Deutschland Tour 2024 | Stage 1 | Thursday, 22 August | Schweinfurt - Heilbronn | 176.3 kilometres
Battle for seconds
It will be anything but a flat stage. Nevertheless, sprinters could have a chance on this day. The route is hilly southwards from Lower Franconia towards the finish in Heilbronn. The undulating terrain offers good opportunities for an early breakaway group, which will probably not be let off the leash by sprinters and teams with ambitions for overall victory. On the climb to the Jägerhaus classification, the contenders for overall victory will try to distance themselves from as many rivals as possible. Especially as there are bonus seconds to be won around four kilometres after the Jägerhaus mountain classification in Donnbronn, which can be valuable in the overall standings. Important: Unlike in 2022 at Schauinsland in the Black Forest, there will be no long climb during Deutschland Tour 2024 (as in the previous year), which means that every second counts in the battle for overall victory. There are 3-2-1 seconds for the top three at the Jägerhaus bonus sprint classification. At the finish, 10, 6 and 4 seconds await the three fastest riders of the day.
Sprinter against contender
Sprinters who are good on the climbs can try to keep up with the best and catch up again on the descent to Heilbronn. The question there is: How big will the group be that comes together again after the climbs?
Hotspots for fans
Tip for spectators: The climb to Jägerhaus above Heilbronn (Jägerhausstraße) is sure to get the field moving. The bonus sprint in Donnbronn also promises action. If you want to see the pros twice, you can do so in Heilbronn on Oststraße a few kilometres before the finish: before the ascent on Jägerhausstraße, the peloton will pass here (around 15 kilometres before the finish) and then again around a quarter of an hour later just a few hundred metres away - then a good two kilometres before the finish line on Karlsruher Straße.
Stage 1 of the Deutschland Tour 2024 - schedule, TV coverage and live stream
- Thursday, 22 August 2024
- Start: 12:25 pm in Brückenstraße in Schweinfurt
- Finish: from 16:40 in Heilbronn, Karlsruher Straße
- Live broadcast: 15:05 - 17:00 (TV: ZDF; live stream: zdf.de and on Discovery Plus)
- The start list for the Deutschland Tour 2024
This is the Deutschland Tour 2024
The Deutschland Tour is entering its sixth round since its relaunch in 2018. This time, a total of 748 kilometres will be covered. In addition to the blue jersey for the overall winner (red last year, won by Ilan van Wilder), there is the green jersey for the best points scorer (2023 Ethan Vernon), the dotted jersey for the best climber (2023 Harm Vanhoucke) and a newly introduced white community jersey for the best rider of the day, which is voted for by fans via Instagram. The leading team in the team classification will also receive yellow back numbers.
The Deutschland Tour is organised by the Gesellschaft zur Förderung des Radsports (GFR), a subsidiary of the Amaury Sports Organisation (A.S.O.), which organises the Tour de France every year.
All stages at a glance
- Wednesday, 21 August, Prologue: Schweinfurt - Schweinfurt, 2.9 km
- Thursday, 22 August, 1st stage: Schweinfurt - Heilbronn, 176.3 km
- Friday, 23rd August, 2nd stage: Heilbronn - Schwäbisch Gmünd, 174.6 km
- Saturday, 24 August, 3rd stage: Schwäbisch Gmünd - Villingen-Schwenningen, 211.1 km
- Sunday, 25 August, 4th stage: Annweiler am Trifels - Saarbrücken, 182.7 km
- All stages at a glance
Everyman race
On the last day of the Deutschland Tour 2024 (25 August), amateur cyclists can take part in the "Cycling Tour" everyman race around Saarbrücken. There are two routes to choose from: one with 56 kilometres and around 600 metres of elevation gain and a longer route with 100 kilometres and around 1000 metres of elevation gain.
Newcomer Tour
The Newcomer Tour stops in Villingen-Schwenningen on 24 August and in Saarbrücken on 25 August. This talent show in women's cycling offers U17 riders the opportunity to prove themselves on two challenging one-day stages.
Andreas Kublik
Editor
