A pillar of women’s cycling for nearly four decades, the LOTTO Thüringen Ladies Tour will not return in 2026 or beyond. After 36 editions, organisers have confirmed that the race has reached its final chapter, citing irreparable damage to trust with state authorities and the loss of key support. A farewell celebration will be held on 22nd June in Meiningen to honour the riders, fans, and volunteers who shaped the oldest women’s stage race in the world.
A final goodbye in Meiningen
The city of Meiningen, along with race director Vera Hohlfeld and the team at T.RF Thüringer Sportmarketing, will host a public thank-you event from 11:00 to 16:00. It’s not a race, but a celebration: part tribute, part reunion, part party.
From a kids’ balance bike race and music to a commemorative group ride with Hohlfeld herself, the event is a call for the cycling community to gather one last time in the spirit that carried this race through 36 years of competition, rain, sun, laughter and tears.
“Let’s say goodbye together and give this long tradition of women’s cycling a worthy memorial,” the organisers wrote.
Cancelled, not postponed: why the 2025 edition was called off
Back on 17th March, the organising team officially cancelled the planned 37th edition of the race. The decision followed what was described as a total breakdown of trust between the organisers and the Thüringer Staatskanzlei, the state chancellery responsible for funding and media partnerships.
In a detailed statement released on 26th March, the race’s management made it clear they had not viewed state support as a subsidy but as a return on the promotional value the race delivered to the region. The organisers criticised the state’s approach as disrespectful and lacking any meaningful engagement with the event’s sporting and cultural significance.
“Our long-standing work was trampled on with disrespect,” the statement read. “This is the final blow to the 37th edition of the LOTTO Thüringen Ladies Tour.”
Had it gone ahead, the 2025 edition would have opened on 17th June in Leinefelde-Worbis, with a challenging first stage finishing atop the steep climb to Schloss Scharfenstein, followed by five more stages through the state of Thuringia.
Photo Credit: Arne Mill/T.RF SportmarketingWhat comes next?
The door isn’t entirely closed. Organisers expressed a desire to see a new women’s tour incorporated into the men’s Deutschland Tour, perhaps with Lidl as a sponsor. But the future is uncertain, and for now, what remains is a sense of closure for an event that stood the test of time.
From the early days in East Germany in 1986 to its later years as a proving ground for world-class riders, the LOTTO Thüringen Ladies Tour offered more than just a race. It gave generations of women a platform. And on 22nd June, it gets the send-off it deserves.
