German one-day road cycling race
Eschborn?Frankfurt
, previously
Rund um den Henninger Turm Frankfurt
, is an annual
semi classic
cycling race in Germany, starting in
Eschborn
and finishing in
Frankfurt
. The event, sometimes referred to as the
Frankfurt Grand Prix
, is held annually on 1 May, national
Labour Day
in Germany.
As from 2017, Eschborn?Frankfurt is part of the
UCI World Tour
,
[1]
the highest-rated professional men's road races, making it the second German World Tour event, together with the
Hamburg Cyclassics
in August. The event is organised by
ASO
.
History
[
edit
]
The event was first held on 1 May 1962, as
Rund um den Henninger Turm Frankfurt
, starting and finishing in Frankfurt's city centre. Brothers Hermann and Erwin Moos sought to promote the
Henninger Tower
, a grain silo belonging to the
Henninger Brewery
, which opened in 1961. Henninger served as main sponsor of the cycling event from the inaugural race until 2008. Rund um den Henninger Turm received a status upgrade in 1967 when
Paris?Brussels
, organised in late April, was removed from the calendar due to traffic problems and the event became the pre-eminent one-day cycling race in
West Germany
.
The race's first winner was Belgian
Armand Desmet
in 1962.
Barry Hoban
became the first British winner in 1966 after a 50 km solo ride to the finish, holding the chasing pack at one minute. Legendary cyclist
Eddy Merckx
won the race solo in 1971. Sprinter
Erik Zabel
held the record for most victories in the race with three (1999, 2002 and 2005) until
Alexander Kristoff
in 2018 added a fourth victory to his 2014, 2016 and 2017 wins, and therefore becoming sole record-holder. Seven further riders have won twice.
In 1995,
Rund um den Henninger Turm
was part of the
UCI Road World Cup
, cycling's season-long competition of the most important one-day races in the 1990s. The fixed date of the event however, every 1 May, was considered unfavourable as it was often midweek, and it was replaced with the newly created
HEW Cyclassics
in Hamburg as the German leg of the series.
Peloton during the 2001 race in
Kronberg im Taunus
In 2008, organiser Bernd Moos stated Henninger would withdraw its sponsorship of the race. Henninger discontinued its funding after 46 years because of economic conditions.
[2]
The event continued in 2009 as the
Eschborn?Frankfurt City Loop
, named after its city sponsors, Frankfurt and the neighboring town of
Eschborn
, which also became the start location of the race.
[3]
[4]
The iconic Henninger Tower was demolished in 2013.
The now demolished
Henninger Tower
(pictured in 2005)
in
Frankfurt am Main
served as the race's name sponsor from 1962 until 2008.
The
2015 event
was cancelled on the eve of the race due to
a suspected terrorist plot
;
[5]
the 2020 edition was cancelled due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
. In 2017, Eschborn?Frankfurt was included in the
UCI World Tour
, cycling's highest rated professional events, and organisation was taken on by
ASO
, which also organises cycling's flagships, the
Tour de France
and
Paris?Roubaix
.
[6]
Route of the 2011 event. The race starts in
Eschborn
and finishes in
Frankfurt
's city centre, totaling around 220 km, mainly through the
Taunus Hills
.
Route
[
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]
The race passes through the
Taunus Hills
west of Frankfurt, along a winding and hilly course with around 1500m (5,000 feet) of climbing. The climbs of the
Feldberg
, Ruppershain and Mammolshain are some of the regular features. The Mammolshain has a maximal
gradient
of 26% and is climbed twice in the race. The race ends with three laps of 4,5 km in the centre of Frankfurt, covering a total distance of around over 220 kilometres (140 mi).
[7]
Until 2008 the start and finish of the race was on Hainer Weg and later Darmstadter Landstraße, in front of the
Henninger Tower
.
Since the event's restyling in 2009, the race starts in
Eschborn
, 13 kilometres (8.1 mi) west of
Frankfurt
? the finish was at the housing development Riedberg. Since 2010, the finish is in front of the
Alte Oper
(Old Opera)
, Frankfurt's concert hall and former opera house in the city centre.
Race winners
[
edit
]
Erik Zabel
(pictured in 2005)
has won the race three times (1999, 2002 and 2005).
Wins per country
[
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]
References
[
edit
]