On Sunday the WorldTour peloton will be racing in Germany at the Hamburg Cyclassics, a race which was organised for the first time twenty years ago. One of the riders on the start list is German champion André Greipel, who won the race last year.

After his wonderful victory on the Champs-Elysées on the last day of the Tour, André Greipel rode some criteriums and afterwards he put his bike aside for a few days to enjoy some quality time with his family.

Greipel said:

“There are still some goals to come this season, which makes I didn’t put the bike aside for a long time. Nonetheless, it was important to have a few days off the bike, especially mentally. A Grand Tour is always hard. When I got back on the bike I really enjoyed it. I trained a few days in the south of France, where I was staying with my family. Now it’s time to race again.”

The German champion was the fastest in Hamburg last year, he beat Alexander Kristoff and Giacomo Nizzolo in the sprint. In 2012 and 2013 Greipel finished second. In 2010 he got third.

“I won the race in Hamburg last year, after I had already come close a few times. I have a special connection with this race as it is not far from where I was born. Also this year I will do my utmost best. The whole team is in the mood and we have riders for different types of scenarios," he said.

The Hamburg Cyclassics is the only WorldTour race in Germany at the moment. Next year the Rund um den Finanzplatz Eschborn-Frankfurt will be added to the WorldTour calendar. The highlight of 2017 will no doubt be the Grand Départ of the Tour in Düsseldorf.

“Cycling has always been big in Germany, with big turnouts for tourist rides. The past years the media attention for pro cycling wasn’t that big, but now we see a positive evolution. I expect a big boost with the Tour start in Düsseldorf next year. More young people will get to know the sport and it’s an opportunity for race organisations to make this sport interesting again for sponsors," Greipel said.

This year’s edition of the Hamburg Cyclassics is 217.7 kilometres long. In the last one hundred kilometres the Waseberg has to be climbed three times.

Line-up Lotto Soudal: 

Lars Bak, Jens Debusschere, Frederik Frison, Tony Gallopin, André Greipel, Tomasz Marczynski, Jürgen Roelandts and Marcel Sieberg.