Cycling: André Greipel (Lotto-Soudal) won the Vattenfall Cyclassics. In the sprint he relegated last year's winner Alexander Kristoff (Katusha) to second place and fulfilled a long-cherished dream.
A lot is going according to plan for André Greipel in 2015. After four stage victories in the Tour de France, the native of Rostock won one of the most important German one-day races with the Vattenfall Cyclassics in Hamburg. When a group of about 35 men crossed the finish line, Greipel sprinted off the rear wheel of last year's winner, Alexander Kristoff, to a sovereign victory. Third was Italy's Giacomo Nizzolo (Trek Factory Racing).
Tom Boonen in fourth jumped into the breach for Etixx Quick Step after Mark Cavendish fell victim to one of the many crashes a few kilometers from the finish. Marcel Kittel (Giant-Alpecin) was left behind at the executioner of the race – the Waseberg with a gradient of up to 15 percent – and was unable to take part in the decision.
Greipel fulfills a dream with victory
"I've often made up my mind to win here. It finally worked today,” said Greipel, overjoyed in the winner's interview. “The team did a great job. The Mönckebergstraße is not that wide, at the end there was a headwind. I gave the direction to drive from the front. I then had a nice rear wheel with Alexander Kristoff. He started 250 meters from the finish and I knew that with the headwind it would be close. And then, thank God, I had the legs to pass.” Greipel found friendly words for the race, which was held for the 20th time this year. “There were people everywhere, it was a real family celebration. I hope we were able to show good sport and I'm just happy now."
Start on the ferry, finish in the heart of the Hanseatic city
The Vattenfall Cyclassics were started in Kiel for the first time. The neutralized start of all drivers and the accompanying convoy took place on the deck of a large ferry. Registration and team presentation had previously taken place in the ferry terminal. The background to the campaign is Hamburg's application to host the 2024 Olympic Games, in which the sailing competitions would be held in Kiel.
The day's breakaway consisted of Alex Dowsett (Movistar), Martin Mortensen (Cult Energy), Jan Barta (Bora-Aragon 18) and Matteo Bono (Lampre). The route led past Plöner Schloss and Plöner See, Bad Segeberg, Kaltenkirchen and Pinneberg, before turning onto the classic circuit in the direction of Wedel, Blankenese and the steep Waseberg. There were repeated attacks in the Hamburg city area, including from Manuele Boaro (Tinkoff), Philippe Gilbert (BMC) and Matthias Brändle (IAM), but also an offensive Linus Gerdemann (Cult Energy). But the sprinter teams - above all Katusha and Lotto-Soudal - brought back all the breakaways, and on the Mönckebergstraße it came to the traditional mass sprint with André Greipel as the happy winner.
Cycling festival in Hamburg with an uncertain future
Hamburg was all about cycling beyond today. The U17 class had already contested a four-day stage race at the Youngclassics beforehand. Before the pros, more than 20.000 cyclists started at the amateur race. The supporting program also included a race around the Binnenalster for the physically and mentally handicapped, a sprint competition on Mönckebergstraße and a large exhibition for exhibitors.
The cycle race celebrated a worthy anniversary at the 20th edition. How it will continue, however, is in the stars. The main sponsor Vattenfall, who contributes an estimated 800.000 euros to the overall budget, is ending its commitment. "After two decades, the time has come for us to support other projects," said Pieter Wasmuth, Chief Representative of Vattenfall GmbH in Hamburg. A new main sponsor has not yet been found, but the event should definitely take place in 2016.
Final result Vattenfall Cyclassics 2015
1.,André Greipel,Lotto-Soudal,04:57:05
2.,Alexander Kristoff,Katusha,00:00:00
3rd, Giacomo Nizzolo, Trek Factory Racing, 00:00:00
4., Tom Boonen, Etixx Quick Step, 00:00:00
5th, Greg van Avermaet, BMC Racing, 00:00:00
6.,Arnaud Demare,FDJ,00:00:00
7th, Matti Breschel, Tinkoff Saxo, 00:00:00
8., Ramon Sinkeldam, Giant Alpecin, 00:00:00
9.,Niccolo Bonifazio,Lampre-Merida,00:00:00
10th, Rasmus Guldhammer, Cult Energy, 00:00:00
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