The Deutschland Tour (

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

: ''Tour of Germany'' and sometimes ''Deutschland-Rundfahrt'' in

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

) 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 common ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. 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 races in Europe, Australia and Canada organised by the UCI (International Cycling Union). Created by Hein Verbruggen, former president of the UCI, it comprises a number of 'ProTour' cycling teams, e ...

. 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 World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Germany never had a significant road cycling history, unlike

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

, which caused the race's popularity to depend on German successes. This resulted in several parallel tours of

West-Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 ...

. 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. He won the 1999 Vuelta a España and the HEW Cyclassics in front of a home crow ...

Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage bicycle race primarily held in France, while also occasionally passing through nearby countries. Like the other Grand Tours (the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España), it consists ...

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) is part of the French media group Éditions Philippe Amaury. It organises the Tour de France and other cycling races, as well as golf, running, sailing and off-road motorsport events. The president of ASO is Je ...

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 cycling tour. It was inaugurated in 2020. The series is placed below the UCI World Tour, but above the various regional UCI Continental Circuits. Development In December 2018, the UCI announ ...

since 2021.

Past winners

References

External links

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