraden der Profis werden auch die Hobbysportler mit großem Zuschauerjubel empfangen.

Pünktlich zu Weihnachten ist der Startplatz besonders günstig. Wer sich bis zum 8. Januar auf www.deutschland-tour.com anmeldet, nutzt den Frühbucher-Tarif.

Presse Deutschland Tour | Sandra Schmitz | presse@deutschland-tour.com

GRAND DÉPART 2025 : THE TOUR DE FRANCE IN THE LAND OF THE GIANTS

Key points:
 The beginning to the 112th edition of the Tour de France has been presented at a press conference in Lille, the administrative centre of the Nord department. In 2025, the Grand Départ will focus on the qualities of the entire Hauts-de-France region, the Nord department and the European metropolis of Lille.

 The date of 5th July has been set for the first stage, whose route will form a loop around Lille. Next, the Pas-de-Calais department will have pride of place as the pack crosses it from east to west between Lauwin-Planque and Boulogne-sur-Mer. After that, the pack will then set off from Valenciennes, which makes its return to the route of the Tour after a 34-year absence. Dunkirk, which hosted the Grand Départ in 2001 as well as a stage start on the Tour in 2022 will be welcoming the finish of the third stage. Lastly, the start in Amiens will be the last opportunity to thank the inhabitants of the Hauts-de-France region for their welcome, before the Tour heads off to new horizons.

Northern France will be welcoming new giants. A far cry from the imposing puppets we are used to seeing at carnivals, fairs, special street markets or on Paris-Roubaix, these 176 ones will be of human size and riding bikes, ready to do battle through the plains, valleys and mountains of France. Northern France knows all about cycling giants: 2 winners (Maurice Garin, an adopted northerner, in 1903, and Henri Cornet in 1904); 7 Yellow Jersey wearers (Jean Alavoine in 1922, Amédée Fournier in 1939, José Catieau in 1973, Martial Gayant in 1987, Cédric Vasseur in 1997, Laurent Desbiens in 1998 and Christophe Moreau in 2001); plus a legend in Jean Stablinski, with more 100 professional victories including 5 stages on the Tour de France between 1957 and 1967, a world championship title (1962) and four French championship titles (1960, 1962, 1963 and 1964).

For the 5th time, the Tour de France will set off from this cycling-mad region, the cradle of Paris-Roubaix. In 2001, for the most recent Grand Départ, from Dunkirk, Christophe Moreau grabbed the Yellow Jersey on completion of the prologue. This time, on a regular stage, the battle for the first Yellow Jersey of the race will be fought at high speed and the victor will have to be on top form to triumph in the land of the giants.

The European metropolis of Lille, the first site to host this Grand Départ, will also be the site for the edition’s first finish. On a stage that will form a loop around Lille, the wind will be a decisive factor: on roads open to the elements, the riders will have to be on their guard to avoid getting caught out. The fight for the best climber’s jersey should act as a curtain raiser for the battle for the Yellow Jersey: the slopes of Notre-Dame-de-Lorette, Mont Cassel (via its cobbled side) and the Mont Noir, forty kilometres from the finishing line, will be in the sights of the first breakaways of the edition. The sprinters will probably battle it out for victory at the end of a one kilometre-long straight, at the foot of the citadel.

The following day, the peloton will leave the Nord department to cross through the Pas-de-Calais for a very tough finale on the Côte d’Opale before the fight for stage victory in Boulogne-sur-Mer. The end of this second stage, which is tailor made for punchers, will be no easy task for the previous day’s winner if he is a pure sprinter. In addition to the upwardly inclined final straight, the slopes at Saint-Etienne-au-Mont and Outreau, located less than ten kilometres from the finishing line, mean it is very likely the pack’s tough guys will be battling for the stage win.

The race will return to the Nord department on 7th July for the last stage that will take place entirely within the confines of the Hauts-de-France region. Between Valenciennes and Dunkirk, watchfulness and tension in the peloton should be the order of the day. The start from Valenciennes and the first part of the stage do not hold any particular difficulty in store, unlike the finish, as the race nears Dunkirk, which could prove to be extremely tricky. Following the intermediate sprint at Isbergues, well-known to cycling aficionados, the route due north to the Côte de Cassel slope and then the finish of the stage promise to be spectacular if the wind invites itself to the party. On Tuesday 8th July, in Amiens, the historical capital of Picardy, it will be time for the Tour to leave the Hauts-de-France region for an as yet unknown destination…

The first four stages of the Tour de France 2025 :

. Saturday, July 5th, Stage 1: Lille Métropole > Lille Métropole, 185 km
. Sunday, July 6th stage 2: Lauwin-Planque > Boulogne-sur-Mer, 209 km
. Monday, July 7th, stage 3: Valenciennes > Dunkerque, 172 km
. Tuesday, July 8th, stage 4: Amiens > ?

© A.S.O.