Deutschland Rundfahrt
The Tour of Germany (German: Deutschlandtour or sometimes Deutschland-Rundfahrt) is the most important multi-stage road bicycle race in Germany. Initially the race was held in May/June. Since 2005 it is part of the UCI ProTour and has been moved to August.
History
Already in 1911 a "national" cycling race of over 1,500 km was held in Germany (which was then composed of several territories and kingdoms). Until 1931 several real --more-or-less-- Tours were held, but under 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.
Germany never had a sizeable road cycling history, like Belgium, France and Italy, which caused the race's popularity to depend on German successes. This resulted in several parallel tours of West-Germany.
But after Jan Ullrich his Tour de France victory, cycling became more popular. Partially as a result of Germany's new-found cycling enthousiasm, in 1999 the Deutschlandtour became invigorated, and continues to this day. In 1998 the Bund Deutscher Radfahrer e.V. and the company Upsolut founded the Deutschland Tour gmbh.
Winners
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