Before the peloton of the German Cycling Cup starts the six-week summer break, the last stage of the amateur racing series in Cologne was on the program today, Sunday. After 124,6km and 1350m in altitude, Ronny Freiesleben from the Merkur Cycling Team was able to win the long distance of the Cologne cycling classic in 3:05.54. On the home straight in Rheinauhafen, he successfully prevailed against his five competitors and relegated Paul Sicking (Leeze - gebioMized) and Anthony Spysschaert (Royal Cureghem Sportief) to second place.
The Norderstedter racing stable of main sponsor Markus Adam was not only able to dominate in the overall individual ranking. With two more places in the top ten with Christoph Mönig (7th) and Alexander Loos (10th), as well as Stefan Räth (18th), who completed the team ranking, the Merkur boys were also able to win first place in the team ranking.
“I'm more than satisfied with today's race result. We achieved everything that was possible. Unfortunately not without injuries. I hope all the victims of the falls are better soon and no one was seriously injured. We're going into the summer break with a positive conclusion," was how Markus Adam summed up the Rhenish race day.
The relocation of the professional race “Rund um Köln” and the “ŠKODA VELODOM” race for everyone that took place as part of it did the event good. If "Rund um Köln" had to be canceled on the traditional date of Easter Monday in 2008 due to snow chaos, the new place in the racing calendar will benefit everyone. At 23 degrees, sunshine and a blue sky, a large field of riders started at 9:30 a.m. on the almost 125 kilometers.
Unfortunately, the good mood didn't last long. Already after kilometer one there was a first fall, in which Daniel Knyss was also involved. However, he was able to continue the race in contrast to Nino Ackermann from the Bürstner – Dümo Cycling team, who was then taken to the hospital (editor’s note: Nino is doing well given the circumstances, he “only” suffered abrasions).
This was immediately followed by another crash involving the Merkur Cycling Team. This time it hit Stefan Räth and Marek Bosniatzki (Bürstner – Dümo Cycling) was also among the victims of the fall.
With a lot of luck and one or the other wheel swap, all drivers were able to continue and finish the race.
A technically demanding course with short, crisp climbs was to follow, but no favorite team was able to prevail over the course of the race. This prompted the Merkur Druck GmbH team to attack again on the climb in Bärbroich and thus put the competition under pressure. As a result, a still 40-strong first group crystallized out, which together conquered the last climb of the race about 25km before the finish at Bensberg Castle.
With 15 kilometers to go, Ronny Freiesleben was able to pull away on his own and after a few kilometers he was joined by five fellow riders (Paul Sicking, Anthony Spysschaert, Florian Vrecko, Georg Wechselberger and Alés Großberger). These six made it to the finish, giving Ronny Freiesleben a chance to secure victory in Cologne in the group sprint.
Christoph Mönig won the sprint of the chasing field and completed the excellent result of the day. After this exciting and crash-prone race, the Merkur Cycling Team, like all of its competitors, really deserved the summer break. It continues on July 25, 2015 with the seventh of eleven tests "Rad am Ring" at the Nürburgring.
In the overall individual standings, Marek Bosniatzki (1.674/ Bürstner – Dümo Cycling) is still ahead of Paul Sicking (1.661/ Leeze – gebioMized) and Christopher Heider (1.658/ Team Strassacker). Stefan Räth (1.642) follows in fourth place, Ronny Freiesleben is now sixth (1.616), Christian Dengler in seventh (1.604). Daniel Knyss in eighth place (1.592) and Friedrich Schweizer in ninth place (1.585) complete the other top 10 places.
In the team ranking, the Merkur Cycling Team is in third place with 1.784 ahead of the Bürstner – Dümo Cycling (1.784) and the Strassacker (1.780) teams.