High hopes for ambitious new German race
The new Berlin ProRace, the new 1.1 ranked race to be introduced on May 22nd next year is expecting eighteen of the top teams in the World to take the start, according to the German Cycling Federation (BDR) website rad-net.de. The ambitious race, which hopes to rise to the Interntional Cycling Union (UCI) World Tour by 2013, will be run alongside the existing Berlin Velothon, a 120km mass-participation ride around the German capital.
The race course, to be run over approximately 180km, will follow the route of the mass-participation “Jedermann”event, followed by several laps of a 9km circuit around the city. The race will reportdly start under the Brandenburg Gate, one of Berlin’s most iconic landmarks, and head in the direction of Straße des 17. Juni.
“It is clearly a positive thing, above all, that a professional race will be run as part of a grassroots cycling event,” said Rudolf Scharping, presient of the BDR at a press conference. UCI President Pat McQuaid also welcomed the new event in the “important German market for the UCI.”
Organisers are aware that the race clashes with the Giro d’Italia, which will be a much bigger target for virtually all teams, but still hopes to attract as many top riders as possible. The race is almost inevitably to end in a sprint and so the hope is that André Greipel (OmegaPharma-Lotto) will ride; Berlin native Jens Voigt (Luxembourg Team) has already expressed a desire to be there.
Meanwhile, entries for the Velothon have reportedly already started rolling in. Elite cycling in Germany may be running at its lowest ebb for many years, with no teams and only one one-day race in the UCI’s top division, but mass participation event such as this remain as popular as ever.
“Registration started six weeks earlier this time,” explained Frank Bertling, CEO of the event organisers. “Especially as it’s Christmas time, and a place can be bought as a gift option, we want to give our subscribers the chance to benefit from an early booking discount.
“Accordingly we assume that we will reach the 5,000 mark by Christmas,” he added.