Stuttgart Cycling Festival enters next round

The Cycling festival day in Stuttgart and the Stuttgart region is entering a new round: On September 15, 2024, the women's professional cycling race Women's Cycling Grand Prix and the amateur cycling race Brezelrace will take place again.

Women's professional race Women's Cycling Grand Prix

The women’s professional race has made a big leap: After its successful premiere last year, the international one-day race for women is now in the UCI ProSeries ascended – in other words: only one category below the World Tour. This means that on September 15th a top field of starters will ride through Stuttgart and the Stuttgart region.

The Starting signal for the second edition of the young cycling classic, which is jointly sponsored by the state capital Stuttgart and the Stuttgart Region Association, this year in BoeblingenThe attractive and challenging route leads through Ehningen, Aidlingen, Gärtringen, Holzgerlingen, Schönaich, Steinenbronn and Waldenbuch. On the way to the finish, the climb from the Aichtal to Filderstadt-Plattenhardt will characterize the race, before it goes via Stuttgart-Vaihingen and -Sonnenberg down into the Stuttgart city center to the finish at Rotebühlplatz.

Particularly attractive for cycling fans are the three final laps of 9.2 kilometres each in the west of Stuttgartwhere thousands of cycling fans created a great atmosphere in 2023. Compared to the previous year, the route of the final lap has been changed. In addition to the finish area at Rotebühlplatz, a hotspot for cheering on the riders is the 12 percent steep Hasenbergsteige, where the riders have to mobilize all their strength once again on the three crossings. After exactly 118 kilometers, the winner will be crowned at the finish line at Rotebühlplatz.

“The course is designed in such a way that an offensive and attractive race is possible, but the outcome of this world-class field of starters is open until the end,” says the Sports director Lisa Brennauer. “Overall, it is a challenging course with some highlights and a final lap that invites attacks and will provide a great race for the spectators along the course, but also on TV,” says Brennauer. In addition to the broadcast on free TV like last year, a large screen for the fans in the finish area is also a declared goal of the organizers.

At the Women's Cycling Grand Prix, 20 teams with a total of 120 athletes will be at the start, including 10 UCI WorldTour teams, the highest sporting category in cycling. In addition to the many German professionals who will be starting with their teams, a top-class German national team will also be there. The demanding race takes place one week before the start of the Road World Championships in Zurich and is therefore a good opportunity for a final fitness test.

Pretzel Race Stuttgart & Region Stuttgart

As in the previous year, on the same day and on largely the same route – but without the finishing laps in Stuttgart – the Everyman and woman Get pedaling: at the Brezelrace Stuttgart & Region Stuttgart powered by ADAC, which runs either 60 or 110 kilometers. The start is on Tübinger Straße in Stuttgart, then it goes relatively quickly uphill through Kaltental and Dachswald out of the Stuttgart basin, which should ensure a certain degree of sorting, order and calm in the hobby peloton.

In Stuttgart-Vaihingen the route is already divided: The short route leads via Sindelfingen and Böblingen towards Schönaich, the long distance takes a loop via Magstadt, Renningen, the Würmtal and the Climb from Dachtel to Deckenpfronn before it rejoins the short route via Gärtringen, Ehningen and Holzgerlingen near Schönaich. It then goes through the Aich and Siebenmühlental valleys via Leinfelden back towards Stuttgart and then quickly downhill into the center to the finish line at Rotebühlplatz.

As in the previous year, around 3,000 amateur cyclists are expected, and registration is still possible until August 15, 2024 at a price of 89 euros. Late registrations after that are only possible if places are available.

With the Women's Cycling Grand Prix On July 16, 2023, a new women's professional cycling race will premiere in Germany. The 120 female racers will complete 105 kilometers around Stuttgart with 1,365 meters of elevation gain. The race starts in the small town of Tamm, north of the Baden-Württemberg state capital, and ends with four crowd-friendly final laps of five kilometers each in the heart of Stuttgart. The hardest climb is about halfway through the race – then it goes from Gerlingen up to Schillerhöhe with a gradient of up to 15 percent. The cobblestones then lead past Solitude Castle and finally a fast descent towards the west of Stuttgart, where the final laps are around Feuersee, Marienplatz and Tübinger Straße. The finish line is on Hohenstaufenstraße. Hot tip for spectators: At Marienplatz, which is also located on the race track, there is an expo, catering and also the opportunity to watch both the women's professional race and the ARD coverage of the Tour de France on a screen.

“It is important that something is done in Germany for women's cycling and that, in addition to the stage race, Lotto Thuringia Ladies Tour “There is now a one-day race in the international women's racing calendar,” says former professional cyclist Lisa Brennauer, who is the sports director of the Women's Cycling Grand Prix in Stuttgart and helped design the race course, among other things. Twenty teams from ten nations, including three teams from the Women's WorldTour, probably three junior teams from WorldTour teams, several German and international Continental teams, two national teams and several German Bundesliga teams are expected to take part in the first event.

Before the women’s professional race, the amateur cyclists are already pedalling: The Everyone's race Brezel Race runs either 62 or 110 kilometers over largely the same closed roads as the professional race. The start is in Bad Cannstatt. After crossing the finish line on Hohenstaufenstrasse, the participants roll down to the Expo site on Marienplatz, where they can also receive their finish line refreshments, exchange ideas with like-minded people and reflect on their experiences. Registration is still possible, and those who decide at the last minute can even register on the day of the race. Hot tip for participants: pick up the registration documents on Saturday at Marienplatz.

“We want to be in Stuttgart and the region on 16 July celebrate a real cycling festival“, says race organizer Albrecht Röder, who, in addition to the Stuttgart cycling races, is also heavily involved in organizing the Germany Tour for male professional cyclists. “In addition to the participants in the amateur cycling races, who will hopefully stay at Stuttgart's Marienplatz after their competition, enjoy the atmosphere, cheer on the women's peloton and see which exhibitors are presenting themselves at the Expo, we warmly invite cycling fans, sports enthusiasts, families and anyone who wants to experience an entertaining, sociable afternoon to Marienplatz and the track.” Good news for everyone who cannot be there in Stuttgart and the region: SWR will broadcast an hour and a half of the women's professional cycling race live on television, and a live stream will also be shown on sportschau.de.

Timeline

Saturday, July 15, 2023:

Start number distribution at the Expo site on Marienplatz in Stuttgart

from 8.00 a.m.: start of the hobby races in Bad Cannstatt

from about 9 a.m.: Expo site on Marienplatz in Stuttgart opens

from 9.30 a.m.: Finish line of the hobby races in Hohenstaufenstraße/Marienplatz in Stuttgart

from approx. 10.45 a.m.: registration check and driver presentation in Tamm

12.10 p.m.: Start of the women's professional race in Tamm

from around 2 p.m.: start of live coverage on SWR/live stream on sportschau.de

from about 2.30 p.m.: Women's peloton on the finishing laps in Stuttgart

approx. 3.10 p.m.: Finish line of the women's professional race in Hohenstaufenstraße/Marienplatz in Stuttgart

Afterwards: Award ceremony of the women's professional race on Marienplatz in Stuttgart

from about 3.30 p.m.: ARD cycling broadcast on Marienplatz in Stuttgart