The Tour of Battenkill marks the start of a series of races in the US for the Raleigh team. It's an important market area for the sponsors and they were looking for a top ten from the team. The rolling terrain was likely to favour the punchier types of rider.
Startlist
Names now familiar to us from previous races, such as Rogriguez, Reihs, Keough and Van Hoff were slated as the pre-race favourites.
Raleigh team
Oliphant was the nominated leader, but a diminished team and several riders still needing to work on their fitness levels, we were not hopeful of meeting the sponsors' demands for a top ten.
Race report
We were still keen to get our name out there though for the sponsors, and our puncheur Holohan, joined Carlsen (XRG), Midlarsky (CDT), Schildge (JSH) and Mannion (BLS) in the break of the day.
Holohan get Raleigh some exposure in the US
The peloton kept a tight leash on the break and they were never allowed more than a six minute gap. The catch was made with over 20k to go and things looked set for a bunch sprint. Tiernan-Locke had other ideas however, and jumped from the pack on the final hill.
JTL jumps clear
The effort of the chase reduced the bunch to around 40 riders. Oliphant was there but clearly struggling. Tiernan-Locke managed to stay clear to take a fine win. Rodriguez and De Maar headed the bunch sprint to take the other podium positions. Oliphant was a distant 26th, disappointing the sponsors.
@sutty68 No, but these riders will be peaking for races like Tour of Gila in May and Tour de Beauce in June, so hopefully they can do better there!
15.04 Zellik - Galmaarden
While the other half of the team were in the States at Battenkill, the rest of the team were set to race in this one-day cobbled race in the Belgian part of Flanders.
Startlist
With the route favouring the cobbled specialists, Hoste, Eeckhout, Amorison and Traksel were the pundits' tips.
Raleigh team
Raleigh would be looking to Sparling, our own cobbles expert.
Race report
The tough parcours, nasty weather, and some hard racing combined to cause splits in the peloton very early on. With 100km to go, the bunch was down to just 65 riders, with Sparling positioned safely near the front.
Tough conditions split the bunch early on
Meanwhile a break of six held a lead which hovered around the three minute for a good part of the race.
A lone spectator braves the conditions to watch the escapees pass
The break were brough back with 20km. Not long after, Eeckhout decided he didn't want to chance it in a sprint today and put in a testing attack.
Belgian hard man Eeckhout attacks
But he was reeled back almost immediately. The pace in the reduced bunch was very fast and with 10km to go there just 25 survivors out in front. Sparling was there, feeling strong, being supported by Briggs and Sulzberger. Landbouwkrediet were looking with a full complement of riders.
The select front group with 10km to go
The pace stayed high and Briggs was soon spat out the back. Sulzberger clung on at the back while Sparling tried to move his way up the peloton as the finish neared. Then, with 3km left, Hoste launched an attack.
Hoste goes solo
Behind him, Eeckhout and Traksel led out the sprint, with Sparling about six back. Hoste was too strong though and held on for a great win in the rain.
Hoste crosses the line to win, exhausted by his efforts
Traksel and Hoste led the bunch home. Sparling finished a solid 8th.
A mud-splattered Sparling finished in 8th place today
@FreitasPCM thanks dude, really appreciate the feedback
20.04 Arno Wallaard Memorial
While our riders in the States prepped for the Joe Martin Stage Race, the rest went to Holland to compete in this flat one-day race in Holland.
Startlist
The race looked set to be a sprinter's paradise. Von Hoff, Kluge, Eeckhout, Weissinger. Reihs, Bagdonas and Obst would all be dangerous.
Raleigh team
With Briggs coming into form, the team would be completely based around him. After a 3rd and 5th in Sochi, could it be time for his first win?
Race report
The day's break was caught early on and the sprinters' teams began jostling for position as the race reached the last 20km. A few kms later, however, a crash in the peloton caused it to split, ending the hopes of outsiders like Doi, Kochetkov and Cardoso.
The peloton was split in half by a crash
Raleigh decided to avoid further trouble by setting up its train, stretching out the peloton behind. Would it pay off this time?
Raleigh set up another impressive train
In the closing kilometres however, Raleigh's train was usurped by Team Voralberg, who were looking to set up Weissinger. Briggs and his leadout man Sulzberger latched onto Kump's wheel about ten places back.
The Voralberg express
More crashes marred the final sprint. Briggs lost Sulzberger's wheel in the melee, and Voralberg took advantage to deliver Weissinger to the win. Reihs came in second, closely followed by Kluge. Leadout man Sulzberger hung on for 9th.
Another one-day race in the Dutch flatlands followed the Arno Wallaard Memorial.
Startlist
Spoiler
Marko Kump
Adria Mobil
Matej Mugerli
Adria Mobil
Kristjan Fajt
Adria Mobil
Kristijan Durasek
Adria Mobil
Radoslav Rogina
Adria Mobil
Tomasz Nose
Adria Mobil
Gediminas Bagdonas
An Post - Sean Kelly
Nico Eeckhout
An Post - Sean Kelly
Connor McConvey
An Post - Sean Kelly
Mark McNally
An Post - Sean Kelly
Mark Cassidy
An Post - Sean Kelly
Sean Downey
An Post - Sean Kelly
Jonathan Mould
An Post - Sean Kelly
Kenneth Vanbilsen
An Post - Sean Kelly
Mathieu Drujon
Auber 93 - BigMat
Nicolas Rousseau
Auber 93 - BigMat
Ronan Racault
Auber 93 - BigMat
Dimitri Le Boulch
Auber 93 - BigMat
Steven Tronet
Auber 93 - BigMat
Romain Bacon
Auber 93 - BigMat
Angelo Furlan
Christina Watches - Onfone
Kristian Sobota
Christina Watches - Onfone
Martin Pedersen
Christina Watches - Onfone
Frederik Wilmann
Christina Watches - Onfone
Martin Lind
Christina Watches - Onfone
Niki Byrgesen
Christina Watches - Onfone
Jesper Schipper
Cyclingteam De Rijke
Niek Boom
Cyclingteam De Rijke
Mats Boeve
Cyclingteam De Rijke
Sebastiaan Pot
Cyclingteam De Rijke
Ike Groen
Cyclingteam De Rijke
Bob Schoonbroodt
Cyclingteam De Rijke
Remco Te Brake
Cyclingteam De Rijke
Jeroen Boelen
Cyclingteam De Rijke
Sven Van Luijk
Cyclingteam Jo Piels
Peter Schulting
Cyclingteam Jo Piels
Maurits Lammertink
Cyclingteam Jo Piels
Bram Nolten
Cyclingteam Jo Piels
Bram De Kort
Cyclingteam Jo Piels
Pim De Beer
Cyclingteam Jo Piels
Mark Schreurs
Cyclingteam Jo Piels
Jasper Hamelink
Cyclingteam Jo Piels
Alexandre Blain
Endura Racing
Jack Anderson
Endura Racing
Jonathon McEvoy
Endura Racing
Jonathan Tiernan-Locke
Endura Racing
Zakkari Dempster
Endura Racing
Alexander Wetterhall
Endura Racing
Lasse Bøchman
Glud & Marstrand - LRØ
Kasper Linde Jørgensen
Glud & Marstrand - LRØ
André Steensen
Glud & Marstrand - LRØ
Jesper Hansen
Glud & Marstrand - LRØ
Mathias Gade Jacobsen
Glud & Marstrand - LRØ
Rasmus Sterebo
Glud & Marstrand - LRØ
Pavel Kochetkov
Itera - Katusha
Alexander Rybakov
Itera - Katusha
Igor Frolov
Itera - Katusha
Dmitry Kosyakov
Itera - Katusha
Sergey Chernetskiy
Itera - Katusha
Alexander Prishpetniy
Itera - Katusha
Andrey Solomennikov
Itera - Katusha
Ilnur Zakarin
Itera - Katusha
José Fernando Antogna
Jamis - Sutter Home
Luis Alberto Romero
Jamis - Sutter Home
Jackie Simes
Jamis - Sutter Home
Eric Schildge
Jamis - Sutter Home
James Driscoll
Jamis - Sutter Home
Peter Van Dijk
Jamis - Sutter Home
Ricardo Van der Velde
Jelly Belly Cycling
Nic Hamilton
Jelly Belly Cycling
Menso De Jongh
Jelly Belly Cycling
Alex Hagman
Jelly Belly Cycling
Emerson Oronte
Jelly Belly Cycling
Scott Stewart
Jelly Belly Cycling
Timothy Dupont
Jong Vlaanderen Cycling Team
Bert Van Lerberghe
Jong Vlaanderen Cycling Team
Francesco Van Coppernolle
Jong Vlaanderen Cycling Team
Kevin Verwaest
Jong Vlaanderen Cycling Team
Garrit Broeders
Jong Vlaanderen Cycling Team
Jeroen Lepla
Jong Vlaanderen Cycling Team
Louis Vervaeke
Jong Vlaanderen Cycling Team
Jens Vandenbogaerde
Jong Vlaanderen Cycling Team
Luca Damiani
Kenda - 5-Hour Energy Cycling Team
James Stemper
Kenda - 5-Hour Energy Cycling Team
Nathaniel English
Kenda - 5-Hour Energy Cycling Team
Isaac Howe
Kenda - 5-Hour Energy Cycling Team
Andy Jacques-Maynes
Kenda - 5-Hour Energy Cycling Team
Chad Hartley
Kenda - 5-Hour Energy Cycling Team
Phillip Gaimon
Kenda - 5-Hour Energy Cycling Team
Robert Sweeting
Kenda - 5-Hour Energy Cycling Team
Hugo Sabido
LA - Antarte
Márcio Barbosa
LA - Antarte
Bruno Sancho
LA - Antarte
Vergílio Santos
LA - Antarte
Jose Mendes
LA - Antarte
Hugo Sancho
LA - Antarte
Alexandre Pliuschin
Leopard - Trek Continental Team
Bob Jungels
Leopard - Trek Continental Team
Eugenio Alafaci
Leopard - Trek Continental Team
Joel Zangerle
Leopard - Trek Continental Team
Oliver Hofstetter
Leopard - Trek Continental Team
Jesús Ezquerra
Leopard - Trek Continental Team
Enrico Franzoï
Miche - Guerciotti
Giuseppe Di Salvo
Miche - Guerciotti
Jacques Janse Van Rensburg
MTN - Qhubeka
Adrien Niyonshuti
MTN - Qhubeka
Jani Tewelde Weldegaber
MTN - Qhubeka
Bradley Potgieter
MTN - Qhubeka
Jacobus Venter
MTN - Qhubeka
Calvin Beneke
MTN - Qhubeka
Songezo Jim
MTN - Qhubeka
Johannes Christofel Nel
MTN - Qhubeka
Daan Olivier
Rabobank Continental Team
Melvin Boskamp
Rabobank Continental Team
Ivar Slik
Rabobank Continental Team
Ruben Zepuntke
Rabobank Continental Team
Marco Minnaard
Rabobank Continental Team
Marc Goos
Rabobank Continental Team
Oscar Riesebeek
Rabobank Continental Team
Nick Van der Lijke
Rabobank Continental Team
Roy Curvers
Team Argos - Shimano
Koen De Kort
Team Argos - Shimano
Simon Geschke
Team Argos - Shimano
Tom Dumoulin
Team Argos - Shimano
Thomas Damuseau
Team Argos - Shimano
Yukihiro Doi
Team Argos - Shimano
Tom Stamsnijder
Team Argos - Shimano
Yann Huguet
Team Argos - Shimano
Johan Coenen
Team Differdange - Magic-Sportfood.de
César Bihel
Team Differdange - Magic-Sportfood.de
Frank Dressler
Team Differdange - Magic-Sportfood.de
Gediminas Kaupas
Team Differdange - Magic-Sportfood.de
Sascha Weber
Team Differdange - Magic-Sportfood.de
Remco Broers
Team Differdange - Magic-Sportfood.de
Tom Thill
Team Differdange - Magic-Sportfood.de
Max Losch
Team Differdange - Magic-Sportfood.de
Michael Kurth
Team Eddy Merckx - Indeland
Thomas Schneider
Team Eddy Merckx - Indeland
Matthias Bertling
Team Eddy Merckx - Indeland
Stefan Ganser
Team Eddy Merckx - Indeland
Julian Hellmann
Team Eddy Merckx - Indeland
Joop De Gans
Team Eddy Merckx - Indeland
Ariel Maximiliano Richeze
Team Nippo
Julian Arredondo
Team Nippo
Vincenzo Garofalo
Team Nippo
Kohei Uchima
Team Nippo
Tomohiro Hayakawa
Team Nippo
Hideto Nakane
Team Nippo
Tom Zirbel
Team Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies
Reid Mumford
Team Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies
Scott Zwizanski
Team Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies
Michael Friedman
Team Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies
Michael Sherer
Team Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies
Cheyne Hoag
Team Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies
Ian Moir
Team Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies
Marsh Cooper
Team Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies
Graham Briggs
Team Raleigh - GAC
Bernard Sulzberger
Team Raleigh - GAC
Tobyn Horton
Team Raleigh - GAC
Simon Holt
Team Raleigh - GAC
Daniel Holloway
Team Raleigh - GAC
Jeroen Janssen
Team Raleigh - GAC
Chris Opie
UK Youth Cycling
Magnus Bäckstedt
UK Youth Cycling
Yanto Barker
UK Youth Cycling
David McGowan
UK Youth Cycling
James Lowsley-Williams
UK Youth Cycling
Fredrik Johansson
UK Youth Cycling
Kevin Thome
Wallonie Bruxelles - Crédit Agricole
Christian Patron
Wallonie Bruxelles - Crédit Agricole
Fabio Polazzi
Wallonie Bruxelles - Crédit Agricole
Robin Stenuit
Wallonie Bruxelles - Crédit Agricole
Boris Dron
Wallonie Bruxelles - Crédit Agricole
Jonathan Dufrasne
Wallonie Bruxelles - Crédit Agricole
Jonathan Dewitte
Wallonie Bruxelles - Crédit Agricole
Philippe Legrand
Wallonie Bruxelles - Crédit Agricole
Another course for the sprinters. The tipsters' favourites were Eeckhout, Furlan, Bagdonas and De Kort.
Raleigh team
Raleigh fielded the same team as yesterday, hoping for a better result. Once again all our eggs would be in Briggs basket.
Race report
A break of six got clear early on.
The break speeds past the agricultural lands of Holland
This time the break looked dangerous and they still had a good lead going into the last 20km. With 12km to get Niek Boom (Cycling Team de Rijke) had attacked his breakaway colleagues and led them by 32 seconds. The bunch was a further 49 seconds back.
Boom goes for a solo victory
With no other teams seemingly willing to chase, Raleigh took matters into its own hands by organising the chase.
The Raleigh train, a familiar sight now at race finishes
Raleigh caught boom with 5km to go to set things up for a sprint finish.
Raleigh catch Boom
With around two kilometres to go, Raleigh still looked in a good position. Eeckhout was coming up fast on the right-hand side, however, followed closely by Furlan, Drujon and Blain. Eeckhout's team mate Bagdonas was clearly also going for the win and was challenging on the left-hand side.
The An Post sprinters make a Raleigh sandwich
Under the 1k banner and Eeckhout's early surge had taken him clear with Furlan, Blain and Drujon. Raleigh had switched to Bagdonas's wheel he was finishing very strongly.
Eeckhout leads the race for the line
Eeckhout paid for his early burst and faded fast, but he proved to be a great leadout man for Furlan, who took the win. Blain was second, while Bagdonas took third, no doubt angry that Eeckhout's lead out had handed victory to a rival. Briggs finished fourth, a vast improvement on yesterday.
The Joe Martin Stage Race is a four-day stage race held in Arkansas. With a variety of terrains - a short mountain TT, hills, sprint stages - it was difficult to call a potential winner. But whoever was to succeed would surely have to be a good all-rounder.
Startlist
Raleigh team
With the exception of Sparling, who has been building his form in Europe, the rest of the team was using this race to hone their fitness for the Tour of Gila next month.
Race report
Stage 1 was a short mountain TT. Oliphant was Raleigh's best finisher, coming in 39th, 7 seconds down on the winner.
Oliphant set Raleigh's best time
Tom Zirbel (Optum) set a best time early on and for a long while it looked as though he would take the win.
Zirbel set the early benchmark
However, with one of the final rides of the day, Davide Frattini (Unitedhealthcare) bettered Zirbel's time by three seconds to take the win and the overall lead.
Frattini was king of the mountain on stage 1
Townshend made the break on stage 2 looking to sweep up some KOM points. He finished the day in second place in the competition, 8 points behind his breakaway compaion Groen (Cyclingteam de Rijke).
Townshend was in the mix for KOM points today
The break was swept up on a long downhill run to the finish. Sparling and Oliphant decided to spice things up with a double attack in the closing kilometres.
Sparling and Oliphant double up
But their attack was quickly snuffed out and Von Hoff took the sprint win. The bonus seconds were enough to win him the overall lead.
Von Hoff pips his sprint rivals to win Stage 2
Von Hoff consolidated his lead on the very short Stage 3 by taking another sprint win.
Von Hoff makes it two from two
The final stage was a lumpy criterium in Fayetteville. The attempted breakaways were foiled by the bunch, right until the very end, when four riders broke clear on the final rise. Kojcan was the strongest of the four, taking the win from Bajadili and Duyn.
Kojcan takes a convincing win on Stage 4
The bunch rolled in 29 seconds later, close enough to the leading four to confirm Von Hoff as the overall victor. A fine win by the young Australian. Raleigh failed to make a mark, but gained a lot of fitness for the upcoming Tour of the Gila.
Raleigh's last race of the month was the Rutland - Melton Classic. This UK-based race has been taking place since 2005. With plenty of off-road sections on unpaved farm tracks, it's always one for the hard men. Zak Dempster won last year's edition.
Startlist
Strong men like Eeckhout, McNally, Lloyd, Backstedt and Barker were the favourites according to the British racing press.
Raleigh team
With our strongest man for these types of races at the Joe Martin race, Raleigh had no clear leader. If Briggs or Sulzberger made it to the finish in the front group, they would no doubt be our men for the sprint. Tobyn Horton however, is a stronger cobbles man with a semi-decent sprint, so would also be a useful card to play.
Race report
Raleigh gave Dutchman Janssen a free role today and he got himself in the break. He's been a loyal, quietly understated team-mate so far this season, so the management felt it was time to give him a chance to shine.
Janssen makes the break on the English farm tracks
Janssen certainly made the most of his opportunity. He dropped his breakaway companions with 40km and went for a long solo win. With a lead of just two minutes though, the odds would be against him.
Janssen strikes out on his own under gloomy skies
He was caught with around 20km to go and a diminished field of around 80 riders headed for the finish, controlled by An Post - Sean Kelly. Horton smartly latched onto Eeckhout's wheel and was in a prime position as they headed round the final bend.
Eeckhout strikes for home, Horton is his wheel
Eeckhout took a resounding win but Horton followed him all the way to take second place! After a mediocre month, Horton had saved the team's blushes with a great performance on home soil.
@FreitasPCM: Indeed, we were very happy with second
@sutty68: it's been an OK month, but Tobyn's performance was very satisfying
April News
April was a pretty mediocre month results-wise for Raleigh. Our races in the States, Battenkill and Joe Martin, were uneventful. The sprint train showed some promising improvements, withouth quite delivering any top results: Briggs' best results were 3rd on the 2nd Stage in Sochi and 4th in the Ronde van Noord-Holland. And Sparling got a determined 8th in the tough Zellig-Galmaarden race.
Tobyn Horton's sterling second place in the Rutland - Melton Classic was certainly the highlight for the team though, and for this performance alone he is Raleigh's April rider of the month.
Horton wins Raleigh rider of the month
Results
Fleche d'Emeraude - Saint Malo
Samuel Dumoulin
Grand Prix de la Ville de Nogent-sur-Oise
Steele Von Hoff
Vuelta Ciclista al Pais Vasco
Joaquim Rodriguez
Circuit Sarthe - Pays de la Loire
Nicolas Vogondy
Ronde can Vlaanderen
Tom Boonen
Grand Prix of Sochi
Gediminas Bagdonas
Grand Prix Pino Cerami
Staf Scheirlinckx
Circuit des Ardennes International
Jonathan Tiernan-Locke
Klasika Primavera
Chris Anker Sorenson
Paris - Roubaix
Tom Boonen
Rund um Koln
Christian Knees
Paris - Camembert Lepetit
Robert Forster
De Brabantse Pijl
Matteo Trentin
GP de Denain Porte du Hainault
Ella Viviani
Vuelta a Castilla y Leon
Dries Devenyns
Tour du Finistere
Angel Madrazo
Tro-Bro Leon
George Hincapie
Amstel Gold Race
Rui Costa
Zellik Galmaarden
Leif Hoste
Giro dell'Appennino
Maura Santambrogio
Tour of the Battenkill
Jonathan Tiernan-Locke
Giro del Trentino
Matteo Carrara
La Fleche Wallone
Philippe Gilbert
Himmerland Rundt
Russell Downing
Arno Wallaard Memorial
Rene Weissinger
Vuelta a la Rioja
Danilo Napolitano
Liege-Bastogne-Liege
Philippe Gilbert
Ronde van Noord-Holland
Angelo Furlan
Presidential Cycling Tour of Turkey
Matthew Goss
Tour de Korea
Freqalsi Debesay
Tour de Romandie
Alejandro Valverde
Tour de Bretagne
Vincent Jerome
Joe Martin Stage Race
Steele Von Hoff
Vuelta Asturias
Benat Intxausti
GP Industria & Artigianato
Davide Appollonio
Giro di Toscana
Fabio Sabatini
Rutland - Melton Classic
Nick Eeckhout
Continental Rankings - Individual
1
Nick Eeckhout
255
2
Denis Flahaut
252
3
Franco Pellizotti
224
4
Danilo Napolitano
221
5
Matteo Pelucchi
215
…
80
Graham Briggs
44
Briggs has replaced Holloway as Raleigh's best-ranked rider. Holloway was 50th last month.
Continental Rankings - Team
1
Cofidis
692
2
Androni Giocattoli - Venezuela
556
3
Acqua & Sapone
548
4
Team Europcar
543
5
Accent Jobs -Willems Veranda's
538
…
22
Raleigh - GAC
190
Raleigh slipped down one place from 21st to 22nd.
CQ Rankings - Individual
1
Tom Boonen
1671
2
Nick Nuyens
949
3
Joaquim Rodriguez
944
4
Rui Costa
943
5
Mark Cavendish
918
…
337
Bernie Sulzberger
43
Boonen has a commanding lead in the CQ rankings after a superb classics season. None of the Raleigh riders are close to troubling the top placings!
CQ Rankings - Team
1
BMC Racing Team
3903
2
Omega Pharma - Quickstep
3876
3
Sky Procycling
3573
4
Movistar Team
2777
5
Katusha
2705
…
43
Raleigh - GAC
140
The team are a respectable 43rd in the CQ rankings. We are trying to ascertain the rules about promotion to Pro Continental level. Where do we need to finish in order to get promoted?
May Schedule
May will be another busy month. The European-based riders will start the month with races in Russia, Holland and then Italy in a packed few days, building up to the Lincoln GP which will be a key target. Our riders in the States will be hoping to finally make an impact in North America by shining in the Tour of the Gila.
@francopell We'll certainly try to have a great month. See what you think about this result...
02.05 Memorial of Oleg Dyachenko
The European-based riders start a busy few days of racing in Russia for the Memorial of Oleg Dyachenko. The course is a pretty lumpy one so punchers and breakaway specialists will be licking their lips. A steep uphill finish should provide a great spectacle for the viewers.
Startlist
With the course favouring hill specialist, the press picked out Camano (EDR), Cabreira (BOA), Sousa (EFG), Ramussen and Guldhammer (CWO) as the favourites today.
Raleigh team
Holohan would normally be our man for these types of parcours but is lacking in fitness. So we'll be putting our hopes in a breakaway move.
Race report
The race set off to stunning views over the Russian countryside.
The peloton were treated to superb views on the start line
After 50km of racing, a break finally succeeded - Sulberger was allowed to get away early on and was joined by Jayco's Watson.
Sulzberger and Watson settle in for a long day in the break
They were joined a little while later by Serov (RusVelo), Ratajczyk (CCC) and Shaw (Drapac).
Two became five in the break
On the lumpy parcours the peloton began to disintegrate behind. With 20km remaining, the break's lead was 1 minute 30 seconds. Encouraged by this, Sulzberger pushed hard on the front. The peloton was now just 45 men strong.
With 10km to go, the peloton went to pieces with attacks firing off left, right and centre. Guldhammer was now the break's closest challenger, 1 minute 8 seconds back. Watson then broke the break's unity by making a solo bid.
Watson attacks from the break
The break brought back Watson with just 3,6km left. Guldhammer was now just 17 seconds behind, with another five riders a further 22 seconds back. At 3km Ratajczyk was the next member of the breakway to make a bid for glory, just as Guldhammer made the catch.
Ratajczyk attacks
Sulberger drove hard to chase the CCC rider down, and as they turned into the steep uphill finish, Sulzberger pushed on into the lead and was looking strong. Guldhammer lurked menacingly behind.
Sulzberger leads up the uphill finish
Guldhammer made his move under the red kite, and Sulzberger followed as best he could.
Guldhammer makes his move
Guldhammer proved too strong for Sulzberger and was ecstatic as he crossed the line. Sulzberger completed a fantastic performance by crossing the line in second. A fine start to the month.