Caracalla Cup Baden-Baden - Cycling Simulator

For this recent addition to the OCM calendar, the OCM circus travels to one of Germany's best-know regions: the beautifully romantic Black-Forest for some exhilarating cycling-action.

Nestled between its north-westernmost extension and the broad and fertile valley of the river Rhine lies the small but renowned spa-town of Baden-Baden. Probably the place of a settlement in times immemorial (8000-4000 BC), it was the Romans - famously fond of hot sources of mineral water - who in the course of the 70`s ADs started settling in the area that is now the very heart of the modern city.
Archeologic finds point to the importance of that settlement in the shadows of the first mountain-chain rising from the pan-flat Rhine-valley. In the centuries past among other ruins military graveyards, and well, Roman hot-spring spas were discovered.
The most opulent of these buildings was certainly the great emperors spa built between 213 and 217 by non other than the legendary builder of spas emperor Marcus Aurelius Servvus Antoninus, better known as Caracalla. The outlines of what must have been a rather impressive building are today inlayed in the town's market-place which is situated on a small hill overshadowed by the new Baden palace in the old-town; and as it happens, only a stop-throw from the finish-line of today's race.

The town's character nowadays drawing so many visitors from near and far, however, was created in the 19th century glory-age of European spa-culture. Grand-Hotels, luxurious town-houses and sanatoria, lavage mansions, parks and boulevards coupled with Neo-classic monuments of the great-spas' operations still serve as remembrance of the town's golden era. Unsurprisingly, there is a joint application with other great-spas of Europe to become an UNESCO world-heritage site still in the pipelines.
It is one of those lavishly green boulevards just in front of the state theater, opened in 1862, on which the riders will roll out of Baden-Baden leaving the manicured greens of the town's boulevards and parks behind, exchanging them for the rolling wine-covered hills of the Baden wine lands where the last slopes of the Black-Forest mountains meat the fertile Rhine-Valley.

At about race-km 30 the peloton passes the town of Bühl, famous for its local cultural celebration of the plum abundantly grown and harvested on the orchards surrounding it. If some riders fancied their chance to break away from a peloton slowly rolling on those winding roads through the vineyards, they will now face a tough time-trial challenge, as the course of the race enters one of its longest flat stretches. After about further 25km on almost pan-flat roads down the edge of the Rhine valley, the road turns back towards the Black-Forest mountains and slowly starts sloping up a little as we enter the Murg valley. We pass the world's oldest still manufacturing car-plant in Gaggenau, where cars have been built since 1895, before the riders face their first mountain tests.

The first small stretch of mountain roads come around km 50 and shouldn't worry the riders to much as the road only takes them from about 150m to 385m of altitude. Although the climb doesn't take the riders to high up into the skies, there are some rather steep parts on this first climb that should get the riders' legs warmed up for the challenges to come. The following decent, however, will be a test of the riders courage heading down a narrow winding road with sheer-mountain cliffs on one side back down to the small medieval town of Gernsbach.

After crossing the river Murg the first real mountain test will start, as we head ever deeper into the Black-Forest. Incidentally, the Black-Forest also is a relict of the 18th and 19th century. Its once wooded slopes were deforested, the high quality wood of the tall and old fir trees once found here having been cut down and exported via rivers like the Murg and the Rhine as far as the Netherlands. Regrowing the forest with fast-growing spruce trees and telling a story of the Black-Forest being synonymous with wild-romantic untouched nature must go down as one of the biggest PR stunts of history.

Anyway, as the leading pack, that surely has formed at this point of the race, crosses the Murg river at about 215m of altitude they will face their first real test of the day. Passing the small mountain village of Loffenau, the following 15km on small and narrow winding mountain-roads with little head-vision will take the riders up to about 850m.
A short run down on wide roads down into the Enz valley is one of the last chances for riders dropped to make the main group again, as with about 120km from the line the longest climb of the day slowly starts rising meter by meter. It might not look like much of an incline in the race-manual but the high tempo expected to be set by the domestics for their captains on these continuously rising next 40km before the climb maxes out, will most certainly take a heavy toll on those starting to tire.

Those hanging on to its highest point will only have a short and steep decent to regain some energy and to loosen their muscles before the penultimate climb up to the Ruhestein pass maxing out at above 1000m above sea-level. For those starting to fall behind this 30km climb will seem to drag on forever, for those still eying victory it will be one of the last opportunities to put some distance between them and their rivals. So these wide roads winding up the mountain to meet the famous Schwarzwaldhochstraße at the crest will surely see some riders trying their luck, while the strongest teams are expected to set a high race-speed for their team-leaders on this grinding climb to try put their rivals in difficulty or crawl back crucial time on break-aways ahead.

After having passed the highest point of the Caracalla-Cup and having navigated a nasty further kick-up, the contenders for victory and podium will have to go all in on a high-paced decent on fortunately wide roads that will see them speed down back into the valley of the Murg down to a mere 400m in altitude.
As this point only 20km from the finish-line is reached, however, the riders will be faced with the last larger climb of the day up the sides of a rather narrow valley. Punishingly for the riders, this last obstacle on their way back to Baden-Baden, only about 10km long, includes some of the steepest ramps of the entire day.

But what at this point punishes the riders will provide exhilarating action for spectators as fire-works up to the "Rote Lache" pass are all but guaranteed to occur. The first rider or the first group to crest with only 10km to go, is in prime position for the win in Baden-Baden below.
Between them and the white line in front of the new Baden palace still lies a daring descent that includes some rather technical twists and turns to lose their last 550m of excess altitude before reentering Baden-Baden. Here only the most daring and the most concentrated contenders will be able to retain position and chance of victory. What has been built over the last grueling hours, might be squandered and lost within minutes or even seconds on these treacherous roads downhill.

After reentering the spa-town, the race-course will take the riders back onto Baden-Badens famous "Lichtentaler Allee" (Lichtental Boulevard) and back past the Theatre and the "Trinkhalle".
On these slightly down-sloping in the middle of the spa-parks next to the small river Oos, the leading riders will profit from the downhill-momentum gained on the last descent. Maintaining this momentum will be crucial on the last few hundred meters, as the last 200m or so present the riders with slight ramp uphill in their sprint for the line.

As the peloton left the town hours earlier, some captivating cycling action loomed promisingly. When the winner rises his arms on the finishing line, the Caracalla-Cup of Baden-Baden, surely, did not disappoint. The riders involved, however, will surely feel at the end of the day, like they have earned themselves a few days to relax and recover in one of the town's world-famous spas.

The Caracalla Cup Baden-Baden will surely prove an exhilarating new addition to the OCM Tour calendar and will keep riders and spectators captivated in editions to come!