The first road stage of the Deutschland Tour was claimed by Matthew Brennan. The British talent from Visma | Lease a Bike was just a fraction faster than Jonathan Milan in a bunch sprint. Danny van Poppel, who finished third, is the new race leader.
Wednesday saw the start of the Deutschland Tour with a prologue won by Søren Wærenskjold, and Thursday followed with the first road stage. It went from Essen to Herford over a distance of 202.6 kilometers. It was a long, but not very tough stage. There were mountain points to be earned on the Stromberg (500 meters at 7.2%) and the Sennberg (1.1 km at 6.6%), but after the last climb it was still a solid forty kilometers to the finish. No problems were expected for the sprinters here.
Essen) Herford)The breakaway of the day consisted of four riders. American talent Andrew August (INEOS Grenadiers) took off with Germans Vinzent Dorn (BIKE AID), Miguel Heidemann, and Jon Knolle (REMBE | rad-net). Their maximum lead was four minutes, but it steadily decreased. With thirteen kilometers to go, Knolle and Dorn, the last escapees, were reeled back in.
Milan or Brennan?
Shortly after, there was an intermediate sprint. Wout van Aert took this sprint, earning three bonus seconds. Samuel Watson picked up two seconds, which made the Brit the virtual leader. But the final sprint still had to come. Danny van Poppel launched his sprint from far out, but soon saw Jonathan Milan pass by. The Italian looked set for victory, but from his wheel came Matthew Brennan, charging fast. Both made a final jump, after which the winner was not immediately clear.
The jury had to study the photo finish to declare a winner. It turned out to be the up-and-coming rider: Brennan. Since Van Poppel finished third and took bonification seconds as well, Brennan does not take the race leader's jersey from Wærenskjold. The Dutchman does take it, although he is now on the same time as Brennan.
Lidl Deutschland Tour| Rank | Rider | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 04:37:08 | |
| 2 | " | |
| 3 | " | |
| 4 | " | |
| 5 | " | |
| 6 | " | |
| 7 | " | |
| 8 | " | |
| 9 | " | |
| 10 | " |
