Male Team 25 - 30 May
Thüringen Tour
670 Kilometers 6 Stages
The race organisers announced a live stream for the first time, yet in the end, it will only be highlights on GCN.
There’s 10-6-4″ at all stage finishes, plus 3-2-1″ at intermediate sprints.
One of the most successful Movistar Team riders in 2021, Danish champion Emma Norsgaard, returns to racing at the Lotto Thüringen Ladies Tour, a race always exciting, with cobblestones, wind and tight margins.
The route clearly contributes to that, with lumpy roads yet only one hilltop finish: the Hanka-berg in Dörtendorf (Friday 28th), which celebrates the region’s biggest rider, Hanka Kupfernagel, and marks the biggest hurdle for the sprinters with its 1.2km at 8% -to be crested four times-.
From an overall point of view, and even if the shorter stages around Schmölln -Tuesday 25th; a 700m climb at 7% with 5km to go- and Gotha -Sunday 30th; finish at 6%- are a bit more generous, the route makes it difficult for the fastest women in the bunch to reach the goal, with hills all over the six days.
Wednesday 26th, in Gera, the peloton will tackle a difficult climb, Kaltenborn, with 12km to go; Thursday 27th, towards Schleize, a 6km ascent at 5% will be covered, with not much respite after that; and Saturday 29th, after the previous day’s Hanka-berg, there will be two tough slopes in the last 15km.