Many races in Germany have suffered from the doping scandals, but the Bayern Rundfahrt is still going strong. The route announcements for the 31st edition show the difficulty of the race.
Full details won't be announced until December 5, but from what is known so far the race should be a thrill. Ewald Strohmeier, the chief organizer who celebrated his 60th birthday shortly after this year's edition, emphasized that "it will be a very challenging tour."
Talking to rad-net.de, Strohmeier pointed out that the Bayern Rundfahrt has no trouble with the future. "We already have a lot of inquiries for 2011."
Even without the Alps the route will be one of the toughest in recent years. "With the Oberpfalz, Fränkische Schweiz and the Bayerische Wald, we have a spectacular parcours."
The field itself is also getting tougher. The previous edition had five ProTour teams and three additional teams that participated in the Tour de France. "We want to expand on this for 2010," Strohmeier said.
The race, serving as a good Tour prep for some, will be held from May 26 to 30. There will be four road stages and one time trial.
Other races in Germany are suffering. The Regio Tour had to scale down to a junior race. The Niedersachsen Rundfahrt, 3-Länder Tour (formerly Hessen Tour) and the Deutschland Rundfahrt have all been canceled. The Six Day races also suffer from the vanishing interest of sponsors and spectators.