Stage fifteen is Geldern to Damm via Issum, Alpen (no added sugar), Wesel (having crossed the Rhine) and Drevenack. It’s roughly north east for the first half then east/north east for the second half. Although it’s classified as an uphill stage, there are downhill stages with far more climbing that this one has to offer.
The rollout is flat and east, route 58 bisecting the Issumer Fleuth river and the Kruskenfeldgraben river whilst crossing the Grootbruchsley river, all within the first two miles. Having said that, the ATW route hangs a left off route 58 immediately before the Grootbruchsley and heads north east into Issum at three miles. Beyond Issum, the route rejoins route 58, which bypassed the town on its southern perimeter, then crosses Spandicks Ley at four miles before embarking on a sharp two mile climb that takes the route up and over autoroute 57 on the south western approach to Alpen. There, at the highest point of the stage, route 58 curves right and descends steeply around the town heading anticlockwise around the ring road.
The road crosses Alpsche Ley at eight miles then trundles on lumpy flat for a further six miles to Wesel where the road crosses both the Rhine river and the Lippe river in quick succession before snaking through the heart of the town ahead of a pivotal right (east) turn onto Schermbecker Landstrabe at sixteen miles. As the highway bisects the Schepersfeld and Fusternberg districts on its way out of town, it begins a long gentle climb that gathers momentum and slope as it crosses autoroute 3 at twenty miles en route to Drevenack a mile later.
The road continues to climb as it leaves town and the gradient actually gets steeper on the two mile long straight to the finish at Damm near to the Strommuseum.
Distance: 24 miles / 38 kilometres
Ascent: 285 feet / 87 metres
RGT Magic Road: dn5lsvlfZgMF
Max elevation: 704 ft
Min elevation: 599 ft
Total climbing: 280 ft
Total descent: -240 ft
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