Germany Trail Gravel Edition: Bikepacking tour across Germany - join in the action!
Sandra Schuberth
· 18.06.2024
A few years ago, Stefan Loibl, a former BIKE colleague, launched the Deutschland-Trail. He has Crossing Germany by mountain bike. Locals showed him the best MTB trails and he even gave a spontaneous talk about his tour at a school.
New life for the Germany Trail
In 2024, a few years later, we have breathed new life into the idea of the Deutschland-Trail - there will be a gravel edition. This year, BIKE and TOUR editor Sandra Schuberth sets off in search of the most beautiful gravel paths and single trails from the border triangle of Germany, France and Luxembourg to Munich. She visits stage locations of the Lidl Germany Tour and want to discover gravel paths, trails, viewpoints and other highlights. Which route do you recommend? What should Sandra not miss? Participation is welcome! Find out more in the article below.
Germany Trail Gravel Edition 2024: The route
The Tour de France Femmes takes place from 12 to 18 August. Stage 5 ends on 15 August near the German border in Amneville. So what could be a better starting point for a bikepacking tour across the country than the women's Tour de France? There will be a prologue from Amneville, which will take Sandra to the border triangle of Germany, France and Luxembourg. Then it's off. The route will meander via Saarbrücken towards the Palatinate Forest. This is followed by a detour to the Odenwald, from where the route turns southwards. From Stuttgart, the route continues eastwards, with the Nördlinger Ries as a highlight. Then it's off to Augsburg and finally to Munich - not without further detours. So far, the route has been roughly planned and is being refined bit by bit.
The current status of the Deutschland-Trail Gravel can be found here on the Delius-Klasing tour portal
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Support required for route planning
We would also like to rely on the local knowledge of locals when planning the route. You can find out exactly how you can submit your route suggestions here. The best way to do this is to subscribe our newsletterwhere there will also be a special offer from Outdooractive, the partner behind our tour portal.
This is the rough route plan in bullet points
- Stage, 16 August: From the border triangle to Saarbrücken (125 km, 1500 m elevation gain)
- Stage, 17 August: From Saarbrücken to Zweibrücken (95 km, 800 m elevation gain)
- Stage, 18th August: From Zweibrücken to Neustadt an der Weinstraße (105 km, 1000 m elevation gain)
- Stage, 19th August: From Neustadt an der Weinstraße to Neckargerach (120, 1500 m altitude)
- Stage, 20 August: From Neckargerach to Stuttgart (100 km, 800 m elevation gain)
- Stage, 21 August: From Stuttgart to Schwäbisch Gmünd (110 km, 1500 m elevation gain)
- Stage, 22 August: From Schwäbisch Gmünd to Augsburg (150 km, 1500 m elevation gain)
- Stage, 23 August: From behind Augsburg to Munich - max. 75 kilometres
Speaking of partners ...
Sandra sets off on the Germany Trail with a Rocky Mountain Solo C50. We already had siblings of the gravel bike in our practical test. The bike is fitted with 45 millimetre wide Maxxis tyres. The tyres in turn sit on wheels from Lilienthal. SQlab provides the necessary comfort on the bike with its ergonomic expertise. In addition to bike fitting and a suitable saddle, trousers that match the a*** and saddle are crucial for a good riding position - GripGrab is on board here. All the luggage is stowed in Evoc bikepacking bags.
Last but not least: Bike Film Tour. Many people will be familiar with the European Outdoor Film Tour, or EOFT for short. From 2025, there will also be a Bike Film Tour from the same organiser. This film tour is also a partner of the Deutschland-Trail.
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On tour with Piarazzi
The Bike Film Tour is the perfect transition to the next point, as the bikepacking tour is documented photographically and videographically, and we were able to win over the talented and likeable Pia-Sophie Nowak, who is known on Instagram as @piarazzi.
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Short and sweet: Germany Trail Gravel Edition 2024
What? Germany Trail Gravel Edition
- 800 - 1000 kilometres
- 5000 - 10,000 metres altitude
- 8 driving days
When? 16 to 23 August
Where? The rough route has already been finalised. You can find a draft in our tour portal:
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Want to join in? Participation is required! Locals know the best routes. Help plan the tour and/or accompany Sandra for a while. Sign up for the newsletter to make sure you don't miss anything: bike-magazin.de/newsletter.
Sandra Schuberth
Editor
