Two Rhine crossings shape this almost 100-kilometre stage. Flat roads lead through Durmersheim and western Karlsruhe to the bridge at Maxau. On the opposite bank, Wörth gives way to embankments, riverside woodland and the looping remains of old river channels. Germersheim's fortress walls and Ludwigstor gate recall its military past. In Speyer, the route runs straight across the cathedral square beneath the towers of the Romanesque cathedral. Further north, water and wooded banks fill the bends of the Otterstadt oxbow. The second crossing comes aboard the Altrip ferry, returning to Baden-Württemberg. Mannheim's vast power station marks the approach to the city before the ride continues through Lindenhof to the day's finish.
