The most important information about the prologue of the Deutschland Tour
- Date: Wednesday, 20 August
- Start: Food, Target: Food
- Distance: 3.1 kilometres
- Stage profile: Individual time trial
- Issue: 40th edition
- TV/Livestream: ZDF Sportstudio, Eurosport & discovery plus 16:30-18:30
- All stages at a glance
- Results of the Deutschland Tour 2024
Fabian Wegmann's assessment of the prologue
"The prologue takes place around the Zollverein colliery, which is a great backdrop. The route is very short and, unlike last year, flat. There will certainly be no preliminary decision in the battle for overall victory - and that's not the idea behind the short prologue time trial. The competition will not be contested with time trial bikes, but with normal road equipment. The teams therefore do not need an additional lorry. It will be a fast and sharp start to the Deutschland Tour 2025, with one rider following the next for 120 minutes. Each rider will be briefly introduced before the start - that's our way of presenting the team. We have set limits in terms of riding technique. We didn't want it to be dangerous, so we didn't include any cobbled sections, which would have been possible. After the prologue, we at least have a provisional ranking with small gaps - that takes some of the pressure off the following stage. The race is scheduled after the Cyclassics in Hamburg, which is why many teams don't have an extra journey."
Hot spot: A visit to the clearly laid out route around the winding tower on the World Heritage Site - with plenty of action and introductions to the participants.
Fabian Wegmann: Sports Director of the Lidl Deutschland Tour
Fabian Wegmann knows how difficult it is to reconcile the wishes of the riders with the requirements of a race organiser and the safety requirements. The 45-year-old from Münster, once a successful professional with the Gerolsteiner and Milram teams and three German championship titles, was involved in the planning of the route and presents the five days of racing.
