PREVIEW | BEMER Cyclassics 2024 - Sprinter showdown featuring Jonathan Milan, Jasper Philipsen, Biniam Girmay, Tim Merlier and more!

On the 8th of September, the same day the Vuelta a España finishes; the peloton in Germany will tackle the BEMER Cyclassics. The one-day race provides an opportunity for the sprinters and classics specialists in an explosive race. We preview the race ahead.

The route is 198 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 63, 24 and 16 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.

No real wind to be felt in the city and luckily, the riders should avoid the rain by a few hours. Likely, a warm day in Germany.

Sprint finish? - There are so many sprinters... Worthy of a World Championship as was the Renewi Tour. We have several of the world's very best present. Lidl-Trek will be fully focusing on Jonathan Milan who is on quite the run of form and shouldn't have a problem surviving the climbs; Alpecin-Deceuninck will back up Jasper Philipsen without a doubt whilst Soudal - Quick-Step will also have Tim Merlier in mind as a strong one-day race specialist (although Luke Lamperti is also a possibility for the Belgian team if it gets very difficult".

We've got a second line of quality sprinters in the likes of Visma who come in with Olav Kooij - who crashed out of Renewi but has his kind of race here - but also Christophe Laporte who perhaps should eye the attacks but could also be a quality leadout. Biniam Girmay, after his extreme Tour de France success, will also be in the forefront of a sprint if it takes place as he is also a rider who likes this classics-style of racing. We should also very much take into consideration Arnaud De Lie who is just off a victory in the queen stage of the Renewi Tour and can be as dangerous in the climbs as in a final sprint... Pascal Ackermann, racing in his home country, and after a stupendous Tour de France, is in my opinion also on this section of the favourites.

Then we've got a third line of sprinters, some of which can climb, some cannot. On those favouring a tough race we should have the likes of Danny van Poppel, Tobias Lund Andresen, Paul Penhoët, Cofidis duo Bryan Coquard and Axel Zingle; and Astana duo Davide Ballerini and Max Kanter.

On the opposite side we have other possible winners, even if the field is very strong. The likes of Alexander Kristoff, Caleb Ewan and Arnaud Démare are experienced sprinters who on their best day can climb much better than most sprinters; but are not consistent. We add to the mix more pure sprinters such as Jordi Meeus, Phil Bauhaus, Elia Viviani, Juan Sebastián Molano, Giacomo Nizzolo, Stanislaw Aniolkowski, Fernando Gaviria and Alberto Dainese.

Will an attack succeed again? - In 2022 it was the case, with a group of classics specialists setting off in the final climb to victory including Wout van Aert. There are very strong riders in this capacity in Hamburg so it definitely is a possibility. It would take a very serious attack though because there simply are a lot of teams interested in a sprint. You could argue UAE will want that quite a lot, with in-form Renewi Tour winner Tim Wellens, António Morgado and home rider Nils Politt as likely attackers. Home team BORA also have 2022 winner Marco Haller present, and Max Schachmann as cards for attacks.

On this field I consider Matteo Trentin very dangerous taking into consideration he also packs a strong sprint. Other riders who may want to race with this tactic will be Dorian Godon, Fabio Christen, Alex Aranburu, Ivan García Cortina; and Soren Kragh Andersen (who may support Phlipsen). 

*** Jonathan Milan, Jasper Philipsen
** Olav Kooij, Arnaud De Lie, Pascal Ackermann, Biniam Girmay
* Tim Wellens, Marco Haller, Matteo Trentin, Tim Merlier, Christophe Laporte, Danny van Poppel, Tobias Lund Andresen, Bryan Coquard, Axel Zingle, Alexander Kristoff, Arnaud Démare, Jordi Meeus, Phil Bauhaus

Pick: Jonathan Milan