History
Already in 1911 a "national" cycling race of over 1,500 km was held in Germany (which was then composed of several territories and kingdoms). Until 1931 several real—more-or-less—Tours were held, but always under very different conditions and organisations. In 1931 the first Deutschlandtour was held, and it is generally agreed upon that the race was exciting and well organised between 1937 and 1939, the start of World War II.
Germany never had a significant road cycling history, unlike Belgium, France or Italy, which caused the race's popularity to depend on German successes. This resulted in several parallel tours of West-Germany.
But after Jan Ullrich's Tour de France victory, cycling became more popular. Partially as a result of Germany's new-found cycling enthusiasm, in 1999 the Deutschlandtour became invigorated. In 1998 the Bund Deutscher Radfahrer e.V. and the company Upsolut founded the Deutschland Tour gmbh.
Read more about this topic: Deutschland Tour
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