The classics specialist first pulled away with a group of three and shortly before the finish line he also dropped his two fellow breakaways. After two years of a forced break due to corona, cycling professionals from five are back on Sunday at the cycling classic “Rund um Köln”. UCI World Teams and eleven Continental teams started.
Knees was the last German winner in 2006
At the oldest still existing German road race – it was held for the 104th time – the German ex-professional André Greipel, as the new sports director, was able to drive comfortably in front of the field of participants through the Bergisches Land for the first time in a much more relaxed manner.
Since the favorite teams everyone had brought at least one top sprinter to Cologne, there were many indications in advance of a sprint finish. The chances of a German victory – it would have been the first since Christian Knees’ triumph in 2006 – were relatively manageable.
Local hero Politt surprised Feld with a breakaway attempt
The German team Bora-hansgrohe but brought a local hero to the start in Nils Politt, who wanted to shine in front of his home crowd. Consequently, he used one of the many climbs to break away from the field and managed to do so with two other drivers.
When he with his Borateamcolleague Danny von Poppel (Netherlands) and his German compatriot Nikias Arndt vom team DSM – for him it was also a home race – on the 199-kilometer course had built up a lead of almost a minute with 26 kilometers to go, a success for the escapees no longer seemed unrealistic. The Bora duo had the much better chances because they could act in pairs.
Feld cannot close the gap to the leading trio
Since Arndt with stage wins at the vuelta (Spain) and the giro (Italy) had shown in the past that he was to be reckoned with, the two Bora riders started to break away from the group of three with a good 20 kilometers to go. As Politt drove away, Arndt quickly closed the gap, and shortly after von Poppel gained a small lead, Politt closed the gap. After all, it was his home race and he didn’t want to let his team-mate pull away.
With 14 kilometers to go, the trio had a lead of just 20 seconds after these skirmishes, meaning that any further disagreements at the front could only benefit the chasing field. There the German Borateam with his sprinter Sam Bennett another hot iron in the fire.
Politt breaks away from fellow breakaways with five kilometers to go
On the flat final kilometers of the race, Politt, von Poppel and Arndt increased the lead again – to 45 seconds six kilometers from the finish line. In the three-way battle, Politt managed the hoped-for home coup with another start five kilometers before the end. Arndt couldn’t follow him, and von Poppel didn’t seem to want to spoil his team-mate’s triumph, which was so important for him. The Dutchman only secured second place.
For the 28-year-old Politt it was only the fifth success in a professional race. He is now the successor of Baptiste Planckaert, who won the race in 2019.