The 2010 Bayern Rundfahrt won't be as flat as usual, but it will not be a mountain tour. “At our race the riders make the race hard, not the riders,” said race organiser Ewald Strohmeier as he announced the course for the race next May.
The race, May 26 to 30, is often used as preparation for the Tour de France by those riders not participating in the Giro d'Italia. Known as a flat race, it has been won by Germans nine of the last ten years. This year's race was won by Milram's Linus Gerdemann.
It opens and closes this year near Munich, and goes to northern Bavaria in between. Promising a “very difficult” race, Strohmeier said “especially the first three stages are tough. We'll have to see how the sprinters come through. But the climbers can already be happy.”
The first stage runs from Erding to Viechtach, and features the Category One Sankt Englmar 30 km before the finish. Stage two is 200.5 km from Viechtach to Bayreuth, with two Category Two climbs, the Tännesberg and the Weidenberg. The third stage is the race's queen stage, 175.1 km from Bayreuth to Hersbruck. Here the riders face the Category One Gössweinstein/Hardt and Gräfenberg/Sollenberg, finishing off with the Category Two Happurg/Deckersberg.
Stage four is a 27.8 km time trial around Berching, which does not feature a ranked climb but is far from flat. The closing stage travels 156.2 km south from Berching to Fürstenfeldbruck, wit the Category Two climb Hitzhofen early in the stage.
