The Hamburg Cyclassics is Germany's great sprinters' Classic, a fast WorldTour day that almost always ends in a bunch finish in the city centre. First run in 1996, it has carried several sponsor names over the years but has kept its character, a long, mostly flat race lit up by repeated climbs of the Waseberg. Those climbs soften the legs without breaking the race apart, setting up a finale for the strongest fast men. Elia Viviani holds the record with three wins, and Jan Ullrich won the inaugural edition in front of a home crowd. It is one of the few remaining big one-day races built for pure sprinters. The Waseberg decides who survives to contest it.