The Deutschland Tour (English: ''Tour of Germany'' and sometimes ''Deutschland-Rundfahrt'' in German) is the most important

multi-stage A multistage rocket or step rocket is a launch vehicle that uses two or more rocket ''stages'', each of which contains its own engines and propellant. A ''tandem'' or ''serial'' stage is mounted on top of another stage; a ''parallel'' stage is ...

road bicycle race Road bicycle racing is the cycle sport discipline of road cycling, held primarily on paved roads. Road racing is the most popular professional form of bicycle racing, in terms of numbers of competitors, events and spectators. The two most com ...

in Germany. Initially the race was held in May/June, but from 2005 until 2008 it was moved to August as part of the

UCI ProTour The UCI ProTour was a series of road bicycle racing, road bicycle races in Europe, Australia and Canada organised by the Union Cycliste Internationale, UCI (International Cycling Union). Created by Hein Verbruggen, former president of the UCI, i ...

. On October 16, 2008, the organizers announced that the 2009 edition would be cancelled, following the doping cases that were revealed in the sport of cycling. Marketing chiefs said they were unable to finance the nine-day race due to a lack of interested sponsors after the latest revelations of cyclists testing positive for the blood-booster CERA. A revival for 2017 was announced on 8 March 2016. In 2018, the A.S.O. revived the Deutschland Tour and included a 4-stage-race into a cycling festival. From 23 August to 26 August 2018, the Deutschland Tour took place in the South-Western region of Germany. The 2019 race was held from 29 August to 1 September.

History

Beginning in 1911 a "national" cycling race of over was held in Germany (which was then composed of several territories and kingdoms). Until 1931 several real—more-or-less—Tours were held, but always under very different conditions and organisations. In 1931 the first ''Deutschlandtour'' was held, and it is generally agreed upon that the race was exciting and well organised between 1937 and 1939, the start of World War II. Germany never had a significant road cycling history, unlike Belgium, France or Italy, which caused the race's popularity to depend on German successes. This resulted in several parallel tours of

West-Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

. But after

Jan Ullrich Jan Ullrich (; born 2 December 1973) is a German former professional road bicycle racer. Ullrich won gold and silver medals in the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia, Sydney. He won the 1999 Vuelta a España and the HEW Cyclassics in fro ...

Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage cycle sport, bicycle race held primarily in France. It is the oldest and most prestigious of the three Grand Tour (cycling), Grand Tours, which include the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a ...

victory, cycling became more popular. Partially as a result of Germany's new-found cycling enthusiasm, in 1999 the ''Deutschlandtour'' became invigorated. In 1998 the ''Bund Deutscher Radfahrer e.V.'' and the company Upsolut founded the Deutschland Tour gmbh. In March 2016, the

Amaury Sport Organisation The Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO and also A.S.O.) is a private company, founded in 1992, that is part of the privately-owned French media group Éditions Philippe Amaury (EPA). ASO organises the Tour de France and other cycling races, as well a ...

announced it had signed a 10-year deal with the German Cycling Federation to bring the race back within the next two years. In July the race was confirmed as the Deutschland Deine Tour debuting in 2018, reduced to four stages and relegated to a UCI 2.1 European Tour race. The race is part of the new

UCI ProSeries The UCI ProSeries is the second tier men's elite road bicycle racer, road cycling tour. It was inaugurated in 2020 UCI ProSeries, 2020. The series is placed below the UCI World Tour, but above the various regional UCI Continental Circuits. Devel ...

since 2021.

Past winners

References

External links

Official Site
{{Deutschland Tour Recurring sporting events established in 1911 1911 establishments in Germany UCI ProTour races UCI ProSeries races UCI Europe Tour races Recurring sporting events disestablished in 2008 Defunct cycling races in Germany 2008 disestablishments in Germany