The route leaves Treseburg on the floor of the Bode valley and spends five gentle kilometres warming up — barely a 1% grade, just enough to notice the river falling away behind you.

Then the road turns uphill. A steady 4% pull from km 5 to km 8 lifts you 120 metres onto the Harz plateau, and a brief descent hands back some of it — which is the setup, not a gift. The final challenge waits at km 10: a full kilometre averaging 10%, ramping to nearly 11%, climbing straight to the 458 m high point of the day. A short freewheel drops you to the finish at the Rappbode-Talsperre, the tallest dam in Germany.