The event was first held on 1 May 1962, as
Rund um den Henninger Turm Frankfurt, starting and finishing in Frankfurt's city centre. Brothers Hermann and Erwin Moos sought to promote the
Henninger Tower, a grain silo belonging to the
Henninger Brewery, which opened in 1961. Henninger served as main sponsor of the cycling event from the inaugural race until 2008. Rund um den Henninger Turm received a status upgrade in 1967 when
Paris–Brussels, organised in late April, was removed from the calendar due to traffic problems and the event became the pre-eminent one-day cycling race in
West Germany. The race's first winner was Belgian
Armand Desmet in 1962.
Barry Hoban became the first British winner in 1966 after a 50 km solo ride to the finish, holding the chasing pack at one minute. Legendary cyclist
Eddy Merckx won the race solo in 1971. Sprinter
Erik Zabel held the record for most victories in the race with three (1999, 2002 and 2005) until
Alexander Kristoff in 2018 added a fourth victory to his 2014, 2016 and 2017 wins, and therefore becoming sole record-holder. Seven further riders have won twice. In 1995,
Rund um den Henninger Turm was part of the
UCI Road World Cup, cycling's season-long competition of the most important one-day races in the 1990s. The fixed date of the event however, every 1 May, was considered unfavourable as it was often midweek, and it was replaced with the newly created
HEW Cyclassics in Hamburg as the German leg of the series. In 2008, organiser Bernd Moos stated Henninger would withdraw its sponsorship of the race. Henninger discontinued its funding after 46 years because of economic conditions. The event continued in 2009 as the
Eschborn–Frankfurt City Loop, named after its city sponsors, Frankfurt and the neighboring town of
Eschborn, which also became the start location of the race. The iconic Henninger Tower was demolished in 2013.
(pictured in 2005) in
Frankfurt am Main served as the race's name sponsor from 1962 until 2008. The
2015 event was cancelled on the eve of the race due to
a suspected terrorist plot; and finishes in
Frankfurt's city centre, totaling around 220 km, mainly through the
Taunus Hills. ==Route==