analysis
Kick-off for the Deutschland Tour, the largest men’s tour in Germany. It all started with the prologue, which was a premiere in an unusual way.
The prologue was a matter of seconds – no wonder at a distance of just 2.6 kilometers. The current time trial world champion Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers) was the fastest to master it. With a time of 2:56.89 minutes, he relegated the Dutchman Bauke Mollema (Trek-Segafredo) and the German Nils Politt (Bora-hansgrohe) to their places.
The Italian also secured the overall leader’s red jersey. Olav Kooij (Jumbo-Visma) won the mountain jersey, which was blue for the Deutschland Tour. And that’s despite a crash that left him in last place, more than 1:20 behind. All the more bitter when he reached the mountain classification after 1.6 kilometers as the fastest.
Two German drivers in the top 10
Before Nils Politt was the last driver to make it onto the podium, another driver held up the German colors: Kim Heiduk (Ineos Grenadiers). For a long time he was even in second place, in the end it was tenth place. “The race was pretty tough, uphill and downhill. Such a short distance is unusual and doesn’t happen that often.”
Emanuel Buchmann, the German with the best chance of overall victory, started the race relatively early, but was unable to have a say in the fight for victory. The Bora-hansgrohe driver finished 72nd, 16 seconds behind. “The race went by quickly, but it really hurt,” Buchman said.
He cannot say whether the urinary infection that caused him to miss the Vuelta is still weakening him. “But I’m relatively optimistic for the next few days.” Simon Geschke, captain of the national team, suffered a training crash in the morning and finished the prologue in 91st place.
A Germany tour start with a difference
It was the first prologue since the Deutschland Tour was reintroduced in 2018. Since then, four stages have always been ridden, this time there are five. Or rather 4.5. Because the prologue was unusually short. This is also due to the fact that it is too early for a full fifth stage, said Germany Tour Managing Director Matthias Pietsch at the opening press conference. “We can’t add a whole stage to it yet, but the prologue is a good alternative.”
119 drivers raced through downtown Weimar at a distance of one minute, but only the procedure made it look like a real time trial. Anyone who took a closer look quickly recognized: no time trial helmets, no time trial bikes. Instead, Politt and Co. drove with their usual gear.
Time trial a logistical challenge
There are several reasons for this, the most important of which is the challenging logistics, according to Fabian Wegmann, sporting director of the Deutschland Tour. Many teams came to Weimar from the Cyclassics in Hamburg. Without time trial equipment. “We want to make it easier for the teams, that would have been quite a logistical effort that wouldn’t have made sense for 2.6 kilometers.”
While world champion Ganna would have liked to complete the route on his time trial bike, most of the riders quickly came to terms with the conditions. It was something different on a normal racing bike, says Buchmann, but it still fit. And Heiduk could also understand the organizers in their decision. “With the time trial bike you can ride a corner faster, especially when it’s going downhill. But it makes it easier, especially for the smaller teams.”
Many firsts at this year’s edition
However, the prologue is not the only premiere on this year’s Germany tour. The route leads to southern regions like never before. And with the Schauinsland, a mountain finish awaits the riders, which could make a preliminary decision on the penultimate stage on Saturday (08/27/2022).
Managing Director Matthias Pietsch says it’s nice to see that they can continue to develop the concept of the Deutschland Tour each time. “The mountain arrival puts the icing on the cake again. The track demands a complete driver. Small time trial, sprint finish, mountain finish. It will be a game of seconds.” Like today, because after the prologue, Filippo Ganna is just two seconds ahead of the first stage from Weimar to Meiningen.