Women's Thuringia Tour 2025: Financial crisis causes cancellation!

Women's Thuringia Tour 2025: Financial crisis causes cancellation!

The women's Tour of Thuringia, the oldest stage race in the world, will not take place this year. How thueringen24.de reported, the reason for the cancellation is a financial deficit. The tour's total budget was around 650,000 euros, but the promised funding of 200,000 euros was canceled by the new state government under Prime Minister Mario Voigt (CDU).

There was previous support from the government under Bodo Ramelow (Left), but this was rejected. Tour boss Vera Hohlfeld said that it was now too short a time to close the financial hole. The State Chancellery emphasizes that a private sector event cannot be supported to this extent with public funds. Hohlfeld, on the other hand, emphasizes that the Thuringia Tour is an international advertising platform for the region and criticizes the disrespectful treatment of the organizing team. The organizers were unsuccessful in their talks with the new government.

Looking back on the past

The decision to cancel the tour came on March 17th and was a bitter disappointment for the organizers Marian Koppe and Hohlfeld. In recent years, the event has been a highlight in the women's cycling calendar: in 2024, the American Ruth Winder won and over 100 starters, including ten World Tour teams, took part.

Prime Minister Mario Voigt expressed his optimism. He hopes that the organizers will change their minds, although he emphasizes the state government's limited financial options. The State Chancellery has made new funding offers, but it remains unclear whether this can significantly change the situation. “A privately organized tour cannot be financed almost 80 percent from public funds,” explained Voigt. The organizers have already announced that they will provide further information on the financial situation next week.

Sport funding in Germany

The situation surrounding the Thuringia Tour sheds light on the broader issue of sports funding in Germany. Many people regularly take part in sporting activities, with the promotion of sport pursuing goals such as integration, integration and health promotion. It is important that both popular sports and competitive sports are adequately supported. Grassroots sports projects that promote a sense of community and social health often receive financial support from public bodies and foundations, such as it blog-foerdermittel.de describes.

This year, the Thuringia Tour not only recognized cycling, but also contributed to promoting social integration and health. Finally, it is to be hoped that the discussions between the state government and the organizers will lead to a rethink and the importance of sporting events like this will be more widely recognized again.