Preview Lidl Deutschland Tour 2025 | Brennan and Van Aert find a course to their liking
CyclingMonday, 18 August 2025 at 09:22
Just like the Renewi Tour in the Netherlands, the Lidl Deutschland Tour will start in Germany on Wednesday, gaining popularity year after year since its return in 2018. In 2025, the stage race of our eastern neighbors can once again count on a strong field of participants, and IDLProCycling.com shows you what to expect.
Due to all the doping scandals in cycling, the highly regarded Tour of Germany came to an end in 2008, making Linus Gerdemann – then the country's most remarkable talent – the last winner for ten years. In 2018, the tour returned to the calendar in a smaller form, immediately producing a great winner in Matej Mohoric.
Last year, the victory went to Mads Pedersen of Lidl-Trek, who won stages together (!) with his teammate Jonathan Milan. This was no coincidence: before the 2024 race, the stage race welcomed Lidl as its new main sponsor, with which it wants to take a new step forward together with A.S.O.
Latest winners Lidl Deutschland Tour
2024 Mads Pedersen
2023 Ilan Van Wilder
2022 Adam Yates
2021 Nils Politt
2020 Canceled
2019 Jasper Stuyven
2018 Matej Mohoric
2023 Ilan Van Wilder
2022 Adam Yates
2021 Nils Politt
2019 Jasper Stuyven
2018 Matej Mohoric
Lidl Deutschland Tour 2025: Course, favorites stage wins and times
Prologue, Wednesday, Aug. 20: Essen - Essen (3.1 km)
The race starts with a 3-kilometer prologue at the UNESCO World Heritage Site Zeche Zollverein in Essen. The flat but technically challenging course promises to be an exciting battle, with high speeds and minor time differences.
Times
Start: 4:30 PM local time (10:30 AM EDT)
Finish: 6:21 PM local time (12:21 PM EDT)
Start: 4:30 PM local time (10:30 AM EDT)
Finish: 6:21 PM local time (12:21 PM EDT)
Stage 1, Thursday, Aug. 21: Essen - Herford (197.0 km)
The first stage is from Essen to Herford. Over 197 kilometers, the riders will have to climb 1,200 meters, and you know what that means: usually, this is a piece of cake for the fast guys in the peloton.
Favorites
Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek)
Jordi Meeus (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe)
Soren Waerenskjold (Uno-X)
Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek)
Jordi Meeus (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe)
Soren Waerenskjold (Uno-X)
Times
Start: 12:09 PM local time (06:09 AM EDT)
Finish: 4:45 PM local time (10:45 AM EDT)
Start: 12:09 PM local time (06:09 AM EDT)
Finish: 4:45 PM local time (10:45 AM EDT)
Stage 2, Friday, Aug. 22: Herford - Arnsberg (189 km)
On day three, the peloton heads into the Sauerland, where, after almost 190 kilometers of cycling, the finish line is in Arnsberg. In the second half of the stage, there are several short hills on the program, which could cause problems for the less skilled climbers.
Favorites
Matthew Brennan (Visma | Lease a Bike)
Kaden Groves (Alpecin-Deceuninck)
Dannu van Poppel (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe)
Matthew Brennan (Visma | Lease a Bike)
Kaden Groves (Alpecin-Deceuninck)
Dannu van Poppel (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe)
Times
Start: 12:06 PM local time (06:06 AM EDT)
Finish: 4:45 PM local time (10:45 AM EDT)
Start: 12:06 PM local time (06:06 AM EDT)
Finish: 4:45 PM local time (10:45 AM EDT)
Stage 3, Saturday, Aug. 24: Arnsberg - Kassel (184.0 km)
You can't tell from the course, but this is the queen stage of this Lidl Deutschland Tour. Between Arnsberg and Kassel, there are 3,000 meters of elevation gain to be conquered, spread evenly over the 184-kilometer stage.
Favorites
Wout van Aert (Visma | Lease a Bike)
Matthew Brennan (Visma | Lease a Bike)
Jhonatan Narváez (UAE Emirates-XRG)
Wout van Aert (Visma | Lease a Bike)
Matthew Brennan (Visma | Lease a Bike)
Jhonatan Narváez (UAE Emirates-XRG)
Times
Start: 12:28 PM local time (06:28 AM EDT)
Finish: 4:45 PM local time (10:45 AM EDT)
Start: 12:28 PM local time (06:28 AM EDT)
Finish: 4:45 PM local time (10:45 AM EDT)
Stage 4, Sunday, Aug. 25: Halle - Magdeburg (168 km)
The Lidl Deutschland Tour concludes on Sunday with a flat stage. With only 800 meters of elevation gain over more than 160 kilometers, this should be perfect for the sprinters.
Favorites
Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek)
Phil Bauhaus (Bahrain Victorious)
Matteo Moschetti (Q36.5)
Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek)
Phil Bauhaus (Bahrain Victorious)
Matteo Moschetti (Q36.5)
Times
Start: 2:02 PM local time (08:02 AM EDT)
Finish: 5:40 PM local time (11:40 AM EDT)
Start: 2:02 PM local time (08:02 AM EDT)
Finish: 5:40 PM local time (11:40 AM EDT)
Favorites final classification Lidl Deutschland Tour 2025
A short, technical prologue, a few sprinter stages, and two transition stages: Visma | Lease a Bike knows who to send to the Lidl Deutschland Tour. With Wout van Aert and Matthew Brennan, it has two riders who should be able to handle all five stages and who can therefore also be used to play for the overall classification.
UAE Emirates-XRG has a strong selection in every race it enters, and this time is no different. Tour of Poland winner Brandon McNulty will be there, as will Jan Christen, Jhonatan Narváez, and local hero Nils Politt. It will be up to them to outrun the Visma riders, who are normally faster at the finish.
Sprinters who can get over a hill are therefore in contention for the overall victory. Danny van Poppel finished for Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe, which also has Laurence Pithie and Tour podium finisher Florian Lipowitz in its line-up, meaning it already finished second last year. Kaden Groves (Alpecin-Deceuninck), Emilien Jeanniere (TotalEnergies), and Axel Laurance (INEOS Grenadiers) can also get over a hill.
The classic types can also hope for a good result. Ivan Romeo (Movistar), Riley Sheehan (Israel-Premier Tech), Edoardo Zambanini (Bahrain Victorious), Andreas Kron (Uno-X), and Marius Mayrhofer (Tudor) belong to that category. Finally, Soudal Quick-Step will start with Luke Lamperti, Maximilian Schachmann, and former winner Ilan Van Wilder.
Who are the favorites for the Lidl Deutschland Tour 2025, according to IDLProCycling.com?
Top favorites: Matthew Brennan and Wout van Aert (Visma | Lease a Bike)
Outsiders: Jhonatan Narváez, Jan Christen (UAE Emirates-XRG), Danny van Poppel (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) and Kaden Groves (Alpecin-Deceuninck)
Long shots: Brandon McNulty, Nils Politt (UAE Emirates-XRG), Ivan Romeo (Movistar), Axel Laurance (INEOS Grenadiers), Laurence Pithie, Florian Lipowitz (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe), Riley Sheehan (Israel-Premier Tech), Maximilian Schachmann (Soudal Quick-Step) and Emilien Jeanniere (TotalEnergies)
Outsiders: Jhonatan Narváez, Jan Christen (UAE Emirates-XRG), Danny van Poppel (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) and Kaden Groves (Alpecin-Deceuninck)
Long shots: Brandon McNulty, Nils Politt (UAE Emirates-XRG), Ivan Romeo (Movistar), Axel Laurance (INEOS Grenadiers), Laurence Pithie, Florian Lipowitz (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe), Riley Sheehan (Israel-Premier Tech), Maximilian Schachmann (Soudal Quick-Step) and Emilien Jeanniere (TotalEnergies)
TV broadcast Lidl Deutschland Tour 2025
The Lidl Deutschland Tour can be followed live this week via HBO Max. On its main channel, Eurosport will give preference to the Renewi Tour and Vuelta a España. German speakers can also tune in to ZDF.
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Latest Comments
- In 5yrs, Pogi will be a top Twitch streamer living on baked goods while Urska is still racing.Veganpotter11-08-2025
- All they learned is that at the end of a 3 week race, Wout can beat him on a slightly bumpy stage. Obviously, this is very much thanks to Wout not racing for GC every day. This doesn't teach them a thing for Jonas beating Pogi. Not saying Jonas will never beat him again. But this absolutely won't have anything to do with it if he does beat him.Veganpotter28-07-2025
- Well, he eventually Pogacar pays the price for his insane spring campaign which was really crazyRosenkohl196125-07-2025
- Maybe I was a bit disrespectful to Heiden. What he did was unique and exceptional but he wasn't the only one who combined those distances, nowadays it is just not possible and nobody competes in both distances. The same is true for cycling with for example the combination of Roubaix and de Tour de France. In Merckx era there were more riders who managed a top10 in both races than currently.Joostmehrtens19-06-2025
- Two old men shouting at pigeons in the park…JonS16-06-2025
- Out of touch old men hankering after their youth through rose tinted spectacles, their arrogance almost outshines their irrelevance. Turn the volume down, this modern stuff just isn't music like we used to sing...johnny20whales16-06-2025
- In talking speed skating, the days when Heiden did that, nobody else did that. And Eddy couldn't do the equivalent of the bike. His 200 on the velodrome was good, but not world competitive for gold. Heiden was in his own world on the ice, moreso than Eddy if we pretend Eric didn't have a very short career on the ice.Veganpotter16-06-2025
- They wouldn't have dropped HIM so easily.... the GOAT. They would have dropped the rest from that era easily thoughVeganpotter16-06-2025
- Merckx was able to win in a break away on a flat (sprinters) stage, what do you mean they did not drop that easily in his time. Vlaeminck won in the mountains and the classics, but now you need to specialise. The days that a Eric Heiden could win the sprint and the 10k and everything in between are long gone and cycljng is no differentJoostmehrtens16-06-2025
- Carsapaz and Del torro were not capable of chasing Yates. They paused and looked at each other because they didn't have it in them. Yates had kept his powder dry waiting for this stage and demolished both of them. They lost Yates won. Your second guessing is utter nonsense., if either felt they could close Yates down they would have , just like they did countless times for other riders. They blew up , Yates excelled.Uphillbilly05-06-2025