The next highlight for the sprinters is coming up, the Hamburg Cyclassics. This year, the fast men will once again have the opportunity to showcase themselves at one of the two German World Tour races. After no sprint was held on the Champs Élysées at the Tour de France this year, the desire for victory is likely to be all the greater. Accordingly, the teams' start lists are peppered with the appropriate riders. In our TOUR favourites check, we reveal who might come out on top.
The TOUR favourites by stars*
***** Jonathan Milan, Olav Kooij
**** Jordi Meeus
*** Kaden Groves, Biniam Girmay
** Danny van Poppel, Sam Bennett
* Max Kanter, Arnaud Démare, Phil Bauhaus, Bryan Coquard, Tim Torn Teutenberg, Pascal Ackermann, Alexander Kristoff, Marco Haller, Paul Magnier, Arnaud de Lie
* The more stars a driver receives, the higher his chances are rated
Note: At the time of publication of this article, the final start list has not yet been 100 per cent finalised. It is possible that drivers mentioned here will not start
The favourites in the TOUR-Check
***** Jonathan Milan (Lidl - Trek)
Back from the Tour with two stage wins and the points jersey, and equipped with numerous other successes, victory will probably only go to the young Italian. Hardly any sprinter can claim to have already won the points jersey at the Tour once and the points jersey twice at the Giro at the age of 24. Currently probably the fastest man in the professional peloton, he also wants to make up for his defeat last year. At the Cyclassics 2024, he was defeated by Dutchman Olav Kooij, who will also be his fiercest rival this year. Elia Viviani was the last Italian to win the race three times in a row from 2017-2019. Milan would certainly have no objection to such a winning streak and could start this year.
***** Olav Kooij (Team Visma | Lease a Bike)
As the defending champion, the 23-year-old Dutchman is naturally one of the top favourites. With two stage wins at this year's Tour of Italy, including victory in Rome, Kooij is travelling to Hamburg with a tailwind. However, he still lacks the points jersey for a major tour. In this year's Tirreno-Adriatico, he was beaten twice by Milan in direct sprint duels. Fortunately, Kooij coped well with the crash at the Copenhagen Sprint and was able to ride again a few days later at the Dutch Championships and secure second place. Alongside Milan, he is definitely one of the absolute favourites to win on Mönckebergstraße.
**** Jordi Meeus (Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe)
Two victories within three days. After his success on stage 6 of the Tour de Suisse, Meeus left early and started the new World Tour race, the Copenhagen Sprint, two days later. The Belgian also won this race. However, the other top favourites were involved in a crash shortly before the finish, which is why only a small part of the field made it to the finish. In the Tour de France, however, Meeus did not really get going, with a good second place on the 17th stage, but otherwise it was rather quiet around him. He has already shown that he can sprint at the front, including his victory on the Champs Élysées in 2023. Whether he can keep up with Milan and Kooij remains to be seen.
*** Kaden Groves (Alpecin - Deceuninck)
Whether as a breakaway or in a sprint, the man from Australia seems to be able to do everything at the moment. With the team fully staffed, Groves is not even the first rider for Jasper Philipsen. With Mathieu van der Poel, the team has another absolute top star to help Philipsen. However, the latter crashed heavily at the Tour de France and still has to take a break. Groves immediately seized the opportunity on the 20th stage of the Tour of France and rode solo ahead of the peloton. But Groves also secured a sprint victory in this year's Giro d'Italia and also finished second in Rome. Having already won the points jersey twice at the Tour of Spain, Groves is a true all-rounder in top form.
*** Biniam Girmay (Intermarché - Wanty)
Biniam Girmay is still without a win this year. The winner of the points jersey and three-time stage winner of the 2024 Tour de France must be really annoyed by this. After such an outstanding year, it is difficult to ride a rather mixed season. He has already finished second in several races this year, including the opening stage of the Tour of France. However, considering that the Cyclassics are going downhill on the home straight, it could be difficult for the Eritrean.
** Danny van Poppel (Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe)
Jordi Meeus' rider - or not? The experienced Dutchman was crowned national champion shortly before the Tour de France and did so in a sprint against the really big names. He beat riders such as Casper van Uden, Dylan Groenewegen and Olav Kooij, although the latter had previously crashed in the Copenhagen Sprint. He finished second at the Cyclassics in 2023 and could spring a surprise this year.
** Sam Bennett (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team)
The glory days of the experienced sprinter's numerous victories are over, but the man from Ireland should not be written off just yet. Although Bennett is finding it increasingly difficult to ride at the front in the sprint finishes of long tours, he does show flashes of his class from time to time. At Tirreno-Adriatico, the 34-year-old finished second, well ahead of a sprinter like Olav Kooij. Bennett still has a small chance of springing a surprise.
* The outsiders
In addition to the aforementioned favourites, there are other riders who could cause a real surprise. Among them are four German riders, for whom a victory at World Tour level on German soil would of course be a real achievement. Pascal Ackermann (Israel - Premier Tech) has already won on the really big stage and was awarded the points jersey at the Tour of Italy. However, it is becoming increasingly difficult for the 31-year-old to keep up with the high pace in the bunch sprints. Phil Bauhaus (Bahrain - Victorious) is also 31 years old and has already recorded several podium finishes in stages this year. Max Kanter (XDS Astana Team) is also sniffing at the top positions from time to time. Tim Torn Teutenberg (Lidl - Trek), who is only 23 years old, made an immediate impression with his top 5 finishes in his World Tour debut at the Tour Down Under. At the Tour of Hungary he always had to line up behind Danny van Poppel (Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe), but was able to achieve further good results.
Alexander Kristoff (Uno-X Mobility) is another Cyclassics winner who will be competing alongside Olav Kooij (Team Visma | Lease a Bike). The veteran sprinter only rode a few races in the highest category this year, but can still keep up with the young riders, even if it is rarely enough for the very front. With Arnaud Démare (Arkéa - B&B Hotels), Bryan Coquard (Cofidis) and Paul Magnier (Soudal Quick-Step), there are three French riders at the start who have a small chance of victory. Magnier recently rode to a stage win at the Tour of Poland, Coquard achieved a top result with his stage win at the Tour Down Under at the beginning of the year, only Démare is still missing a top result this season. However, he can also look back on a victory at the Cyclassics in 2012. He also has numerous stage wins in major tours and won the points jersey twice in the Tour of Italy. The Belgian Arnaud de Lie (Lotto) is a rider who has achieved four top 5 finishes in this year's Tour de France. However, it has not been enough for the very front so far.
Leon Weidner
Working student
