Vattenfall Cyclassics

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Vattenfall Cyclassics
Race details
Before the start of the 2004 HEW Cyclassics
Date	Late July
Region	Hamburg, Germany
Discipline	Road race
Competition	UCI ProTour
Type	Single-day race
History
First edition	1996
Editions	11 (as of 2006)
First winner	Rossano Brasi
Most recent	Óscar Freire

The Vattenfall Cyclassics is an annual one-day pro and amateur cycling race in and around Hamburg. Although it is a race with a short history, it is nevertheless reckoned as a "classic". It started as an unimportant race in 1996, but because of the fast growing popularity of cycling in Germany, it was made a part of the UCI Road World Cup in 1998. Since 2005, it is a part of the UCI ProTour.

The route of the race varies, but is often around 250 km long. During a number of loops through Hamburg, the hill Waseberg is climbed a number of times. The route also includes Hamburg's highest bridge Köhlbrandbrücke. The route is challenging enough that the race almost never ends in a mass sprint.

The sponsor of the Cyclassics, the Hamburg electricity plant HEW, has adopted a new name ("Vattenfall Europe Hamburg"), and from 2006, this cycling race has been known as the Vattenfall Cyclassics.

The finale of the 2005 edition

An important part of the Cyclassics are the Jedermann-Rennen amateur/cyclosportif event run around the time that the race is held. Anybody (jedermann) can participate in these races over 55 km, 100 km and 155 km. The number of participants is however limited and a ticket must be reserved months in advance. In 2005 there were 20000 amateurs on the course.