Cycling: The International Tour of Rhodes has come to an end after three stages. While the Dutchman Martijn Budding (Beat Cycling Club) did not let himself be robbed of the overall victory, the Swiss Roland Thalmann (Vorarlberg - Santic) and Colin Stüssi (Vorarlberg - Santic), as well as the German Jonasrutsch (Lotto - Kern-Haus) be happy about winning a ranking jersey.
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Tour of Rhodes History: This is where Fabian Cancellara's career began
The Tour of Rhodes has been held again since 2017, after a hiatus of several years. It was always popular with riders, not least because of the beautiful scenery. The list of winners proves that it was taken seriously even back then. Fabian Cancellara's name appears there twice – in 2001 and 2002. At just 20 and 21 years old respectively, "Spartacus'" successful career began here . It's no wonder, then, that young Swiss riders are particularly motivated. Colin Stüssi won the revived race in 2017. This year, he only managed 18th place overall, but he still had reason to celebrate.
Tour of Rhodes 2019: Strong performance by the Swiss and the Germans
Even though no German-speaking riders secured a stage win at the 2019 Tour of Rhodes, they still made their mark on the race. Swiss rider Lukas Ruegg (Swiss Racing Academy) finished fourth twice and sixth once. The overall victory went to Dutchman Martijn Budding (Beat Cycling Club), ahead of Norwegian Markus Hoelgaard (Uno-X Norwegian Development Team). Stage wins were claimed by Dušan Rajović (Adria Mobil), Herman Dahl (Joker Fuel of Norway), and Budding himself. However, the awards ceremonies for the other classifications were conducted in German. Swiss rider Roland Thalmann (Vorarlberg – Santic) won the points classification in addition to his third-place finish overall. His compatriot and teammate Colin Stüssi (Vorarlberg – Santic) was awarded the King of the Mountains jersey. German Jonas Rutsch (Lotto – Kern-Haus) was awarded best up-and-coming rider – also thanks to the support of Velomotion editor Florian Nowak.
Team boss of Lotto - Kern-Haus, Florian Monreal:
“Once again we managed to get the season off to a very positive start. As in the last two years, Rhodes was a good place for us and a confirmation of the efforts from the previous training camp.”
Image source: @nassostphoto