The regeneration of German cycling is looking like one of the stories of the CTour this year, last year really was a pretty lean year for the Germans with the likes of Protour stars Markus Fothen and Marcus Burghardt
unable to match their exploits of 2010.
At least they rode, poor Fabian Wegmann and Matthias Kessler were left without a squad, this year Trilux-Falke has taken up the mantle and it is here today they will be hoping to make an impact.
However these hilly classics have proven a happy hunting ground for breakaways and it seems as if plenty of teams realise that is their best chance of victory here as riders attack from the gun.
Lionel Coutinho Maxime La Lavandier Philip Lavery
and German sprinter Erik Mohs
Curious tactics then from Pokerstars, Mohs will likely be targetting the big flat classic in Berlin at the end of the month. But today he is going for a breakaway, if he can hang onto it of course he will be a massive threat in a sprint finish.
The breakaway tactic has worked in a couple of classics this year and so of course now everyone wants in on the break. Lots more riders attack out of the bunch.
The full list of riders in addition to the four mentioned is as follows: Georg Preidler Nairo Quintana Ole Haavardsholm Thomas Koep Jocelyn Bar Geoffroy Lequatre Paolo Locatelli
Petr Ignatenko Tesfar Teklit Tsgabu Gebremaryam Grmay Haijun Ma Arman Kamyshev
and Travis Meyer
However Trilux are shutting these moves down for now.
Eventually by the big first long climb of the Feldburg, 11 riders are allowed to build up a half decent lead of between a minute and two minutes.
Meyer, Preidler, La Lavendier, Teklit, Ignatenko, Haavardsholm, Koep, Lavery, Bar, Ma and a new attacker Oleksandr Martynenko
In fact Bianchi are looking to try something interesting today as the send both Lequatre and Locatelli up to join the breakaway to swell its numbers to 13.
Bianchi have two main riders here in Belgian Dimitri Claeys
and Czech champion Frantisek Rabon
they are looking to build momentum after a classification win in Japan.
But Trilux are looking calm and they are getting a fair bit of help from Red Bull and Unicredit.
Unicredit though begin to drop off the pace after Mirko Lorenzetto
a decent climber for a sprinter falls and is forced to drop out of the race.
Trilux though continue to keep that break of 13 withing two minutes forcing a pretty tough pace on the climbs. This stretches things out to such a degree that gaps start to appear in the pack Trilux, Red Bull and Unicredit have all their remaining team members left in the front 41 riders that are left.
There are also no representives of the Pokerstars team or the VolksWagen team in the 41 strong first peloton.
Hermans is a pretty big casualty as he is the leader of the German Rothaus outfit who also have plenty of German riders. The DS obviously screams down the radio to his team and young Spanish rider Mikel Landa
leads his team leader up to the 41 man Trilux group with three pokerstars riders.
Likewise the Bpost manager must be hoping mad that one of his two big guns has been dropped as Gautier pulls up another 16 riders.
Gautier embaressed at getting caught out almost immediately attacks as he gets to the front!
With 100km to go this may seem a crazy move but the break is maintaining a two minute gap and still you would say have outside chances with the pack constantly splitting behind. Gautier makes it across to make it two Bpost's in the front group of 14 with Gautier certainly the best punchaer. Meanwhile all the favourites that were dropped do get back to reform a big peloton. Trilux obviously thought it was too early for a selection.
With the drop slightly in pace four more riders attack, all of which like Gautier were dropped earlier. Dale Appleby
Ivan Rovny Mickaël Delage
and Marcel Wyss
try to pull a 'Gautier'!
Indeed the four riders do join up with the break and Trilux are really slackening off as the break of now 18 riders get to a lead of 4.30.
The Red Bull and Rothaus teams sense they may have missed the boat as now Eduard Vorganov
and Rob Ruijgh
make attacks. The pressure is beginning to mount on Trilux here.
Both riders attacking have produced some really brave performances in previous races, these two though seem to have awaken the big guns or at the very least the Bianchi masterplan as now Frantisek Rabon
makes his move.
The masterplan of getting three riders in the break and then making a mid-stage dash across by one of your hilly riders seems to have been adopted by a number of other teams today. Bpost, Saab, T.CS Bank and now Bianchi... this latest move by Bianchi though has unleashed the wrath of Trilux who ferociously now chase reeling in Rabon, Vorganov and Ruijgh.
Bianchi's plans are rapidly deteriating as Leqautre and Martynenko are dropped from the break.
Trilux have decided to make their move here really thinning the pack down to just 29 riders, this is impressive stuff from the German team.
They have all seven riders in this 29, the rest of the group are made up of 5 of Red Bulls hilly men, 3 Bpost, 3 T.CS Bank, 3 Rapha Condors, 2 Bianchi's and 2 Rothaus riders. Those teams have their favourites in there such as Jonathan Bellis Dimitri Claeys
and
Aleksandr Kolobnev
we also have Giovanni Visconti Marc De Maar
and Peter Sagan
However not there at all is any Focussed, Saab, Puma, Pokerstars, VolksWagen or Cerne riders. Their hopes seem to be in the breakaway as the group behind the 29 are not really working.
It's a brave but desperate move as one man against the might of Trilux is not really going to work. With 60km to go the lead breakaway of 16 riders has less than two minutes on the roaring Trilux group, Roy is 2 and a half minutes back.
Also not present in that Trilux led group is Hassen Ben Nasser
who seems to be having one of his days off. His teammate Marc De Maar flies the Proximus flag though by attacking the Trilux riders who just take the pace off for a moment.
All this does though is rile the team in black up once more and as we approach the last climb of the day Trilux pull their group up to the break making it 44 riders in the lead.
Things are desperate really for many of the teams that gambled on the break it hasn't really worked, but now what will happen on this last climb that looks an obvious staging ground for a big move.
Before the big climb Peter Sagan
and Marc De Maar
attack off the front to go into it 30 seconds ahead
Battling Italian Giovanni Visconti
goes as soon as the gradient rises
Trilux decide to go with this as the moment and Matthias Kessler
unleashes his attack.
Unsurprisingly the German is marked by some riders with Dimitri Claeys
and Jelle Vanendert
able to follow him.
Trilux are looking for their second punchaer also as Fabian Wegmann
nips across with Jonathan Bellis
and
Aleksandr Kolobnev
The Trilux big two are testing the legs of their rivals and as their crest the summit it is these two with Dowsett and Claeys who look the strongest.
But with the long flat run in the 13 attackers all form together a lead ultra group the names again:
Kessler, Wegmann (Trilux)
Dowsett, Bellis (Rapha Condor)
Mori, Cherel (Red Bull)
Kolobnev (T.CS Bank)
Claeys (Bianchi)
Vanendert (Bpost)
Visconti (Unicredit)
Hermans (Rothaus)
De Maar (Proximus)
Sagan (Venchi)
The boat seems to have sailed and with Bianchi feeling that Claeys is going to stuggle out there on his own their second threat tries to bridge in Rabon. Jeremy Roy having fought back to get to the remnents of the front group is trying to complete his brave comeback by trying to get Rabon's wheel.
But up front the lead 13 whilst not working together and contantly attacking each other are maintain a two minute advantage. Roy and Rabon are forced to drop pack into chase group of twnety or so riders.
The front group seem to call a truce with 13km to go and it would seem as if Wegmann and Bellis are the big two here. The Trilux boys are forced to the front to maintain the breaks momentum.
In a strange move the duo stop working and the pace leaves the front group of 13 and behind the chase group sense they have a chance to get back into this. Trilux may have a wildcard to play though with Heinrich Haussler
The chase group though misjudges a corner and several riders go down.
No-one that you would say could have made big sprint De Greef, Vansummeren (Bpost) Vorganov, Hansen (Red Bull, smukalis (Trilux, Priedler (VolksWagen), Koep (Rothaus) and Sulzberger (Rapha Condor) are left to limp home.
Up front though the lead 13 are caught up by 17 more riders making it 30 riders left to fight it out in the sprint.
Bellis leads us out ahead of De Maar, Dowsett, Sagen, Wegmann, and Rovny.
As the road widens out Bellis goes near to the barriers feeling he only has to look one way for riders coming past. But his teammate Teklit is leading two Tinkoff riders Rovny and Kolebnev into a great position. Kessler, Mori, Roy, Meyer and Delage are following this middle of the road move.
But it is Bellis the wheel you want as we hit 2.3km to go the Brit rockets off and De Maar leading Dowsett, Sagan and Wegmann struggles to follow.
1.2km to go and Bellis has 5 or 6 bike lengths of space on Kolobnev who just cannot lift his sprint any more.
Wegmann moves across to find his teammate Kessler to give him a mini lead out forcing their way through Tinkoff riders Rovny and Kolobnev. Sagan, De Maar and Hermans are across the road fighting for what appears to be the minor placings.
As we go under the kite though we can see Bellis is eye balls out and is beginning to feel the strain of the days racing. The earlier selection and attacking seems to have wilted the Brits strength as he begins to fade. Kessler is giving Wegmann a nice lead out here though Delage and Mori are fighting to stay with them.
Bellis can see the win disappearing and Wegmann goes to his maximum, he has saved his sprint until the right moment here. Behind Dowsett, Sagan and Haussler are staying on well.
The line is reached and Fabian Wegmann pulls it off for Trilux!
It's a magnificent one-two for them as well as Kessler takes second ahead of Mori and Delage. Both those teams will be delighted with high placings too. Haussler caps off a brilliant day for Trilux by coming through to take 5th ahead of Bellis, Sagan and Dowsett.
Visconti is 9th and Claeys is a barely acceptable 10th for Bianchi. Rovny faded to 11th ahead of Gautier who was 12th, Wyss is 13th for Saab and Hermans way out of it in 16th. Roy having fought back gamely really had nothing left for the sprint and was distanced at the end in 29th with Meyer.
A brave performance from the Frenchman but the Germans are celebrating at the end a fantastic performance by Trilux who dominated the day's action really. The strange slowing down in the final for the 13 riders clear may have worked against them, but with Haussler coming back it actually gained Trilux more. They get top marks here!
