page_title: EuroEyes Cyclassics
section_title: Route
hierarchical_section_title: EuroEyes Cyclassics / Route
caption_attribution_description: English: Route of Vattenfall Cyclassics 2011
context_page_description: The EuroEyes Cyclassics, formerly HEW Cyclassics and Vattenfall Cyclassics, is an annual one-day professional and amateur cycling race in and around Hamburg, Germany. Although the route varies, its distance is always around 250 km. The course's most significant difficulty is Waseberg hill in Blankenese, which is addressed three times in the race finale.
  Until 2016 it was Germany's only event on the UCI World Tour calendar, before the inclusion of Eschborn-Frankfurt – Rund um den Finanzplatz in 2017. The race is organized by IRONMAN Unlimited Events Germany GmbH, which also organizes the annual Velothon Berlin.
  An important part of the Cyclassics is the Jedermannrennen, an amateur/cyclosportif event held on the same day and on the same roads as the professional race. Bike fanatics can participate in amateur tour races over 55 km, 100 km and 155 km. The number of participants is limited to 22.000 amateurs and tickets must be reserved months in advance.
context_section_description: The race usually starts on the Steinstraße in Hamburg-Altstadt and finishes on Mönckebergstraße, Hamburg's illustrious shopping street in the city's busy commercial district. The distance varies from 225–255 km over mainly flat terrain in the hinterland of Hamburg. The route of the race undergoes some changes every year, but the finish location has remained the same throughout.
  The course's most significant difficulty is Waseberg hill in Blankenese, a suburban quarter of Altona, west of Hamburg's city centre. The race finale consists of three smaller laps west of Hamburg, containing the Waseberg. It is first climbed at 69 kilometres (42.9 mi) from the finish, the second and third ascent are at 28 kilometres (17.4 mi) and 15.5 kilometres (9.6 mi) respectively.
  The Waseberg is a steep asphalted hill running up from the north bank of the Elbe river into the suburban centre of Blankenese. Its length is 700 m with a maximum gradient of 16%. It is particularly challenging as the climb immediately follows a sharp curve, causing an abrupt change in gear and cadence. As teams try to position their captains in the front of the peloton, riders often rush furiously over the narrow roads leading to the foot of the climb. The route also includes the Köhlbrandbrücke, Hamburg's highest bridge.
  From 2005 until 2014 the first half of the course consisted of a southern loop in the direction of Lüneburg Heath in Lower Saxony, before returning to the centre of Hamburg and branching out to a western loop.
  In 2015 organizers changed the parcours to celebrate the twentieth edition of the race. The race started in Kiel, 90 kilometers north of Hamburg, on the western shore of the Baltic Sea, before heading southwest to Hamburg, crossing Schleswig-Holstein. The total distance was shortened to 222 kilometres (137.9 mi), but the final approach into Hamburg, with three ascents of the Waseberg and the finish on the Mönckebergstraße, remained the same. The route from Kiel to Hamburg was also chosen to promote the cities' joint bid to host the 2024 Summer Olympics.
  Race director Roland Hofer said of the course: "Although the race profile may appear more suitable for sprinters, it can ultimately be won by all types of great riders, and it is exactly this kind of race that is needed for a well-balanced World Tour event [...] The World Tour came to Germany in the midst of a "renaissance" of German cycling, with the latest successes rejuvenating the country's interest in the sport after a setback during the past, doping stricken years."
caption: Route of the 2011 Vattenfall Cyclassics.
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