The first stage leaves Erlangen and moves from the Regnitz area towards the Nuremberg basin. The opening kilometres pass through city streets, riverside sections and the changing edge between Erlangen, suburbs and woodland. Nürnberg brings the clearest shift of the day: denser streets, the Pegnitz nearby, historic buildings and the feel of riding straight through a Franconian city rather than around it. South of Nürnberg, the route settles down again. It continues towards the Reichswald, then through open fields, smaller villages and gently rising roads. In the final third, the landscape starts to edge towards the Upper Palatinate Jura. The roads become more rural, the views broader, and Sengenthal sits as a quiet finish close to Neumarkt in der Oberpfalz.
