Rund um den Henninger-Turm

The Henninger-Turm (Tower) building in Frankfurt am Main.
Race details
Date	May 1
Region	Frankfurt, Germany
English name	Lap of the Henninger Tower
Local name(s)	Rund um den Henninger-Turm (German)
Discipline	Road
Competition	UCI Europe Tour
Type	Single-day
History
First edition	1962
Editions	47 (as of 2009)
First winner	Armand Desmet
Most wins	Erik Zabel (3 wins)
Most recent	Fabian Wegmann

Fabian Wegmann (Gerolsteiner) leads team mate Marcus Zberg into the final sprint of the 2005 race. Eventual winner Erik Zabel (in pink) is hidden in fourth place.

The Eschborn-Frankfurt City Loop (until 2008 Rund um den Henninger-Turm, sometimes called the Frankfurt Grand Prix in English) is a semi classic cycling race around Frankfurt am Main with the start and finish on Darmstädter Landstraße outside the Henninger-Turm (Tower), a grain silo belonging to the Henninger brewery which backs the event. The race takes place on a complicated route in the Taunus mountains west of the city with around 1500m (5,000 feet) of climbing. The climbs of the Ruppershain, Feldberg and Mammolshain have been regular features; the Mammolshain has a 26% gradient and is climbed twice in the race. The race concludes with three laps of 4.5 kilometres in the centre of Frankfurt.

[edit] History

The race, organised for many years by brothers Hermann and Erwin Moos, began in 1962 with Henninger as main sponsor to publicise the Henninger Tower opened in 1961. The event received classic status in 1967 when Paris-Brussels was forced off the calendar due to traffic problems.

The race had a British winner in 1966 when Barry Hoban rode solo to the finish, holding the chasing pack at one minute for the final 50km. Eddy Merckx also won alone in 1971. Five riders have won twice: Australian Phil Anderson (1984 and 1985), Dutchman Karsten Kroon (2004 and 2008) and the Belgians Ludo Peeters (1982 and 1983), Georges Pintens (1969, 1973) and Jean-Marie Wampers (1986, 1989). The most victories are by Erik Zabel with wins in 1999, 2002 and 2005.

Rund um den Henninger-Turm was part of the UCI Road World Cup for one year, 1995, with the HEW Cyclassic in Hamburg getting the German leg of the series. The event is also not part of the UCI ProTour. Observers say holding the race on 1 May, often midweek, counts against it.

In November 2007, organiser Bernd Moos said Henninger would stop backing the race after 2008. He said that after 46 years Henninger was pulling out because of economic conditions.^[1] In January 2009 Moos said that the race would continue as the Eschborn-Frankfurt City Loop, named for new sponsors, Frankfurt and the neighboring town of Eschborn, which would also be the start of the race. ^[2][3] The race will no longer pass the Henninger Tower.

[edit] Race winners

Rider Team 1962 Desmet, ArmandArmand Desmet (BEL) 1963 Junkermann, HansHans Junkermann (GER) 1964 Roman, ClémentClément Roman (BEL) 1965 Stablinski, JeanJean Stablinski (FRA) 1966 Hoban, BarryBarry Hoban (GBR) 1967 van Rijckeghem, DanielDaniel van Rijckeghem (BEL) 1968 Beugels, EddyEddy Beugels (NED) 1969 Pintens, GeorgesGeorges Pintens (BEL) 1970 Altig, RudiRudi Altig (GER) 1971 Merckx, EddyEddy Merckx (BEL) 1972 Bellone, GilbertGilbert Bellone (FRA) 1973 Pintens, GeorgesGeorges Pintens (BEL) 1974 Godefroot, WalterWalter Godefroot (BEL) 1975 Schuiten, RoyRoy Schuiten (NED) 1976 Maertens, FreddyFreddy Maertens (BEL) 1977 Knetemann, GerrieGerrie Knetemann (NED) 1978 Braun, GregorGregor Braun (GER) 1979 Willems, DanielDaniel Willems (BEL) 1980 Baronchelli, GianbattistaGianbattista Baronchelli (ITA) 1981 Jacobs, JosJos Jacobs (BEL) 1982 Peeters, LudoLudo Peeters (BEL) 1983 Peeters, LudoLudo Peeters (BEL) 1984 Anderson, PhilPhil Anderson (AUS) 1985 Anderson, PhilPhil Anderson (AUS) 1986 Wampers, Jean-MarieJean-Marie Wampers (BEL) 1987 Lauritzen, Dag OttoDag Otto Lauritzen (NOR) 1988 Dernies, MichelMichel Dernies (BEL) 1989 Wampers, Jean-MarieJean-Marie Wampers (BEL) 1990 Wegmüller, ThomasThomas Wegmüller (SUI) 1991 Bruyneel, JohanJohan Bruyneel (BEL) 1992 Van Den Abbeele, FrankFrank Van Den Abbeele (BEL) 1993 Sørensen, RolfRolf Sørensen (DNK) 1994 Ludwig, OlafOlaf Ludwig (GER) 1995 Frattini, FrancescoFrancesco Frattini (ITA) 1996 Zberg, BeatBeat Zberg (SUI) 1997 Bartoli, MicheleMichele Bartoli (ITA) 1998 Baldato, FabioFabio Baldato (ITA) 1999 Zabel, ErikErik Zabel (GER) 2000 Hundertmarck, KaiKai Hundertmarck (GER) 2001 Zberg, MarcusMarcus Zberg (SUI) Rabobank 2002 Zabel, ErikErik Zabel (GER) Team Telekom 2003 Rebellin, DavideDavide Rebellin (ITA) Gerolsteiner 2004 Kroon, KarstenKarsten Kroon (NED) Rabobank 2005 Zabel, ErikErik Zabel (GER) T-Mobile Team 2006 Garzelli, StefanoStefano Garzelli (ITA) Liquigas 2007 Sinkewitz, PatrikPatrik Sinkewitz (GER) T-Mobile Team 2008 Kroon, KarstenKarsten Kroon (NED) Team CSC 2009 Wegmann, FabianFabian Wegmann (GER) Team Milram

[edit] References

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