Cycling fans can look forward to that Alpe d’Huez feeling on the Deutschland Tour 2022 from Wednesday (24.08.2022, live in the Sportschau, in the live stream and in the live ticker at sportschau.de): The third stage leads to the Schauinsland in the Black Forest and ends at 1,207 meters above sea level.
How long is the entire tour?
The Deutschland Tour is the most important German stage race. From the start in Weimar, where a 2.7-kilometer prologue is scheduled, the five-day event leads to Stuttgart. Other destinations are Meiningen, Marburg and the mountain arrival at Schauinsland above Freiburg. The course covers a total of 710 kilometers and more than 11,000 meters in altitude.
Why is the prologue so puny?
A prologue, i.e. an individual time trial at the beginning of a tour, over 2.7 kilometers: That is a really ridiculous distance in cycling. And begs the question: what’s the point? Why not give the drivers a few more kilometers in the limelight and the fans between Goetheplatz, Fuldaer Straße and Jorge-Semprún-Platz in Weimar a little more sporting relevance? Sports director Fabian Wegmann explains it like this: “The prologue is so short because we don’t want big gaps yet. It will make the race more exciting, but it certainly won’t decide it.“Nevertheless, it should have been a little longer for the pros.
Where is the Deutschland Tour to be classified internationally?
In an international comparison, the Deutschland Tour is not yet one of the top events again after the Tour, the Giro and the Vuelta – before 2018 there was a ten-year break from which an event like this has to recover first. The Deutschland Tour does not belong to the World Tour, the Champions League of cycling, but is organized in the smaller Pro Series of the world association UCI. The Deutschland Tour was relaunched four years ago by the Tour de France organizer ASO. Last year, Tour stage winner Nils Politt from the German team Bora-hansgrohe celebrated overall victory.
German team with Buchmann, Politt and Geschke
The fans can look forward to some of the currently best German drivers. Tour specialist Emanuel Buchmann will start after his cancellation of the Vuelta due to illness, and defending champion Nils Politt will also be there. On the other hand, their health-stricken Bora-hansgrohe teammates Lennard Kämna and Maximilian Schachmann, who had thrilling days on the tour but remained without a win, are missing.“Neither of them are helpers who are said to be good if they get bottles.”, said sports director Rolf Aldag. it’s useless “to throw them in the fire”. Simon Geschke, who fought for the mountain jersey for a long time on the tour in the summer, will be at the start for the national team.
What are the goals of the Germans?
It is almost impossible for Nils Politt to repeat his coup from last year, since the Schauinsland is certainly not his favorite finish. Emanuel Buchmann finds the profile much more convenient. He is then cautiously optimistic: “I hope to go into the Germany tour with my Vuelta form. It was a lot better last time in training, so I’m definitely aiming for a good placement.” Freiburg’s Simon Geschke also sees good chances ahead of his home game: “The profile suits me very well and I probably know the course better than anyone else in the peloton.”
The biggest international stars
Tour champion Jonas Vinegaard is missing, as is the world’s best all-rounder Wout van Aert. But there is the Dutch European champion Fabio Jakobsen, who is probably the world’s best sprinter at the moment. His rivals include Australian Caleb Ewan. Frenchman Romain Bardet is to be expected on the mountain. The Colombian ex-tour champion Egan Bernal collects important racing kilometers after his serious training accident.
The Dutchman Fabio Jakobsen wins the European Championship road race
Germany tour live on TV
MDR will broadcast and stream the prologue, then ARD and ZDF will take over, taking turns broadcasting each stage live. On Thursday the sports show starts at 4.05 p.m., on Saturday there will be live pictures from the king’s stage from around 4 p.m. as part of the sports show, which can be seen from 2.30 p.m.
Germany tour for everyone
If you don’t just want to watch, but want to be active yourself: before the decision is made in Stuttgart on Sunday, ambitious amateur drivers can take to the track in the morning on the amateur tour. A short loop leads over 57 kilometers, the long loop over 116 kilometers.