European Champion Fabio Jakobsen will be in action this week at the five-day event.
Running from Weimar to Stuttgart, the German race will start off with a prologue for the first time in its history, a 2.7km test against the clock at the end of which the gaps should be minimal, before giving the sprinters a chance to shine in the medieval town of Meiningen.
Maburg will welcome the race at the end of the week’s longest stage, followed by the first summit finish since the Deutschland Tour was revived in 2018, Schauinsland, a 12km climb taking the peloton at an altitude of 1200 meters. The rider to emerge victorious at the top will be in prime position to wrap up the general classification on the final day, one featuring 3100 vertical meters and the steep Herdweg climb, used at the 2007 World Championships in Stuttgart, won by Paolo Bettini.
European Champion Fabio Jakobsen – who tops the individual victory ranking, with twelve wins since February – James Knox, Yves Lampaert – third overall here in 2019 – French Champion Florian Sénéchal, Stan Van Tricht and Mauri Vansevenant will make up our team for the 34th edition of the race which for the first time since 2007 will have at least five stages.
“It won’t be an easy Deutschland Tour, but we go there with a strong team comprising riders who are building up and getting better and better for this second part of the season, so we are confident we will show ourselves. The hard uphill finish and those stages featuring steep climbs will be very important in the final outcome, and James and Mauri will see how far they can get there, but also our other riders will have their chances of doing something”, explained Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl sports director Tom Steels.
Photo credit: ©Stuart Franklin / Getty Images
