European Championships: The most beautiful places along the road race route

In August, Munich will host the biggest multi-sport event since the 1972 Olympic Games: Around 4700 athletes will be travelling to the European Championships to compete for medals in nine sports. Combining the European Championships of different sports was the idea behind the European Championships 2018. The premiere, which was split between Glasgow in Scotland and the German capital Berlin, was a great success.

Focus also on cycling at the European Championships in Munich

European championships in sports such as rowing and gymnastics, as well as road and track cycling, usually attract little attention. However, the concentration of the seven sports at the time attracted the interest of fans and the media - and in the slipstream of the multi-sport European Championships, cycling was also doing well. Nine sports federations are hoping for the same effect again this year, including the track and road cyclists.

Between 11 and 21 August, 177 decisions will be made. In cycling, 30 European Championship titles will be awarded: 22 in track cycling, two each in mountain bike cross-country and BMX freestyle and four in road cycling (road race and time trial).

Fast cyclists can also be seen at the triathlon in the Olympic Park at the European Championships: Men and women will compete there over the Olympic distance (1.5 kilometre swim, 40 kilometre bike, 10 kilometre run), and the mixed relay is on the programme at the end.

In track cycling, 22 competitions make for a tightly packed schedule. At the 2021 European Track Cycling Championships, Germany finished second in the medals table behind the Netherlands. Their successes last year at the Olympic Games, World Championships and European Championships put the spotlight on the German women's track cyclists in particular, which may attract new spectators to the European Championships at the track in Munich-Riem.

Cycling rarely visits Munich

Spectators along the route of the road races are also not a matter of course; road cycling is rarely a guest in Munich: Only a few fans will remember the stage start of the Tour of Bavaria in Munich in 2004 or the Tour of Austria in 1987. While the European Championship titles in road cycling are awarded annually, the European Championships only take place every four years. For road cyclists, this year's title is therefore particularly coveted - after all, the spotlight will not shine quite as brightly in the coming years.

The road races run through Upper Bavarian excursion regions and promise beautiful TV pictures. From a sporting point of view, they are not particularly demanding; there are no steep mountains around the Bavarian capital.

Circuit in Munich city centre

Nevertheless, the road races could still be exciting: The final laps in the centre of Munich require concentration, tactical talent and sprinter's legs.

Between Tour de France and Vuelta a Espana the European Championships offer a test of form for Europe's cycling elite. Last year, Italy's Sonny Colbrelli and Ellen van Dijk from the Netherlands won the white jersey with blue stripes and yellow stars.

The top spots for road racing

Men's road race | 14 August

The route of the men's race at the European Championships leads from Murnau am Staffelsee to Munich - thanks to the final laps, there are 209 kilometres and 1380 metres of elevation gain. TOUR shows the most beautiful spots along the course. The elevation profiles, timetables and information on the TV broadcast can be found here.

1 Kesselberg

The Kesselberg is one of the top climbs for Munich racing cyclists. It usually hurts - it's neither long nor steep, but it's perfect for chasing uphill. Many have been tempted into a duel under oxygen deprivation here. At the 2011 mountain time trial as part of the Kesselberg race, this was even possible with a closed course and timekeeping. For the professional cyclists, however, the 260 metres in altitude are no real obstacle.

2 Walchensee

A lake straight out of a tourist advert that promises great TV images. But the lake doesn't need advertising at all: At weekends, the tourist traffic is so heavy that racing cyclists prefer to cycle around the lake on the car-free northern shore. On race day, you could combine watching the race with a swim or SUP excursion.

3 Schlossberg Eurasburg

Generations of cyclists have been lured into the trap of unsuspecting fellow cyclists at this junction. Without any warning, the road here throws itself up at 18 per cent - if you don't change gear early enough, you'll tip over. Let's see if the pros at the European Championships are forewarned.

4 Olympiastrasse

The Olympic Road leads from Starnberg to Munich without any bends and motivates Munich cyclists to set speed records and time trial units.

Women's road race | 21 August

The women's road race from Landsberg am Lech to Munich is 130 kilometres and 890 metres in altitude.

1 Seeshaupt

For Munich racing cyclists, this is a mandatory stop on the cycle circuit because of the beautiful view of the lake. Even the professional cyclists will turn their heads to the left here.

2 Degerndorf

There, the route takes you over a small hill, which will burn your legs after a long ride. The route then winds its way through the town and then into a very fast descent - concentration is required in the pro peloton.

3 Wolfratshausen

There are no long climbs around Munich - not even at the European Championships. But the 100 metres in altitude at the end of the town offer some climbing fun with beautiful hairpin bends. You feel like you're on an Alpine road - albeit only briefly.

4 Plinganserstrasse | Steinerstrasse

TOUR has already tested countless racing bikes, attended races and interviewed professional cyclists, but this is a first at the European Championships: a bike race that passes right by the TOUR editorial office.

The top spots in Munich city centre

The women's race completes two and a half laps, the men's race five and a half laps on the city centre circuit. Ideal for spectators to see the racers several times.

1 Theresienwiese

Without the tents of the Oktoberfest, a large open space, watched over by the Bavaria. A great backdrop, but not a race-deciding passage. It's only three underground stops from there to the finish at Odensplatz - so a change of location is conceivable.

2 Stachus (officially: Karlsplatz)

"It's like the Stachus" is a popular saying in Munich to describe the big crowds - and today it's doubly true.

3 Ludwigstrasse

In summer, hundreds of cyclists crowd the cycle paths, while cars pass by on the overly wide roads. It's nice that bikes have priority today.

3 Odeonsplatz

A favourite place for demonstrations in Munich - today the professional cyclists will probably be demonstrating their sprinting talent at the European Championships.

4 Eisbach

The surfers on the Eisbach wave will be delighted: at last the spectators are looking in the other direction and they can tip off their boards unobserved.

5 Angels of peace

The Friedensengel has fallen into disrepute due to escalated New Year's Eve parties - but on race day it would be a good place for a cycling party. Here you can watch the racers pass by several times in both directions during the European Championships. The bends around the monument can also be ridden quickly by a large field.

Time trial | 17 August

Fürstenfeldbruck

Impressive backdrop of the Fürstenfeld monastery. The flat time trial course of the European Championships is a dream - as long as the wind doesn't slow you down.

European Championships 2022: Start list

An official start list for the men's road race can be found here, as well as the provisional start lists for the women's road race and the men's and women's time trials. In the men's road race, the German team will with a double lead around Pascal Ackermann (see cover picture) and Phil Bauhaus on the hunt for medals go. The start lists at a glance.

Men's road race

Belgium

• 1 Dries De Bondt
• 2 Aime De Gendt
• 3 Rune Herregodts
• 4 Tim Merlier
• 5 Edward Theuns
• 6 Dries Van Gastel
• 7 Bert Van Lerberghe

Slovenia

• 8 Tilen Finkst
• 9 Aljaz Jarc
• 10 Luka Mezgec
• 11 Domen Novak
• 12 David Per
• 13 Jaka Primozic
• 14 Jan Tratnik
• 15 Matic Zumer

France

• 16 Rudy Barber
• 17 Thomas Boudat
• 18 Bryan Coquard
• 19 Arnaud Demare
• 20 Dorian Godon
• 21 Hugo Hofstetter
• 22 Jeremy Lecroq
• 23 Clement Russo

The Netherlands

• 24 Nils Eekhoff
• 25 Daan Hoole
• 26 Fabio Jakobsen
• 27 Jan Maas
• 28 Elmar Reinders
• 29 Jos van Emden
• 30 Boy van Poppel
• 31 Danny van Poppel

Spain

• 32 Jorge Arcas
• 33 Ivan Garcia Cortina
• 34 David Gonzalez
• 35 Oier Lazkano
• 36 Manuel Penalver
• 37 Jon Aberasturi
• 38 Jonathan Lastra
• 39 Xabier Mikel Azparren

Italy

• 40 Filippo Baroncini
• 41 Alberto Dainese
• 42 Filippo Ganna
• 43 Jacopo Guarnieri
• 44 Jonathan Milan
• 45 Luca Mozzato
• 46 Matteo Trentin
• 47 Elia Viviani

Denmark

• 48 Mikkel Bjerg
• 49 Lasse Norman Hansen
• 50 Mikkel Frölich Honore
• 51 Mathias Norsgaard Jörgensen
• 52 Michael Mörkov
• 53 Mads Pedersen
• 54 Johan Price Pejtersen
• 55 Frederik Wandahl

Switzerland

• 56 Stefan Bissegger
• 57 Tom Bohli
• 58 Silvan Dillier
• 59 Lukas Rüegg
• 60 Michael Schär
• 61 Reto Hollenstein
• 62 Simon Pellaud

Norway

• 63 Jonas Abrahamsen
• 64 Alexander Kristoff
• 65 Anders Skaarseth
• 66 Rasmus Fossum Tiller
• 67 Syver Waersted

Germany

• 68 Pascal Ackermann
• 69 Phil Bauhaus
• 70 John Degenkolb
• 71 Nico Denz
• 72 Roger Kluge
• 73 Alexander Krieger
• 74 Nils Politt
• 75 Michael Schwarzmann

Poland

• 76 Stanislaw Aniolkowski
• 77 Alan Banaszek
• 78 Norbert Banaszek
• 79 Cesare Benedetti
• 80 Maciej Bodnar
• 81 Jakub Kaczmarek
• 82 Filip Maciejuk

Portugal

• 83 Rui Felipe Alves Oliveira

Austria

• 84 Tobias Bayer
• 85 Patrick Gamper
• 86 Marco Haller
• 87 Patrick Konrad
• 88 Lukas Pöstlberger
• 89 Sebastian Schönberger

Czech republic

• 90 Jan Barta
• 91 Tomas Barta
• 92 Dominik Neuman
• 93 Jakub Otruba
• 94 Zdenek Stybar
• 95 Adam Toupalik

Ireland

• 96 Sam Bennett
• 97 Eddie Dunbar
• 98 Ryan Mullen
• 99 Matthew Teggart
• 100 Rory Townsend

Estonia

• 102 Tanel Kangert
• 103 Martin Laas
• 104 Karl Patrick Lauk
• 105 Oskar Nisu
• 106 Norma Vahtra

Hungary

• 107 Marton Dina
• 108 Barnabas Peak

Luxembourg

• 109 Colin Heiderscheid
• 110 Cedric Pries

Slovakia

• 111 Erik Baska
• 112 Marek Canecky
• 113 Adam Foltan
• 114 David Kasko
• 115 Andrej Liska
• 116 Matus Stocek

Latvia

• 117 Emils Liepins
• 118 Martin Pluto
• 119 Toms Skujins

Sweden

• 120 Tobias Ludvigsson

Romania

• 121 Eduard-Michael Grosu

Lithuania

• 122 Mantas Januskevicius
• 123 Ignatas Konovalovas
• 124 Venantas Lasinis
• 125 Evaldas Siskevicius

Greece

• 126 Georgis Bouglas
• 127 Panagiotis Christopoulos-Cheller
• 128 Periklis Ilias

Israel

• 129 Yuval Ben Moshe
• 130 Itamar Unicorn

Croatia

• 131 Viktor Potocki

Albania

• 132 Marolino Hoxha
• 133 Ylber Sefa
• 134 Olsian Velia

North Macedonia

• 135 Andrej Petrovski
• 136 Stefan Petrovski

Kosovo

• 137 Alban Delija
• 138 Blerton Nuha

Iceland

• 139 Ingvar Omarsson

Montenegro

• 140 Goran Cerovic

Bosnia and Herzegovina

• 141 Vedad Karic

Armenia

• 142 Stepan Grigoryan

Women's road race

Italy

• Elisa Balsamo
• Marta Bastianelli
• Rachele Barbieri
• Maria Giulia Confalonieri
• Barbara Guarischi
• Elena Cecchini
• Ilaria Sanguineti
• Arianna Fidanza

France

• Victoire Berteau
• Clara Copponi
• Audrey Cordon-Ragot
• Coralie Demay
• Eugenie Duval
• Juliette Labous
• Gladys Verhulst
• Margaux Vigie

Spain

• Sandra Alonso
• Ziortza Isasi
• Lourdes Oyarbide
• Sara Martin
• Sheyla Gutierrez
• Mireia Benito
• Yurani Blanco

Belgium

• Sanne Cant
• Alana Castrique
• Kim De Baat
• Valiere Demey
• Lotte Kopecky
• Lone Meertens
• Jesse Vandenbulcke
• Julie Van de Velde

The Netherlands

• Lorena Wiebes
• Ellen van Dijk
• Riejanne Markus
• Demi Vollering
• Charlotte Kool
• Floortje Mackaij
• Jeanne Korevaar
• Anouska Koster

Germany

• Franziska Brauße
• Lisa Brennauer
• Romy Kasper
• Lisa Klein
• Franziska Koch
• Mieke Kröger
• Liane Lippert
• Lea Lin Teutenberg

Switzerland

• Caroline Baur
• Elise Chabbey
• Lea Fuchs
• Michelle Stark
• Marlen Reusser

Norway

• Susanne Andersen
• Ingvild Gaskjenn
• Stine Borgli
• Malin Eriksen

Ireland

• Alice Sharpe
• Mia Griffin

Austria

• Kathrin Schweinberger
• Christina Schweinberger
• Carina Schrempf
• Sarah Rijkes
• Verena Eberhardt
• Gabriela Thanner

Individual time trial men

Italy

• Mattia Cattaneo
• Matteo Sobrero

Spain

• Oier Lazkano

Belgium

• Rune Herregodts
• Yves Lampaert

The Netherlands

• Jos van Emden

Germany

• Max Walscheid
• Miguel Heidemann

Denmark

• Mikkel Bjerg
• Morten Hulgaard

Switzerland

• Stefan Bissegger
• Stefan Küng

Ireland

• Ben Healy
• Ryan Mullen

Austria

• Rainer Kepplinger

Individual time trial women

Italy

• Arianna Fidanza
• Alessia Vigilia

France

• Audrey Cordon-Ragot
• Juliette Labous

Spain

• Sandra Alonso
• Ziortza Isasi

Belgium

• Sara Van de Vel
• Julie Van de Velde

The Netherlands

• Ellen van Dijk
• Riejanne Markus

Germany

• Lisa Brennauer
• Lisa Klein

Denmark

• Emma Norsgaard

Switzerland

• Marlen Reusser
• Elena Hartmann

Ireland

• Kelly Murphy
• Joanna Patterson

Austria

• Anna Kiesenhofer
• Christina Schweinberger