Around Cologne

Around Cologne

Racing series	UCI Europe Tour - Category 1.1
Host country	Germany Germany
overall length	approx. 200 km

Paved road to Bensberg Castle

Artur Tabat (l.), Organizer of the race from 1971 to 2018, and his successor until 2019 Alexander Donike

Winner's trophy from 2019, presented by the "Count von Berg"

The cycle race around Cologne is the oldest still existing German one-day race for men. It was held for the first time in 1908.

history

The race, which runs over around 200 km through the Rhenish metropolis of Cologne and its surrounding area, took place for the first time in 1908, making it the oldest German road race still in existence. Around Berlin , the oldest " classic ", was held for the first time in 1896, but took place for the last time in 2000. In the founding year of the race, the organizers provided prizes worth 800 marks. These were exhibited in the shop window of the Stilldorf flower shop in Schildergasse before the race.

Thereby reaching around Cologne rarely extends beyond Germany importance as it merely as many years amateur race was held. This can be seen not least in the list of winners, which is largely dominated by Germans. The 1920s, which are considered to be the “heyday” of the race, are an exception: In 1928, for example, Alfredo Binda , five-time winner of the Giro d'Italia , won the Cologne race. In some years “Around Cologne” was only run as an amateur or only as a professional race , in other years there were professional and amateur races or separate ratings. From 2000 to 2014 the race took place every year on Easter Monday. From 2015, the race was held on the second Sunday in June. While the route led for decades through the left bank of the Rhine to the Voreifel , the race was held from the 1980s with the Rhine crossing into the Bergisches Land . A high point is a steep cobblestone passage that leads to Bensberg Castle .

From 1971, the race of Artur Tabat was organized organizing Direction club is the club Cölner road driver (VCS). For this commitment, Tabat was voted Person of the Year 2015 by the Cologne.Sport magazine . Alexander Donike has also been part of the organization team for several years .

From the 1930s to the end of the 1980s, the classic was only held as an amateur race with a few exceptions. It was not until 1990 that all around Cologne was advertised again for professionals. Today the race is considered the most important German one-day race after the Cyclassics Hamburg , the difficult Eschborn – Frankfurt and the Münsterland Giro . The race received greater media coverage, especially on April 21, 2003, when Jan Ullrich made his comeback after a doping ban with a solo victory in Cologne.

As a result of the UCI 's classification in the highest racing category below the UCI ProTour at that time , the 1st HC Hors Catégorie of the UCI Europe Tour , the race received an upgrade. According to this classification, UCI ProTeams , UCI Professional Continental Teams and German UCI Continental Teams started .

Due to the doping affairs at the 2007 Tour de France , several major sponsors dropped out. The 93rd race for the 100th anniversary in 2008 with a route without crossing the Rhine could only be organized with difficulty. Due to a sudden onset of winter with snowfall on race day, the race had to be canceled.

The doping affairs also influenced the race in 2009: The race was held exclusively with national teams, which, however, were essentially UCI Continental teams who wore national jerseys. In order to meet the rules of participation of the UCI Europe Tour , the race from category 1.HC in 1.1. downgraded. Even though UCI ProTeams and UCI Professional Continental Teams started again at Rund um Köln in 2010, this classification remained valid.

Until 2008 the race started in front of the BayArena in Leverkusen . In 2009 the race in Wehnrath in Oberberg, Germany, was started by the main sponsor Schwalbe at the gates of the company headquarters . In 2010 the tour started in the Oberberg town of Gummersbach . In 2015 the start was also in Gummersbach, but this time in the Schwalbe-Arena . The race has started and ended in Cologne's Rheinauhafen since 2016 . The ŠKODA Velodom race for everyone will be held on the same day .

In 2018, after 46 years, the organizer Artur Tabat handed over the running of the race to his previous “right hand”, the former racing driver and current UCI commissioner Alexander Donike. On October 31, 2019, Donike's commitment to Around Cologne ended after 16 years . The new organizer for the race from 2020 will be the Köln Marathon Veranstaltungs- und Werbe GmbH . The first event under the new organizer had to be canceled in 2020 due to the corona pandemic .

gallery

2017: Gregor Mühlberger wins
Jan Ullrich, 2003 winner
The professionals shortly before the start in Cologne's Rheinauhafen (2018)
Former winners and participants of Around Cologne on the occasion of the 100th edition in 2016
The 100th edition was particularly celebrated - here by Didi Senft (2016)
Start of the Velodom 2018
2019: Baptiste Planckaert from Belgium wins ahead of the German Christoph Pfingsten