Welcome to Germany for round four of the Crit Series. Today we have a flat race, but with no clear sprint favorite, it is anyone's game.
The riders rolled up to the start line in good weather conditions, ready to take on the parcours.
A pretty easy start to the race was interrupted with 5km to go in the first lap, as Hirschlein of Milka, on home turf, jumped away.
He was followed by Martino of Yamaha and Sampson of 100% ME...
...with those two followed by Tyler Brandt of Wikipedia. The four settled down into a good early break.
is today their day?
They got a max gap of around a minute and a half, before two events caused the pack to pick up the pace.
First, Betancourt of Quicksilver attacked.
And then Zingle of Highroad and Hampton of Wiggle did the same.
Betancourt was able to do what the other two couldn't, namely, catch the break, but it was all for naught, as the pack quickly brought back in the leaders.
but wait, and attack on the right side!
But it wouldn't last long, as the Pole Lejman of Yamaha tried to get away. He was followed by Cleaver of 100% ME, the aforementioned Hampton, Ruijgh of Highroad, and Eastman of Wikipedia.
They'd hold onto a lead for around 6km, but the pack was having none of it, and with 21km to go they caught the leaders. However, Cleaver was feeling good, and decided to give it another go.
the Wiggle manager must not be happy about all these attacks...
He lasted another 5km on his own, before getting drawn back in. But, of course, that lead to only more attacks, with Ruijgh, Eastman, Hampton, and Janse van Rensburg (JvR), of Yamaha, attacking.
JvR was the only fresh one in that bunch, and as such, was the only one to make it away. And he didn't just have a tiny advantage, with 10km to go, he had a 39" gap.
active day from Yamaha, will it pay off?
Quicksilver though is having none of it, and with 6.5km to go they bring him back.
But once again this doesn't end the attacks, as now Broers of Wikipedia attacks. He is followed by Ziegler of Yamaha, Stoltz of Cillit Bang, and Monterastelli of Intesta.
All the attacks have small gaps as the sprint starts, but more importantly, everything is in chaos! Could the late attackers pull this off?
With 1km to go, Broers is still in the lead, with Ziegler, Stoltz, and Monterastelli just behind. However, solid finishers in Nepomnyachsniy of Milka and Ulanowski of Cillit Bang have moved up just behind.
.5km to go, and Broers still has the lead around the final turn! But Cillit Bang is breathing down his neck.
.3km to go, and now it is a race to see if Ulanowski of Cillit Bang, with help from his teammate Stoltz, can chase down Broers before the line!
Will he?
Yes.
Victory.
A fantastic 1-3 for Cillit Bang, as Broers just holds off Stoltz for second behind Ulanowski. Nepomnyachsniy takes fourth, with Ziegler in fifth. Monterastelli is the last of the late attackers, in sixth, with Hivert of Highroad in seventh, Zingle in eighth, Brandt in ninth, and Quicksilver's Cruz sneaking in in tenth.
