36th LOTTO Thüringen Ladies Tour starts in Jena
The starting signal for the 36th LOTTO Thüringen Ladies Tour will be given in Jena on June 25, 2024. This will be the first time since 2011 that the university city has been on the cycling race's stage schedule. The international teams will introduce themselves at a public team presentation in the city on June 24. This will give fans the opportunity to see the riders and get in the mood for the race.
"I am very pleased that we are back in Jena after a long break. Jena has a very good reputation as a sports city - beyond the borders of Thuringia. We will continue to strengthen this with the LOTTO Thüringen Ladies Tour," says Vera Hohlfeld, Tour Director of the LOTTO Thüringen Ladies Tour. The tour (UCI Women's ProSeries) will once again run over six stages in 2024. After the opening stage on June 25 in Jena, the tour will continue to Gera.
Mayor Dr. Thomas Nitzsche is delighted: "It is a great honor that this year's Lotto Ladies Thüringen Tour is starting from Jena. As an enthusiastic cyclist, I am looking forward to welcoming numerous athletes and spectating fans to the event."
A stage with challenges
The route is currently being drawn up in consultation with the authorities and will probably also pass through the Saale valley. "The stage will definitely not be a flat stage, as there will be a few challenges and meters of altitude," says Marian Koppe, Race Director of the LOTTO Thüringen Ladies Tour.
The tour last visited Jena in 2011. At the start of the stage race, the German Ina-Yoko Teutenberg won a 3.4-kilometer time trial around the planetarium. The overall winner at the time was Emma Johansson from Sweden. The 35th LOTTO Thüringen Ladies Tour in 2023 was won by Belgian Lotte Kopecky, who also became road world champion later in the season. The victorious SD Worx team from the Netherlands and five other World Tour teams ensured a top-class competition. Many top riders and teams are also expected in 2024, as the race is an important dress rehearsal for the Olympic Games in Paris, which begin just four weeks later.
The 36th LOTTO Thüringen Ladies Tour 2024 at a glance:
June 25, 2024 - 1st stage, Rund um Jena (24.06. Team presentation)
June 26, 2024 - 2nd stage, Rund um Gera
June 27, 2024 - 3rd stage, Around Erfurt
June 28, 2024 - Stage 4, Around Mühlhausen
June 29, 2024 - Stage 5, Around Altenburg, individual time trial
June 30, 2024 - 6th stage n.n.