Cyclassics Hamburg

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The Cyclassics Hamburg (officially: EuroEyes Cyclassics , 1996 to 2005: HEW Cyclassics , 2006 to 2015: Vattenfall Cyclassics ) are a one-day race in road cycling . The event takes place annually in July, August or September with start and finish in Hamburg .

organization

The operator of the race is Ironman Germany GmbH . The original operating company Upsolut Event GmbH was taken over on January 1, 2008 by Groupe Lagardère , who renamed it Lagardère Unlimited Events Germany GmbH in 2013 . In January 2016, the World Triathlon Corporation , which is part of the Wanda Group , took over the company and merged it with its subsidiary Ironman Germany GmbH .

Title sponsor was HEW from 1996 to 2005 and Vattenfall from 2006 to 2015 . EuroEyes has been the title sponsor of the race since 2016 .

The race has been held since 1996 and was part of the Cycling World Cup from 1998 to 2004 . With its end it became part of the newly introduced UCI ProTour and from 2006 to 2009 it was also part of the International German Championship . After the Deutschland Tour was discontinued in 2009 for financial reasons, it was the only ProTour race on German soil. Since 2011 the race has been part of the successor series UCI WorldTour .

The 2020 race was only postponed to October 3rd due to the COVID-19 pandemic . On July 20, 2020 was finally canceled due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic; August 22, 2021 was announced as the new date.

Route

The route differs slightly from year to year. Some striking points such as the start on Steinstraße and the finish on Mönckebergstraße or Waseberg are always included. The route is usually around 250 km long.

Until the race in 2004 (with the exception of the first edition in 1996), the route initially led in a south-easterly direction along the north bank of the Elbe towards Geesthacht . There the Elbe was crossed and the route then led back to the city center.

Since 2005, this first loop has led south to the northern Lüneburg Heath . The highest point of the route was in Langenrehm . The Köhlbrand Bridge had to be crossed as a further elevation . A large loop in a north-westerly direction (turning point Holm in Schleswig-Holstein ) was then driven through the free port and past the main train station . On the way back towards the city center, we went over the Waseberg in Hamburg-Blankenese for the first time . Then several smaller laps were made through the west of Hamburg , always crossing the Waseberg. In 2004 the Waseberg was climbed five times for the first time. Previously this was the case only three times.

In 2018 the main route was relocated to southern Holstein. The west loop over the Waseberg was retained and the destination is still in Hamburg's most famous shopping street, Mönckebergstraße . The Cyclassics are thus the only one-day World Cup race that ends in the center of a large metropolis.

In order to have a place on the almost continuously flat course of the Cyclassics where the field tears apart, in order to give the best riders in the peloton the opportunity to set themselves apart from the field, the Waseberg was built into the course as an important element. The Waseberg is an ascent in Hamburg-Blankenese from the banks of the Elbe up to the center of Blankenese. It has a length of approx. 700 m and an almost continuous gradient of 16%. Its main difficulty is that the ascent begins immediately after a sharp right turn and there is no momentum for the ascent. Because the road is very narrow before the climb, the teams start to get their top drivers into a good starting position kilometers before the climb. Since the Waseberg has to be climbed several times and only very late in the course of the race (the first time after approx. 180 km), drivers who could no longer keep up on the incline often cannot reconnect with the field. At this point there is often a preliminary decision on the race, as this is one of the few opportunities to run away.

winner

  • Lineup at the start (2004)

  • The top group in the final (2005)

  • Óscar Freire in his honor after the race (2006)

  • The main draw at Waseberg (2005)

  • Jedermannfeld (2010)

Everyone race

Pasta Party (2007)

In addition to the UCI race, the Cyclassics largely consist of the various so-called Everyman 's races over distances of 55 km, 100 km and 155 km. Anyone can apply for a place in these races. In addition to well-equipped amateurs and "semi-professionals", tandems and bonanza bikes also take to the track here. In 2005 the number of starting places for this everyone's race was 20,000, in 2006 it was 22,500. The places are often fully booked early. Registration usually begins at the end of January. In 2008, 15,000 of the 22,000 starting places were allocated within 24 hours, according to the organizers. During the accreditation in the days before the race, the participants will receive their start numbers and times. On the eve of the start of the Jedermannrennen there is a so-called pasta party where all participants can eat pasta dishes together.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ New owner at Upsolut - Cyclassics should stay. welt.de, November 12, 2007, accessed January 26, 2016 .
  2. ↑ Organizer Upsolut will in future be active under the name Lagardère. rad-net.de, November 20, 2013, accessed on January 26, 2016 .
  3. ↑ Cyclassics Hamburg in the future in Chinese hands. rad-net.de, January 25, 2016, accessed on January 26, 2016 .
  4. ↑ Hamburger Cyclassics present new title sponsor. radsport-news.com, July 6, 2016, accessed July 25, 2016 .
  5. ↑ Cyclassics also elite races for the next few years. rad-net.de, March 12, 2012, accessed on January 26, 2016 .
  6. ↑ Cyclassics on October 3rd - Youngclassics still in planning. In: rad-net.de. June 10, 2020, accessed June 11, 2020 .
  7. ↑ Cyclassics on October 3rd now with WorldTour races. In: radsport-news.com. June 13, 2020, accessed June 13, 2020 .
  8. ↑ Event update. In: cyclassics-hamburg.de. June 20, 2020, accessed July 25, 2020 .

Web links

Commons : Cyclassics Hamburg  - Collection of images, videos and audio files