Eschborn-Frankfurt: Racing bike fans should rather watch TV

The classic bike has to be 60 years old to be presented in a new guise.

For the anniversary, the traditional Eschborn-Frankfurt race left its original date on May 1st for the first time.

For the first time, it had to significantly reduce the number of competitions - from 17 to nine.

And for the first time, the organizer is not offering an atmospheric supporting program on the edge of the route, but instead asks cycling fans to watch what is happening at home on TV.

The Hessischer Rundfunk broadcasts live for five hours from 1:15 p.m.

But some things will probably never change: This includes the fact that the professionals will embark on a grueling, 187-kilometer Taunus loop on Sunday and fight for the prestigious victory in Frankfurt in the early evening.

And that on cycling day in the region, motorists in many places cannot use their usual routes or only after waiting.

In Frankfurt city center, many streets are closed practically all day because children and youth races are held there in the mornings on a circuit.

Opel Zoo is not always accessible

Elsewhere in the city as well as in the Taunus communities there are so-called lock points at which the racetrack can be crossed at certain times.

The Kronberg Opel Zoo, for example, is not always accessible.

A detailed overview of closures, diversions and exact transit

cyclists can be found on the website of the organizer at

.

The organizers also provide information via a service phone that can be reached all day at 0800-5892007.

The police recommend using public transport to get to downtown Frankfurt.

Although some bus and tram lines have to be cut or rerouted, the S-Bahn and U-Bahn are not disrupted.

Neither at the start of this year's particularly well-known professional race in Eschborn, nor on the otherwise popular climbs such as the Mammolshainer Berg in Königstein, which the peloton crosses four times, there will be event areas for spectators this year.

Only on Frankfurt's Opernplatz there are stands for catering and sponsors on the subject of cycling.

However, this is completely fenced and can be entered for a maximum of 800 visitors after 3-G verification.

It is mandatory to wear a mask.

The new sports department head Mike Josef (SPD) speaks of “approaching normality”.

Nice weather expected

After almost 900 days without Eschborn-Frankfurt, the organizers are registering “an appetite for events again”, as the head of organization Nathanael Bank said. So far, over 6,000 hobby riders have registered for the distances of the Velo Tour. About as many as in the record year 2019. For the organizers and the police, it is difficult to assess whether the thousands of people who have otherwise gathered at the edge of the track will follow the appeal to stay at home even with the expected nice weather. The organizers have announced that they will be on the road with their own teams in order to break up accumulations with friendly speech.