PREVIEW | Eschborn-Frankfurt 2025 - Final sprint or can the likes of Julian Alaphilippe cause chaos?

On the 1st of May, the spring classics are "officially" over however the World Tour calendar has one more one-day race on offer with plenty UCI points and a prestigious victory up for grabs. This will be of course the Eschborn-Frankfurt. We preview the race ahead.

The race is 198 kilometers long and features a circuit with two main climbs. The Felberg features two ascents of around 11 kilometers at 5%, and the shorter but steeper Mammolshain is 2.3 kilometers at 8%. The climbs are not easy. It likely remains a classic for the sprinters, but the balance has definitely shifted more towards early attackers.

The opening 30 kilometers are flat, and lead to an 11 kilometer climb at 4.8%, however this early in the race it doesn’t usually play a role, except for fatigue build up. There will then be a combination of small climbs, however they won’t be easy. With 112 and 97 kilometers to go the riders go through Mammolshain, the toughest climb of the race, it's 2.3 kilometers at 8% but features ramps of up to 15% near it's end. 

The riders go up Feldberg once again, another 8 kilometers at 5.9% where attacks can be dealt and consolidated, or if the pace is pushed sprinters can absolutely be dropped. From there on the same descent with several hilltops will follow that is perfect for attackers.

The sprinter teams will have some time to reorganize but they will face the decisive ascent one more time, finally summiting with 36.5 kilometers to go. After the short and fast descent the riders then find mostly pan-flat roads where a chase can thoroughly be organized and executed between those who remains.

Although the race can be somewhat selective, the dynamics usually tilt towards an organized chase between several teams who will not hesitate to work to bring in better chances for their leaders to fight for the win. If it comes down to the fast men they will have an urban sprint to tackle, with the finishing straight being 500 meters long.

In the last time up the Feldberg, I believe not too many riders will already arrive in the peloton, but by the time they reach the summit the race should be fully broken. That is where the climbers can make the difference, and in all honesty it's a difficult enough ascent to really make it happen. It won't decimate the peloton permanently, but serious damage will be done. The final ascent up Mammolshain will be attacked with certainty, and the race seems too difficult to end in a bunch sprint - although a relatively small peloton sprint is possible, even if unlikely.

There are men in form such as Julian Alaphilippe who cannot hold himself when in form, and will certainly attack. Some men came straight from Liège-Bastogne-Liège with great legs such as Simone Velasco, Mauro Schmid and Thibau Nys. Several of these men pack a very strong sprint and will be threats in any scenario.

Some teams such as UAE (António Morgado, Tim Wellens, Florian Vermeersch and Nils Politt) can on their best day decimate the race and have the numbers to really take the win, not just be part of the action. Matej Mohoric, Roger Adrià, Andrea Bagioli, Neilson Powless, Max Schachmann and Marc Hirschi are also serious names to take into consideration.

What if the race does come down to a sprint though? In some way there will be a sprint, but we don't know how big the peloton will be and which position it will fight for. Men like Michael Matthews, Magnus Cort Nielsen, Alex Aranburu and Ivan García Cortina would ordinarily benefit from a hard race and a small group - although typically, these are some of the riders who usually always end up sprinting for minor places, because they're well adapted to races that benefit attackers.

If they survive well then we can consider men like Jasper Philipsen or Paul Magnier serious contenders for victory; whilst the likes of Mike Teunissen, Max Kanter, Ethan Vernon, Pascal Ackermann and Tobias Lund Andresen are always to be considered.

*** Thibau Nys, Simone Velasco
** Michael Matthews, António Morgado, Julian Alaphilippe, Jasper Philipsen
* Mauro Schmid, Andrea Bagioli, Neilson Powless, Tim Wellens, Marc Hirschi, Mike Teunissen, Magnus Cort Nielsen, Tobias Lund Andresen, Paul Magnier, Ivan García Cortina

Pick: Simone Velasco

How: Small group sprint.