Who needs the Alps? 8 great climbs around Germany

If you live in Berlin, you have many things. Only no altitude. That's why we grabbed our mountain training bag of tricks and put together a crisp round, which gives rise to a hint of low mountain feeling with their climbing. And in the middle of the city. Do not you think? Then watch ...Let's go to the Olympic Park - after all, you want to go up high. Not far from here lies the Berliner's secret weapon in terms of mountain training, the Grunewald. Along Havelchaussee you can collect a few meters thanks to constant ups and downs before you can lay down a small sprint inlay on the crown. There are two real climbs. The Teufelsberg has even a real ramp to offer with about ten percent slope, while the Drachenberg with his pavement is not perfect for driving, but at least a bit of variety in the game and a few meters extra brings. In addition, the view from there is terrific.Of course, this short lap is not an Alpine stage. With a simple trick, you can still really gain altitude. Just drive the lap several times. Due to the very different parts of the track it will not get boring that fast and on the two mountain sprints on Teufelsberg and Drachenberg you will do a lot of meters. This is how you decide for yourself whether you are going to do a short round of work or do an official mountain training. Oh, one more thing. Not only you attract the Grundewald with its highlights. Avoid peak hours for your workout so you can run it properly.

Admittedly, with a height of 98 meters, the Aschberg hill is rather a hill, but it is a lot higher than any dune in the far north. And this short tour revolves around just this hill, which at least covers 410 meters in altitude on around 50 kilometers.It starts in a car park on the outskirts of Eckernförde overlooking the Windebyer Noor, an inland lake, which is like the Aschberg a relic of the glacial Baltic Sea glacier and directly makes it clear that this tour is also something for the eye. You pedal to warm up to Ascheffel, where it is then noticeably uphill.And since you not only fight against the wind, but also want to plaster a few vertical meters, today you will get to know the roads around the Aschberg in more detail. We've put a few loops around the single climb far and wide, including pause stop on the highest point with 98 meters, a highlight in the truest sense of the word.At the very end, a nice, albeit short, descent awaits you, before you relax and roll back to the starting point.

1180 vertical meters at a distance of just 70 kilometers - that's how steep Ruhrpott can be. And still so beautiful. This is not a tour constructed around a few steep streets, but a really attractive lap on the edge of the Ruhr area, which once again proves how peaceful and green it can be here.You start on a large parking lot at the Syburg and right at the beginning you can enjoy one of the most beautiful runs in Dortmund. With the marshalling yard in Hagen Vorhalle you take some industrial culture with you before two really steep climbs are waiting for you. Especially the Kettelbach in Hagen has it all: Here you earn yourself with burning calves about 200 vertical meters to just two kilometers.Once at the top you will shortly enjoy the great view before you cross the small Hanseatic city of Breckerfeld. And the next highlight is waiting for you. The upcoming descent through the Ennepetal starts with a view of the dam of the same name and winds for a whopping ten kilometers through the wonderfully quiet valley down to the city of Ennepetal.Clench your teeth again, the reward follows immediately in the form of a long descent. The Asker road is long and steep and will like to ride in the other direction among racing cyclists. The final highlight is the bike path along the Harkortsee back to the starting point.

Bingen is a beautiful starting point for a road bike tour, which is easily accessible from the Rhine / Main conurbation. The beautiful location on the Rhine, at least in good weather, immediately for holiday mood. This tour here as well, you will forget that you pedal just half an hour's drive from the city of Mainz away.The journey starts at the Mäuseturm, a historical place directly on the Rhine. This starting point is not only beautiful, but also practical, because a large parking lot and a train station are right next door.At the beginning 500 meters of altitude are waiting for you. The low traffic road up to the Lauschhütte is perfect for racing and then you are guaranteed warm. Where it goes up, it goes down synonymous. Enjoy the descent, because that was not all, even if we kept this lap relatively short. With 1080 vertical meters on not even 60 kilometers in length, it still has it in itself.A moderate ascent follows the downhill down to Bacharach am Rhein. Beautifully located, unfortunately well known and popular among motorcyclists, so you should be especially careful on weekends with nice weather. You could now roll along the river Rhine back to Bingen. But since you want to collect altitude meters, we still have an extra bonus for you. The driveway up to Winzberg brings you another 200 meters in altitude.Now you have done it. Back to Bingen, you can relax and enjoy the cycle path along the Rhine or, if you want to accelerate, use the road.

At the gates of Cologne lies the Bergisches Land to the east, whose name does not derive from its topography, but goes back to the Duchy of Berg. Nevertheless, it is extremely hilly here and you can easily earn a lot of vertical meters. And that in a beautiful environment. In Bergisches Land there are many dams, each one of which is a highlight.This tour starts in Gummersbach - easily accessible both by car and by train from Cologne. The very hard-core travel by bike. Now you can expect a really nice mix of steep ramps, long driveways with great views, wonderful secluded country roads and a short stretch on an attractive railway track bike path. Much more variety is not and in the end are whopping 1030 vertical meters on your bike computer.

Hamburg and meters, there will be one or the other Berglandbewohner probably just tired smile about it. Nevertheless, Hamburg has to offer a real mountain classification, which has gained not least because of the Cyclassics race a certain cult status. After all, the Waseberg is waiting with 16 percent slope and rough asphalt and will be a challenge at the latest when you climb it several times in a row.This tour is short, compact and starts centrally in Hamburg Altona at the Platz der Republik. From there you drive parallel to the Elbe directly in the direction Nobelvorort Blankenese. Not to look at the beautiful houses, but to collect a few vertical meters. After all, around 70 of them have to offer the Waseberg. After exactly nine kilometers you turn off into the mill mountain. Remember the place, because this is where you end up after a small, hilly round of about 16 kilometers in length.After this round you can decide for yourself how to proceed: You can roll back to the starting point, which will bring you 33.4 kilometers and 320 meters difference in the end. You can also repeat the round (several times) and make a little "Grandfondo Wasenberg" out of it.

If you drive north through Germany, it will eventually become very shallow. Until he comes suddenly, quite unexpectedly. And want to know it again. The Teutoburg Forest is not a high mountain, but you can still earn any amount of altitude. The Teuto delights all northern lights from Osnabrück to Hanover with its hills and beautiful scenery and is for local racing cyclists who do not always want to fight against the wind, duty.This tour starts in Lengerich on a hiking parking lot near the well-connected station. To warm up, you pedal a few miles to Lienen, where the first highlight of the mountain awaits you. On the serpentines of the Lienener Berg a touch of mountain feeling comes on, after all, you reach the highest point of the round at 205 meters altitude. And this on a road that is considered to be the most significant ascent of the western Teutoburg Forest.In the further course a real ups and downs awaits you. Again and again you will enjoy great views and look forward to long descents that you have worked out before. In the end, you have flattened all 1060 vertical meters on 82 kilometers.

Thanks to its central location, the Harz is a haven for all nature lovers from the flatlands, from Hanover to Magdeburg. On the edge of the Harz is Clausthal-Zellerfeld, ideally suited as an easily accessible starting point for our sporty and mostly on quiet roads leading tour, although the Hochharz including chunks are right but still brings almost 1,500 vertical meters together.She manages that with four wonderfully exhausting driveways, of which one has already made it into a race of the Germany Tour. In 2006, the climb up to Hahnenklee was the last mountain classification before the day's destination in Goslar. In other words, you're going to work up a sweat. So that you also use the day efficiently, we have at the end a small loop around the Innerstetalsperre. This little extra round is nice to drive and brings you around 20 kilometers in addition to the clock. You can easily shorten the lap by turning right at km 56.4 towards Lauenthal.Start and finish of the tour are centrally located at the train station of Clausthal-Zellerfeld, from where you have a good connection to Hannover or Magdeburg. However, there is no train here anymore: First you take the bus to Gosslar - from there on we will continue by train.