To defend his title, Politt (Bora-Hansgrohe), the first German winner of the race since Christian Knees in 2006, will have to go solo again. In 2022, he won 13 seconds ahead of his team-mate Danny van Poppel and Nikias Arndt (Bahrain-Victorious).
Around Cologne with a classic course that sprinters can also win
The route, devised by Andre Greipel, who is the sporting director of the race, should suit the Cologne native. Exactly 201.1 kilometres are on the programme - the fewest of them. There is not a single decisive climb on the course through the Bergisches Land. However, the last serious uphill section is around 25 kilometres before the finish at Bensberg Castle near Bergisch Gladbach - on cobblestones.
The last few kilometres to Cologne are then mostly slightly downhill. Only towards the Severinsbrücke bridge, which leads the field back to the left side of the Rhine, where the race begins in the Rheinauhafen harbour at Harry-Blum-Platz and then ends at Dreikönigenstraße, is there another slight climb.
The course has not always produced a solo winner in recent years. Sam Bennett won twice (2018 and 2014) in a bunch sprint, making him the record winner along with seven other riders, including Erik Zabel.
Not just Politt: The favourites for Rund um Köln
Dylan Groenewegen was the fastest in 2016. For Team Jayco-AlUla the Dutchman will be there again this year and is therefore one of the favourites. With Sam Welsford (Team DSM) and Mike Teunissen (Intermarche-Circus-Wanty) also the names of two other sprinters. If Politt's trump card doesn't work, Bora also has two strong sprinters in van Poppel and Jordi Meeus. Nacer Bouhanni (Arkea-Samsic) is also one of the fast men, but has been lagging behind his form for some time now. Instead, Matteo Moschetti (Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team) could play a role.
Lotto-Dstny, on the other hand, has Thomas De Gendt at the start, a rider who could accompany Politt on a breakaway and even beat him. Of course, Maximilian Schachmann could also do so, should the Bora pro slowly regain his old form.
Otherwise, however, the list of potential winners who would not be a surprise is exhausted. Because Rund um Köln is only in category 1.1 of the UCI Europe Tour, the World Tour teams are not obliged to start. As a result, only six WT teams (Bora-Hansgrohe, Alpecin-Deceuninck, Jayco-AlUla, Intermarche-Circus-Wanty, DSM, Arkea-Samsic) will be at the start, which will not be possible due to the parallel race. Giro d'Italia but don't necessarily send their top riders to Cologne either, as long as it's not a home race, as in the case of Bora.
Around Cologne with a chequered history
However, things have been different in the chequered history of the traditional event. In the recent past, the race has also been held at Easter or in June - Rund um Köln does not have a fixed schedule in the racing calendar.
This also applies to the starting location. For many years, the race began in Leverkusen, and Gummersbach and Wehnrath were also the starting point of the event in this millennium. Since 2016, however, Rheinauhafen has regularly been both the start and finish location.
The conditions for starters were also inconsistent. The first two events were purely amateur events, but professional cyclists were added from 1910 onwards. But not permanently. After Alfredo Binda, a five-time winner of the Giro d'Italia Rund um Köln in 1928, it varied from year to year for decades as to whether professionals, amateurs or everyone was allowed to start.
After the elite was completely excluded in the 70s and 80s, the pros have been regularly taking part again since 1990. The only exceptions are 1998 (not held), 2020 and 2021 (cancelled due to coronavirus) and 2008. The race in the 100th year of the event's existence had to be cancelled due to snowfall.
Everyman replaces amateur
While the race became more and more of a professional event in the new millennium, 2002 was the last year for the amateurs. Dennis Kraft won back then - and promptly switched to the Continental Tour. The place of the amateurs has now been taken by the amateur riders. This year, the three routes over 30, 70 and 130 kilometres in the footsteps of the pros are sold out for the first time with a total of 4,500 participants.
Around Cologne 2023: TV broadcast & live stream
The classic will not be broadcast on television. However, wdr.de and sportschau.de will be broadcasting a live stream of the race on Sunday, 21 May, between 11am and 4pm. The event will also be streamed on the website www.rundumkoeln.de and on the official YouTube channel.
All winners of Rund um Köln
Rund um Köln was not always organised as an event for professionals or as an elite race, but was reserved for amateurs. All the elite winners of the race are listed below:
- 2022 Nils Politt (Germany)
- 2019 Baptiste Planckaert (Belgium)
- 2018 Sam Bennett (Ireland)
- 2017 Gregor Mühlberger (Austria)
- 2016 Dylan Groenewegen (Netherlands)
- 2015 Tom Boonen (Belgium)
- 2014 Sam Bennett (Ireland)
- 2013 Sébastien Delfosse (Belgium)
- 2012 Jan Bárta (Czech Republic)
- 2011 Michael Matthews (Australia)
- 2010 Juan José Haedo (Argentina)
- 2009 Martin Pedersen (Denmark)
- 2007 Juan José Haedo (Argentina)
- 2006 Christian Knees (Germany)
- 2005 David Kopp (Germany)
- 2004 Erik Zabel (Germany)
- 2003 Jan Ullrich (Germany)
- 2002 Peter Wrolich (Austria)
- 2001 Gian Matteo Fagnini (Italy)
- 2000 Steffen Wesemann (Germany)
- 1999 Jens Heppner (Germany)
- 1997 Frank Vandenbroucke (Belgium)
- 1996 Erik Zabel (Germany)
- 1995 Erik Dekker (Netherlands)
- 1994 Udo Bölts (Germany)
- 1993 Willem Van Eynde (Belgium)
- 1992 Louis de Koning (Netherlands)
- 1991 Jerry Cooman (Netherlands)
- 1990 Noël Segers (Belgium)
- 1967 Noël Foré (Belgium)
- 1966 Peter Glemser (Germany)
- 1965 Horst Oldenburg (Germany)
- 1964 Horst Oldenburg (Germany)
- 1955 Hans Preiskeit (Germany)
- 1951 Heinrich Schwarzer (Germany)
- 1949 Heinrich Schultenjohann (Germany)
- 1948 Heinrich Schwarzer (Germany)
- 1937 Emil Kijewski (Germany)
- 1936 Erich Bautz (Germany)
- 1935 Emil Kijewski (Germany)
- 1934 Kurt Stöpel (Germany)
- 1928 Alfredo Binda (Italy)
- 1927 Gaetano Belloni (Italy)
- 1926 Heiri Suter (Switzerland)
- 1925 Paul Kohl (Germany)
- 1924 Paul Kohl (Germany)
- 1923 Fritz Fischer (Germany)
- 1922 Paul Koch (Germany)
- 1921 Richard Huschke (Germany)
- 1914 Ernst Franz (Germany)
- 1913 Ernst Franz (Germany)
- 1912 Jean Steingass (Germany)
- 1911 Adolf Huschke (Germany)
- 1910 Jean Rosellen (Germany)
