PREVIEW | BEMER Cyclassics 2023 - World-class sprinter field battle for explosive German classic

Preview. On the 20th of August the peloton returns to Germany and it is via the World Tour one-day race of the BEMER Cyclassics, a race meant for the sprinters but also providing an opportunity for the classics specialists.

The route is 205 kilometers long, with the first two third almost completely flat through northern Germany. There isn’t too much to analyze, most riders will be looking to save their legs for the final third were the impact can be made on the race.

The main feature of the race will be the Waseberg, the race’s iconic steep hilltop, on the banks of the Elbe river. It is 1 kilometer long at 7%, not the hardest of hilltops but the gradients do ramp up to 16% in it’s middle. It’s a short and explosive climb, with a downhill run-in to the base, there will be on each occasion a heavy fight for positioning and inevitable attacks.

The climb summits with 67.5, 25 and 17 kilometers to go. The final two ascents will be separated by a very short distance, allowing for tactics and aggressive racing to develop. After going through them however, it will be a flat run-in back to the center of Hamburg and into a likely sprint.

On this map is the final circuit the riders will race around Hamburg. However, when coming to the finish they will only ride the final 1.9 kilometers of it, hence skipping most of the technical sections. It won’t be a technical finale, however it is relatively narrow towards the end, positioning will be crucial and the gradients won’t have anything noteworthy.

The Weather

A slight western breeze. Not ultimately something which should decide the race as it won't be strong, but it will provide a tailwind all the way from the final climb to the finish. More chances for the attackers and a tailwind sprint.

The Sprinters

Note: The preview will be updated once the startlist is final.

Mads Pedersen - Just off a successful Tour of Denmark and, let's face it, an incredibly successful season. Fourth at the World Championships and off the back of a Tour de France stage win and very strong spring classics campaign, the Dane still shows no signs of fatigue. It is remarkable how he's riding and in Germany he finds terrain very well suited to him, although it may not be hard enough to thin down the field until he's the man to beat.

Olav Kooij - Kooij has once again been showing a lot of speed this year and his recent Tour de Pologne win is evidence of current good form. The leader of Jumbo-Visma should not struggle in the climbs to match the peloton and in a sprint he will good chances.

Jonathan Milan - The Bahrain rider has not finished a race on the road since the Giro d'Italia. Moving away from the team at the end of the season, the motivation may not be as sharp right now as it was in May. He's raced on the Track at the World Championships but showed good level there, this is also the kind of day that will suit him well, specially with the tailwind sprint.

Dylan Groenewegen - Groenewegen surprised me positively at the Tour, where he climbed perhaps as well as he has ever done. This puts him in a good position in this classic, I think he can keep up with the front better and with team support he should be in the mix for a sprint. When it comes to the pure speed he will also have it covered.

Arnaud De Lie - Just off victories at La Polynormande and Tour of Leuven, the Belgian is back in a good place. This type of classic is very much what he likes, as a few of the riders above he should handle the climbs quite well and then just has to rely on his and other teams to bring it back to a sprint. Surprisingly, he does not yet have a World Tour victory in his palmarès, this could be the one.

Soudal - Quick-Step - An interesting team. Tim Merlier comes in as the leader and in a pure sprint would be a big candidate. The climbs can make it a bit hard for him however, he's not the sharpest rider uphill. Hence the team is not solely relying on him for a result as Ethan Vernon provides a secondary option in case the Belgian cracks, whilst an in-form Stan van Tricht can well have free role to attack the race.

BORA - Several weapons in the home team's arsenal. Nils Politt and Max Schachmann will be dangerous riders who can go on the attack, as is Marco Haller who beat Wout van Aert here last year from an attacking group early on. However the team's hopes will rely more in a sprint surely as Sam Bennett comes in, but Danny van Poppel will also be an alternative in case the Irishman struggles.

This set of riders is already impressive but we do not end there. One of the few sprinter-guided World Tour classics in the season, it has lured in huge amounts of fast men. Among them will be some who can climb and will hope for a hard race such as Ethan Hayter, Alex Aranburu, Marius Mayrhofer and Corbin Strong. However we've got options for a pure sprint too in Cees Bol, Max Walscheid, Jake Stewart, Elia Viviani, Arnaud Démare and Giacomo Nizzolo.

The Classics Specialists

UAE Team Emirates - The UAE team have Pascal Ackermann who is a completely viable option for a sprint but their strength lies in their depth and quality of classics riders. Tim Wellens, Marc Hirschi, Diego Ulissi, Alessandro Covi and Brandon McNulty constitute a quintet where realistically all of them can take a victory in the right circumstances, but above all their strength means they can attack a lot and from far, boosting the chances of an escapee group to succeed.

Other riders who I expect to see on the attack, and will not really have a sprinter holding them down will include Alberto Bettiol who's just off a magnificent World Championships race, but also Quinten Hermans, Georg Zimmermann and Anthony Turgis.

Prediction BEMER Cyclassics 2023:

*** Mads Pedersen, Olav Kooij
** Jonathan Milan, Arnaud De Lie, Dylan Groenewegen
* Tim Merlier, Sam Bennett, Arnaud Démare, Jake Stewart, Pascal Ackermann, Ethan Hayter, Marc Hirschi, Alberto Bettiol

Pick: Olav Kooij