Great Saxony Prize
The Great Saxony Prize is a former road bike race . It was held from 1911 to 1969.
The beginnings
The one-day race was held for the first time on September 9, 1911. 118 professional drivers started in Chemnitz-Hilbersdorf . The 250 km long route led via Dresden and Leipzig back to Chemnitz – Borna , in front of the “Schweizerhaus” restaurant. 60 drivers reached the restaurant. The winner of this first race was the Swiss Paul Suter . This race was organized by Heinrich Stevens , an advertising employee of the Presto works .
"One of the greatest trips in terms of design, organization and cast was the 'Grosse-Sachsenpreis' organized by the Presto-Werke and held on September 9th [1911]."
A year later, on September 15, 1912, the second race, which was also open to amateurs , started. Over 500 drivers registered. Well-known professionals from France and Belgium were also at the start; the first place went to the Belgian Marcel Buysse , the second to the French Charles Crupelandt and the third to Richard Schenkel from Leipzig .
The race had to be canceled in 1913, but it was started again in 1914. The German Cyclist Association had taken over the management and started the race over 252 km with 140 riders in Wachau near Leipzig . This time the Berlin Richard Weise won ahead of the South African Rudolph Lewis and the German Ernst Franz .
Between the world wars
After the First World War , the race grew again to an international level. In 1926, for the first time after the war, foreign professionals were at the start of the now 270 km long route. The winner was the Italian Gaetano Belloni , the following places went to the Swiss Albert Blattmann and Paul Suter . Fourth was Herbert Nebe from Leipzig .
In 1928, all three medalists from the previous year's World Cup , the Italians Alfredo Binda , Costante Girardengo and Domenico Piemontesi , competed. Piemontesi was the first to reach the goal.
In 1931 a time under eight hours was set for the first time by the German champion August Brandes from Hanover.
In 1938, the last race before World War II was held. It was also the last race for the German championship. The winner was Willi Fischer from Düsseldorf
GDR time
After the Second World War , the race was not restarted until 1950. 50 drivers set out on the 270-kilometer route. The winner was Lothar Master I from Leipzig . It stayed with this one event.
16 years later (1966) the race was restarted by the GDR cycling association . This time a preliminary race was held, so that only one selection (45 drivers) was at the start. The winner was Harald Dippold ( DHfK ) from Leipzig , who toughly saved a minimal lead of six seconds at the finish. Rainer Marks from Leipzig and former world champion Bernhard Eckstein won the sprint of the pursuers .
The heyday of this race was over; the great logistical and financial effort for the 270 km long route contrasted with the weak participation and lack of interest from spectators and drivers. The last race was held in 1969. The winner of this last race was Jürgen Wanzlick from SC Dynamo Berlin .
Palmarès
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References and comments
- ↑ At the beginning of the 20th century, a Grand Saxony Prize was also held on a cycling track in Dresden .
- ↑ Heinrich Stevens was later –1923/1924– President of the Association of German Cyclists.
- ↑ Willi Fischer rode for the German hiking team Wanderer in 1938 and 1939 . In 1939 he was the winner of the 15th stage of the Deutschland Tour . Source: cycling websites
- ↑ In 1969 Jürgen Wanzlick was also the overall winner of the Tour of Romania . → Cycling sites
- ↑ Sports complete (club membership)