The traditional cycling festival of the Hanseatic city of Hamburg is returning this summer with one of the most awaited classic appointments for the sprinters: the Bemer Cyclassics Hamburg, scheduled on Sunday, 20th August.

Despite its relatively young history – the first edition was in 1996 – the race soon became part of the UCI WorldTour and is still Germany’s biggest one-day classic race. 

The upcoming edition features the classic route with a solid distance of 205km and a first flat part followed by a more challenging second part of the course, where the riders will face the key sector of the race: the Waseberg hill (200 meters at 15%) to repeat 3 times at 141.7 km, 181.6 km and 189.6 km, with the last ascent coming at 15.9 km to the finish.

These course characteristics make the race suitable for classics specialists and fast riders with punchy skills, who usually battle in a reduced bunch sprint in Mönckebergstrasse.

“We aim to be there in the mix to contest a podium result.” Bahrain Victorious’ Sports Director Enrico Poitschke comments outlining the team’s plan for the race:

“We have a big chance to finish the race on the podium, seeing our lineup, including skilled riders for this kind of course. It will be vital to have so many helpers in the finale. Race together will be one of the keys. There are minor changes in the route to last year, but the finish line and the circuit with the short steep climb Waseberg are the same.

We know the circuit is tricky, and positioning on the ascent will be crucial for a good race outcome. Our goal is the podium, but of course, we will try to win the race with our sprinter Jonathan Milan, who can count on the lead out of some reliable and strong riders like Arndt, Govekar and Pasqualon.”

Pasqualon  has vast experience but it’s  the 35-year-old Italian sprinter’s first appearance in Hamburg, like his fellow countryman Nicolò Buratti and the Australian Cameron Scott. Both will have the role of helpers alongside Yukiya Arashiro. The Japanese rider is at his third appearance at the German classic. With Jonathan Milan and Matevz Govekar making their debut in 2022, the rider with the most participation in Cyclassics Hamburg is Nikias Arndt, who will ride his home race for the fourth time. The German sprinter also took a top ten result in 2018, finishing eighth. 

In 2022 TBV took 7th place with Phil Bauhaus. This time is up to Jonathan Milan to contest the sprint: “Last year, I was working for Phil Bauhaus, and unfortunately, I crashed, but I managed to finish it. It’s a nice race. I did it for the first time last year and liked it. There are some changes, but they are slight. I like the final part of the course. I feel good after the Track World Championships. I must admit I wanted to obtain more at the Worlds, but I think it was a very good result according to how I was feeling.

Now I want to focus on the road and finish the season well, starting from Hamburg. I’m looking forward to returning to the races. Let’s see how it will go.”