International Saarland tour
The International Saarland Tour was a cycling event in Germany and in the partially autonomous Saarland . It was held as a road race in the Saarland area. In a few years it was organized under the name Rund durch das Saarland .
history
The tour was held for the first time in 1922. The race was held for professional drivers from 1935 to 1950, but did not take place every year. At the same time, competitions for the amateur and youth classes were started. From 1951 onwards it was a race for amateurs, but also for independents. A special feature of the race was that in addition to the individual winner, the best team was also awarded a trophy.
In the period from 1947 to 1956 , when Saarland was a semi-autonomous state, the race was the most important international cycling event of the Saarland Cyclists' Association and took place regularly during these years. The race usually led from Saarbrücken across the Saarland back to the finish in Saarbrücken. The length of the race ranged from 168 to 240 kilometers.
In 1949 the International Saarland Tour had its first anniversary, it was held for the tenth time. The race ran over a distance of 240 kilometers and was contested by 80 professional drivers and independents. The winner was Egon Thiry, an independent member of the Saarland association RV Falke Lebach.
Until 1969 the race had a certain date in the event calendar of the Association of German Cyclists (BDR). In 1970 the situation changed, at the time of the tour there was also a race in the neighboring Palatinate , in which the majority of the top German drivers took part. So only 12 racing cyclists started, mostly foreign drivers. The Saarland Association wanted to end the tour forever, but a solution for the future was found together with the BDR. On July 18, 1971, the 30th edition of the International Saarland Tour took place. In a few years the International Saarland Tour was part of the BDR competition to form the national team. As early as the 1970s, it became more and more difficult for the Saarland Cyclists' Association to organize the race due to increasing motorization and rising costs. The tour was canceled more often. It took place for the last time in 1985.
winner
| year | The winners | nation |
|---|---|---|
| 1922-1925 | Winner unknown | |
| 1935 | Georg Umbenhauer (B) | Germany |
| 1943 | Jean Majérus (B) | Luxembourg |
| 1947 | Wim van Est (B) | Netherlands |
| 1949 | Eduard van Ende (B) | Belgium |
| 1949 (amateurs) | Egon Thiry | Saarland |
| 1950 | Henri Smets (B) | Belgium |
| 1955 | René Bianchi | France |
| 1957 | Jan Hugens | Netherlands |
| 1958 | Franz Boettger | Germany |
| 1959 | Desiré Cartigny | France |
| 1961 | Julien Haelterman | Belgium |
| 1962 | Joseph Mathy | Belgium |
| 1963 | Minninger | Germany |
| 1964 | Marcel Surin | Belgium |
| 1965 | Burkhard Ebert | Germany |
| 1966 | Norbert Leiske | Germany |
| 1967 | Erwin Derlick | Germany |
| 1968 | Johannes Knab | Germany |
| 1969 | Wilfried Corneillie | Belgium |
| 1970 | Walter Bellens | Belgium |
| 1971 | Ferdinand Peirsman | Belgium |
| 1972 | Mario Sobottka | Germany |
| 1973 | Wilfried Trott | Germany |
| 1974 | Klaus-Peter Thaler | Germany |
| 1976 | Rene Martens | Belgium |
| 1980 | Werner Stauff | Germany |
| 1981 | Janusz Bieniek | Poland |
| 1983 | Volker Diehl | Germany |
| 1985 | Hans-Werner Theissen | Germany |
(B) = professional driver, (U) = independent, otherwise always amateurs
Web links
- Saarland tour in the database of Radsportseiten.net
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Rv Falke Editor: Chronicle. In: rv-falke.de. March 27, 2016, accessed April 14, 2020 .
- ^ Association of German cyclists (ed.): Radsport . No. 33/1970 . Deutscher Sportverlag Kurt Stoof, Cologne 1970, p. 16 .