Germany tour
Thanks to the veteran Kluge: Sprint star Ewan ended the bad luck
Won the 1st stage of the Germany tour: Australian Caleb Ewan. photo
© Hendrik Schmidt/dpa
European Champion Fabio Jakobsen was left behind on the mountain, so Caleb Ewan took his chance. The sprinter won the first stage of the Germany tour. The race continues to be led by Filippo Ganna.
With an irresistible sprint show, Caleb Ewan ended his losing streak at the Meiningen State Theater and won the first stage of the Germany tour.
The Australian lived up to his role as a favorite and clearly prevailed in front of the Italian Jonathan Milan, who had only squeezed him in the last meters. The German professionals also showed a strong final. Max Kanter was third ahead of Felix Groß.
“It was a very sweet win after an average few months. My team never lost faith in me,” said Ewan. At the Tour de France, the little sprinter had a lot of unlucky falls and missed a stage win. Only at the beginning of the week was the fast man not nominated for the World Cup in his home country due to his mixed season so far. He got his last win in mid-April.
Ewan owed his success to veteran Roger Kluge, among others. The track specialist kept the 28-year-old out of the wind for a long time. “In the end we wanted to be as fresh as possible. We managed that well,” said Kluge. “He then sat with Kristoff on the rear wheel in a headwind, was able to wait a long time and won. A good day for us.”
No changes at the top
There were no changes at the top of the overall standings. Second driving world champion Filippo Ganna is two seconds ahead of Dutchman Bauke Mollema. Milan is now third, defending champion Nils Politt is fourth, three seconds behind Ganna.
The man from Cologne has a good chance of taking over the leader’s red jersey on Friday. On the 200.7 kilometers from Meiningen to Marburg, two climbs have to be mastered on the final lap, which is why a sprint finish on the classic profile is unlikely.
A leading group of four formed shortly after the start in Weimar. Initially uninterested in chasing, Ganna’s Ineos team gave the quartet a little over four minutes advantage on the hilly ride through the Thuringian Forest. Only then did Egan Bernal take over the tracking work and the lead melted away.
Bernal: “happy to be back”
Bernal would actually be the star of the tour. But for him, the Germany tour is only the second race after his life-threatening fall in January. “I want to do as many races and accumulate kilometers as possible. I’m very happy to be back after being almost dead,” said Bernal. The 25-year-old was 73rd in the prologue in Weimar, on the way to Meiningen he lost contact with the field on the final lap.
Bernal crashed into a stationary bus at high speed during training in his native Colombia in January. The 2019 tour winner suffered more than 20 broken bones and was in a coma for three days. He still feels the consequences today. “There’s a lot of metal in my body. I’m like Robocop,” said Bernal. He hopes to have “a normal season again” next year.
Until then, he just enjoys being part of the cycling circus again. The climbing specialist had already traveled to Denmark at the end of June before the start of the Tour de France to feel the racing atmosphere. “I just wanted to be with the boys. That made me very happy,” said Bernal. You can only expect top results from him again next year.