Cycling encyclopaedia "Henninger Turm": 10 things you need to know about Eschborn-Frankfurt

The beginnings

The first edition of the race took place in 1962 under the name "Rund um den Henninger Turm". This was preceded by the founding of the "Society for the Promotion of Cycling" in 1961, with which the Frankfurt cycling officials and brothers Hermann and Erwin Moos laid the foundations for organising professional cycling races. The Belgian professional cyclist Armand Desmet won the premiere. A special feature of the race was and still is that it not only offers a stage for professionals, but also organises races for amateurs, young people, schoolchildren and, last but not least, amateur athletes.

The date

The fixed date of 1 May for the bike race in Frankfurt is both a blessing and a curse. In Germany, the day is always a public holiday, which suits the participating athletes, provided they are not professionals, and reliably attracts fans and spectators to the track because they can visit the race as a public holiday outing. This has also been an advantage for sports reporting for many years, as not many other high-profile sporting events take place on this day and cycling in Frankfurt receives the attention it deserves. The disadvantage: 1 May is on a different day of the week every year. This made it difficult for the race in Frankfurt to secure a place in the busy racing calendar, which is always organised at weekends. If 1 May fell or falls on the weekend, this can also have an impact on the quality of the starting field for the pros, as the stars can be tied up elsewhere due to starting commitments at other races. This also contributed to the fact that "Rund um den Henninger Turm" and "Eschborn-Frankfurt" were never able to achieve the status of the classics in Belgium and the Netherlands, for example - although they could be the fitting finale to the classics campaign.

Past and present

After around 40 years of relative consistency under the name "Rund um den Henninger Turm", the past 20 years of the race have been characterised by many changes and renamings. After the death of the Moos brothers (Erwin Moos died in 2002, Hermann Moos in 2004), Erwin's son Bernd Moos-Achenbach took over the management. In 2009, the race was organised for the first time as the "Eschborn-Frankfurt City Loop", starting in Eschborn, a town in the Main-Taunus district, which lies to the west of Frankfurt and borders directly on the city. A short time later, it was renamed "Around the Financial Centre Eschborn-Frankfurt" and ended for the first time in front of the Alte Oper in Frankfurt. In 2017, the "Gesellschaft zur Förderung des Radsports", once founded by the Moos brothers, was taken over by the ASO, the Amaury Sport Organisation, which also owns the Tour de France. Since then, the race has been established as "Eschborn-Frankfurt".

The Henninger Tower

The building that gave the race its name when it was founded and for many years was completed in 1961 by the then Henninger Bräu AG. The unadorned silo for malting barley on Hainer Weg in the Sachsenhausen district was given a round top with a viewing platform and revolving restaurant, which is supposed to resemble a (beer) barrel. The 120 metre high Henninger Turm has thus become a popular excursion destination. To promote the tower, the brewery came up with the idea of organising a bike race and found the ideal partners in the Moos brothers. In the early years, the start and finish of the race were in the immediate vicinity of the Henninger Turm on Hainer Weg.

The route

Since then, the loop course, which leads out of the Frankfurt conurbation and into the Taunus region, has set the style for the race. There are currently four mountain classifications to tackle, whose names are closely linked to the history of the race: Mammolshain (3x), Feldberg (2x), Burgweg (3x) and Sandplacken. The finish has changed repeatedly over the course of the race's history. After the founding phase with the finish at Hainer Weg, the finish was moved to Darmstädter Landstraße after the change of sponsors. Nowadays, three final laps are completed in the centre of Frankfurt and along the River Main before the final sprint within sight of the Alte Oper.

Danger of terrorism

In 2015, the police observed a married couple, who were categorised as radical Islamist Salafists, spying on the Eschborn-Frankfurt racetrack. Weapons and explosives were seized during the subsequent search of their home. The race was subsequently cancelled for security reasons.

Corona turmoil

In 2020, the race was cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Efforts to organise the race later in the year were unsuccessful. A date in September was set for 2021, but this did not take place, as was the case in 2022.

Record winner

The 38-year-old Norwegian Alexander Kristoff, who retired from cycling this year, developed into a specialist for the Taunus Classic in the 2010s and won his "favourite race" in 2014, 2016, 2017 and 2018.

German successes

The first German winner on the Hainer Weg was Hennes Junkermann ahead of Willi Altig at the second edition in 1963. His brother Rudi won the race in 1970 and Gregor Braun won "Rund um den Henninger Turm" in 1978. This was followed by a long break - much to the chagrin of Didi Thurau, who, as a native of Frankfurt, really wanted to win the race, but achieved his best result with second place in 1977. In 1994, Olaf Ludwig was the next German professional and the first from East Germany to win the race. Other German winners include Erik Zabel (three times), Kai Hundertmark, Patrick Sinkewitz, Fabian Wegmann, John Degenkolb and most recently Pascal Ackermann in 2019.

Everyman race

The amateur race near Eschborn-Frankfurt currently operates under the name ADAC Velotour and has been developing into one of the most popular amateur sporting events in Germany for several years. In spring, the starting field was increased once again to 12,000 starting places, which were all completely sold out long before the race on 1 May

>> Tour de Romandie 2026: Climbing test for Lipowitz and Pogačar
>> Legendary professional teams: Carrera with Marco Pantani
>> France's new mega-talent Paul Seixas