The Thuringian Cycling Federation is organising the 2026 German Road Championships. German Cycling has confirmed the award of the German Cycling Championships to the state association. A total of twelve races in the Elite, U23, U19, U17 and U15 classes are on the programme. The course of the German Road Championships runs over 27.3 kilometres with 570 metres of elevation gain per lap through Steinbach, Brotterode and Brotterode-Trusetal. The title fights begin on Friday, 26 June, with the individual time trials in Streufdorf. The road races in Bad Liebenstein are on the programme for the following two days.
In addition to the men's and women's elite classes, the junior riders will also be competing for championship titles. The U23 classes start on Friday in the individual time trial. The junior (U19), youth (U17) and schoolboy/girl (U15) road races will follow at the weekend. A total of twelve championship titles will be awarded.
Cycling-DM: Individual time trial in Streufdorf
The time trial decisions will be made on 26 June in Streufdorf. The men in the U23 class will be the first riders to start at 8.30 am. The men's elite individual time trial starts at 9.30 am. The women's U23 will follow at 11.30am, with the elite riders starting at 12.20pm.
Streufdorf already hosted the time trial championships in 2016. Back then, Tony Martin won over 41 kilometres. The former time trial world champion is an ambassador for the German Championships in 2026. Martin describes the route as topographically challenging, but not too hilly.
Road course of the German Cycling Championships with 570 metres of elevation gain
The circuit for the road races measures 27.3 kilometres. The start and finish are in Bad Liebenstein. The route leads through Steinbach, Brotterode and Brotterode-Trusetal. Parts of the route run along the Rennsteig. Each lap involves 570 metres of elevation gain.
The women's elite will complete five laps on Saturday, 27 June. The total distance is 136.5 kilometres, with 2850 metres of altitude to be climbed. The finish is expected at 16:55. On Sunday, 28 June, the men's elite will ride seven laps over 191.1 kilometres and with almost 4000 metres of climbing. The finish is scheduled for 17:10. Patrick Moster, Performance Sports Director of German Cycling, emphasises the Thuringian profile. The course design for individual time trials and road races challenges the riders.
Junior races at the weekend
The youngest participants in the Cycling World Championships start on Saturday. The U15 schoolboys finish at 10.15 am, the U15 schoolgirls at 10.25 am. The female youth U17 will finish their race at 12:30 pm, the male youth U17 at 1:00 pm. The junior girls U19 finish at 15:40.
The U19 juniors will race on Sunday. The finish is scheduled for 12.30 pm. This will be followed by the men's elite race to round off the championships.
Defending champions with successes
Franziska Koch and Georg Zimmermann won the elite class road races in 2025. Both then rode to major victories in the champion's jersey. Koch was the first German to triumph at Paris-Roubaix. Zimmermann won the German WorldTour classic Eschborn-Frankfurt. So the champion's jersey certainly seems to be a good omen. The course with its many metres of climbing is likely to be a climbing spectacle again in 2026, so the defending champions have a good chance.
Leon Weidner
Working student
