Cycling: German champion André Greipel won the Sparkasse Münsterland Giro.2014 with a lead of half a bike length and a confident sprint. After 32 kilometers and 209:4:33 hours, the 08-year-old came out ahead of John Degenkolb in the national team jersey and Belgian Tom Van Asbroeck from the Topsport Vlaanderen-Baloise team.
"Nice weather, no wind, a perfect day for the sprinters", so Greipel after his second victory in front of the castle in Münster. The Tour stage winner from Hürth had already won in Münster in 2008. "That was my last race of the season and the 16th victory - now it's off to vacation", said Greipel after a year of ups and downs. “Today the race was fast and difficult to calculate, we only caught the last escapees shortly before the finish. Now there's a break."
In the first part of the route from Billerbeck to Münster, an initially five-man group was able to break away, which was able to gain a lead of more than five minutes, but was caught again far before the finish line. In the final, a group of four around Paul Martens, Münster winner of 2006, then tried to escape, but was also caught again by the sprinter teams on the inner-city circuit over the cobblestones of Prinzipalmarkt.
With temperatures well above 20 degrees Celsius and brilliant summer weather, a perfect crowd and great atmosphere underscored the ambitions of the Münsterland and Münster for the Tour de France: "The ambience and the conditions are right - why not", said Christian Prudhomme, director of the world's largest bicycle race, on the sidelines of the event. “We will stay in close contact. I got to know Münster as a wonderful and green city full of cyclists, there is a fantastic square with a great backdrop of the castle and of course Germany is an important market for us", said the 53-year-old.
Source: Stefan Schwenke / Sparkasse Münsterland Giro
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