Tour de France - Professional cyclist Zimmermann aims for first Tour stage win
Professional Georg Zimmermann hopes for a success at the Tour de France this year after coming close to winning a stage last year. He is aware of the challenge, "Perhaps there will be one or two opportunities for my first Tour de France stage win. It all has to come together on one day," said the 26-year-old to the German Press Agency before the start of the 111th edition of the three-week race in Florence on Saturday. The first stage to Rimini features a total of 3600 meters in elevation.
Zimmermann is participating in the Tour de France for the fourth time. "It would be a beautiful, wonderful success - for which I would have invested a lot of hard work," said Zimmermann. However, he also cautioned, "But the world keeps turning even if I don't take this stage win with me." Zimmermann's best career result was a stage win at the Dauphiné-Rundfahrt in 2023.
Hopes for a first German stage win rest on Zimmermann and the Bayer team, as German rider Nils Politt won in Nimes on the twelfth stage in 2021. Last year, sprinter Phil Bauhaus and Zimmermann both came close to a black, red, and gold stage win.
Zimmermann narrowly missed out on a stage win in Issoire during the tenth stage in 2023. In the final sprint, he was beaten by the Spaniard Pello Bilbao. He had gone too fast. The mountain-climbing racer does not want that to happen again. Above all, he feels fit, "The preparation went perfectly, I have come through without complications. I feel ready," stated Zimmermann clearly.
Zimmermann's stage victory ambitions in the Tour de France this year echo those of German rider Nils Politt, who secured a stage win in Nimes during the 2021 edition. The Tour de France, an international cycling event, is currently underway in Florence, Italy, with the first stage heading towards Rimini. Despite the challenge, Zimmermann remains hopeful, noting that a stage win could be possible on one particular day. His best career result to date is a stage win at the Dauphiné-Rundfahrt in 2023. The German Press Agency reported on Zimmermann's ambitious goals for the 111th edition of the Tour de France.
