Vattenfall Cyclassics Race Guide

We take a closer look at the German one-day WorldTour race which should produce a battle between the sprinters.

Germany's sole WorldTour race is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, and like the RideLondon Classic, it is the climax of a wider festival of cycling where 22,000 amateur riders are encouraged to take to the streets before the main event.

The race route has been vastly altered this year and now comprises a 221.3km trek from Kiel to its traditional finish in Hamburg on Sunday. Once there, 800,000 fans are expected to cheer the riders on as they battle it out for a highly-prized victory.

Team Sky head to Germany with a squad brimming with talent. Ben Swift, Elia Viviani, Chris Sutton and Andy Fenn are all capable of mixing it up in a sprint, while Nathan Earle, Bernhard Eisel, Lars Petter Nordhaug and Ian Stannard could all capitalise if the race splits up before the finale.

Route

The route begins at the ferry port in Kiel and heads south through Plön before two intermediate sprints are contested at Bad Segeberg (62.9km) and Kaltenkirchen (99.1km). With those done and dusted, the riders will then enter Hamburg from the west side and tackle three laps of the more familiar finishing circuit in the city centre.

The Waseberg climb has been included once again, and despite being just 700 metres in length, it packs an average gradient of 10%, and a final kick of 16%, that could potentially spread out the field.

A number of attackers will no-doubt try to break free on there, but with a list of winners that reads like a who's who of sprinters, it would be a surprise to see a non-sprinter top the podium when the race concludes on the Mönckebergstraße. 

Highlights on British Eurosport 1 between 1700-1745 and 2300-2330