Welcome to the startline in Berlin for this 5th edition of the 215km Berlin ProRace. The sprinter’s will be hoping that this is a day for them, but as the last two years have shown, you can go solo and cause an upset.


Before the attacks had began, and only 2km into the race, there was trouble for Fabien Taillefour. No signs of a crash, injury or mechanical, so it just looks like he was having a bad start. Could be a long day for the French Classics man.


A group of 3 formed the day’s breakaway, after an acceleration from Mario Costa took Nick Clesen and Nidush Nirantha Fernando with him. Working well together, their lead would peak at over 10 minutes out on the road.


Several different teams, all with favourites for the victory, set themselves up as pacemakers for the pack, setting a steady tempo over the opening half of the race and keeping the lead to the escape group in check.


CRASH! A number of riders come down on the wet roads on the outskirts of the German capital. All would make it back into the peleton, but affected would be:

Impey
Breschel
Wyss
Balloni
Vermote
Lutsyshyn
Randrianambinina
Polivoda
Park
Kvist


Back at the front, the pace had been upped. Wiesenhof was the main contributor to the increased speed, but they had assistance from Strava, Spotify, Eritel, Valio and VisitUkraine.


PUNCTURE FOR ULANOWSKI! A key lead-out man for Romain Vanderbiest, he will use up a lot of his energy chasing back on after a rear wheel puncture.


ATTACK FORD! Despite a man up the road, the Flores rider attacks with 25km to go. The breaks lead is down to just over a minute, so maybe this will add some impotence to them if he can bridge the gap.


The earlier has had its effect on some in the peleton. Matti Breschel is the first to drop back with a few team-mates for company. Approaching the final 15km or so, a few more would join the small group off the back.


Back at the front, and William Ford’s attack would gain him no more than 24� over the pack. As he is brought back, the next to chance it off the front is Yanjanani Sakala. Bridging to the lead group, who are just 30� up the road, he sadly doesn’t get much assistance in his bid for glory.


Everything would come back together with 10km to go. Wary of a repeat from 2014 and 2015, the pace is really high, and the lead-out trains are all over the road. The earlier rain has given way to gusty wind, so there was a lot of tension in the peleton.


5km to go, and the lead-outs have taken control. Eritel looking the strongest, as expected really, whilst Coldeportes and Wiesenhof set up their own trains. Behind them, it was a battle for the wheels.

					Kemboi
Angartia		Cisse			Debasay
	Archbald			Impey
	Forero		Schorn	Van Heerden
		Guerao	Zabel
	Vanderbiest		Petit
Kupfernagel	Lo Cicero		Serebriakov	Rodriguez Perez
Van der Sande	Ahlstrand
		Kump

It was Eritel vs Wiesenhof as the sprint opened up. The Flamme Rouge was in sight, and Van Heerden was in prime position behind Impey.


DISASTER FOR ERITEL! Van Heerden is unable to follow the lead-out from Impey, and the South African opens a gap in the closing meters. Van Heerden is wasting energy trying to catch his wheel, whilst all the others are coming up fast on him.


Impey can’t hold his speed to the line, and gets swamped by everyone! Moving over to the barriers, he is in danger of causing a crash. Van der Sande and Petit in serious trouble of being boxed in. Van Heerden holds the lead, with Zabel moving up on the left.


How did Van der Sande fit through that gap and hold his speed! The Belgian kicks again and takes the win here in Berlin! The rest of the podium will be decided on a lunge for the line…


Terrible angle from the race director, but it looks like Zabel takes second place ahead of Van Heerden. Petit recovers well from his boxed in position to take 4th, with Lo Cicero crossing the line in 5th.

It was very tight at the end, and a blanket could have covered the Top 12 in the race. Ahlstrand, Vanderbiest, Hayakawa (who came from a long way back), Guerao and Lavoine round out the Top 10. Bouhanni and Kupfernagel are the unlucky ones in shot who miss out.

1	Tosh Van der Sande	Strava	5h20'36
2	Rick Zabel	Wiesenhof - Andrtiz	s.t.
3	Juan Van Heerden	Eritel - Sonatrach	s.t.
4	Adrien Petit	Ayubowan!	s.t.
5	Ivano Lo Cicero	Valio - DeLaval	s.t.
6	Jonas Ahlstrand	Spotify - Haglöfs	s.t.
7	Romain Vanderbiest	VisitUkraine p/b Nemiroff	s.t.
8	Tomohiro Hayakawa	Meiji - JR East	s.t.
9	Óscar Guerao	Coldeportes	s.t.
10	Anthony Lavoine	Arrinera	s.t.
11	Nacer Bouhanni	Euskaltel	s.t.
12	Danilo Kupfernagel	Karcher-Adira	s.t.
13	Daryl Impey	Eritel - Sonatrach	s.t.
14	Jaime Alberto Castañeda	Flores - Ceitec	s.t.
15	Raúl Granjel Cabrera	Aeropostal Venezuela Ciclismo	s.t.
16	Aleksandr Serebriakov	Novatek-Panarmenian.net	s.t.
17	Marko Kump	Hugo Boss	s.t.
18	Issiaka Cisse	Eritel - Sonatrach	s.t.
19	Ho-Ting Kwok	Meiji - JR East	s.t.
20	Daniel Schorn	Wiesenhof - Andrtiz	s.t.
21	Marvin Orlando Angarita	Coldeportes	s.t.
22	Christoph Pfingsten	Strava	s.t.
23	Shane Archbold	Wiesenhof - Andrtiz	s.t.
24	William Ford	Flores - Ceitec	s.t.
25	Vyacheslav Kuznetsov	Novatek-Panarmenian.net	s.t.
26	Ben Hermans	Spotify - Haglöfs	s.t.
27	Mekseb Debesay	Eritel - Sonatrach	s.t.
28	Jack Bauer	Compal - Merida	s.t.
29	Peerapol Chawchiangkuang	Indosat - ANZ	s.t.
30	Christiaan Kriek	Strava	s.t.
31	Julien Vermote	Novatek-Panarmenian.net	s.t.
32	Reinhardt Janse van Rensburg	Team Telkom for Africa	s.t.
33	Claudio Corioni	Strava	s.t.
34	Coen Vermeltfoort	Spotify - Haglöfs	s.t.
35	Yanjanani Sakala	Team Telkom for Africa	s.t.
36	Roy Jans	Hugo Boss	s.t.
37	Thurakit Boonratanathanakorn	Shimano - Siam Cement	s.t.
38	Juan Pablo Forero	Coldeportes	s.t.
39	Taylor Tolleson	Hugo Boss	s.t.
40	Henrique Avancini	Flores - Ceitec	s.t.
41	William Germán Rodríguez Parra	Coldeportes	s.t.
42	Jérôme Baugnies	Strava	s.t.
43	Sebastian Langeveld	Strava	s.t.
44	Alexander Kamp	Spotify - Haglöfs	s.t.
45	Yudai Arashiro	Meiji - JR East	s.t.
46	Bartlomiej Matysiak	Arrinera	s.t.
47	Tiziano Dall'Antonia	Aeropostal Venezuela Ciclismo	s.t.
48	Segundo Navarrete	Hugo Boss	s.t.
49	Kazushige Kuboki	Meiji - JR East	s.t.
50	Damien Gaudin	Strava	s.t.
51	Nikolas Maes	Arrinera	s.t.
52	Noam Cohen	Arrinera	s.t.
53	Carlos Barbero	Hugo Boss	s.t.
54	Amir Kolahdouz	Shimano - Siam Cement	s.t.
55	Marcin Bialoblocki	Arrinera	s.t.
56	Dominique Cornu	Euskaltel	s.t.
57	Rafaâ Chtioui	Team UBS	s.t.
58	Salem Kemboi	Eritel - Sonatrach	s.t.
59	Juraj Sagan	Arrinera	s.t.
60	Kritsada Changpad	Shimano - Siam Cement	s.t.
61	Michael Matthews	Compal - Merida	s.t.
62	Kevin Eeckhout	Novatek-Panarmenian.net	s.t.
63	Francisco Ventoso	Hugo Boss	s.t.
64	Edward Theuns	Generali - AXA	s.t.
65	Ian Richardson	Indosat - ANZ	s.t.
66	Emerson Santos	Flores - Ceitec	s.t.
67	Phucong Sai-Udomsin	Shimano - Siam Cement	s.t.
68	Jon Aberasturi	Hugo Boss	s.t.
69	Luis Enrique Lemus Davila	Aeropostal Venezuela Ciclismo	s.t.
70	Shaun Nick Bester	Team Telkom for Africa	s.t.
71	Francisco Anton Martin	Euskaltel	s.t.
72	Sander Armee	Euskaltel	s.t.
73	Enrico Franzoi	Shimano - Siam Cement	s.t.
74	Sarawut Sirironnachai	Shimano - Siam Cement	s.t.
75	Timothy Dupont	Strava	s.t.
76	Carlos Quintero	Flores - Ceitec	s.t.
77	Jean Bosco Nsengimana	Team Telkom for Africa	s.t.
78	Morne Van Niekerk	Team Telkom for Africa	s.t.
79	Kévin Reza	Euskaltel	s.t.
80	Christopher Sutton	Compal - Merida	s.t.
81	Zhihui Jiang	Novatek-Panarmenian.net	s.t.
82	Everson Camilo	Flores - Ceitec	s.t.
83	Tom Dumoulin	Team Telkom for Africa	s.t.
84	Sung Baek Park	Compal - Merida	s.t.
85	Elias Afewerki	Eritel - Sonatrach	s.t.
86	Aidis Kruopis	Spotify - Haglöfs	s.t.
87	Genki Yamamoto	Meiji - JR East	s.t.
88	Wenlong Zhang	Indosat - ANZ	s.t.
89	Enrique Sanz	Euskaltel	s.t.
90	Theo Reinhardt	Team UBS	s.t.
91	Daniele Ratto	Generali - AXA	s.t.
92	Ciaran Cassidy	Indosat - ANZ	s.t.
93	Cedric Lebris	Arrinera	s.t.
94	Azzeddine Lagab	Eritel - Sonatrach	s.t.
95	Jean-Lou Paiani	In-n-Out p/b Carrefour	s.t.
96	Martin Velits	Novatek-Panarmenian.net	s.t.
97	Josh Atkins	Wiesenhof - Andrtiz	s.t.
98	Yukiya Arashiro	Meiji - JR East	s.t.
99	Heiko Redecker	Team Telkom for Africa	s.t.
100	Hossein Nateghi	Indosat - ANZ	s.t.
101	Paride Grillo	Team UBS	s.t.
102	Manuel Belletti	Generali - AXA	s.t.
103	Dietmar Mehr-Wenige	Flores - Ceitec	s.t.
104	Stylianos Farantakis	Compal - Merida	s.t.
105	Denis Kostyuk	Control Team	s.t.
106	Jose Mojica	Aeropostal Venezuela Ciclismo	s.t.
107	Clément Lhotellerie	In-n-Out p/b Carrefour	s.t.
108	Sameera Chatarunga	Ayubowan!	s.t.
109	Shinpei Fukuda	Meiji - JR East	s.t.
110	Wilson Marentes	Coldeportes	s.t.
111	Eduardo Sepulveda	Aeropostal Venezuela Ciclismo	s.t.
112	Jimmy Pranata	Indosat - ANZ	s.t.
113	Ahmad Haidar Anuawar	Shimano - Siam Cement	s.t.
114	Asbjørn Kragh Andersen	In-n-Out p/b Carrefour	s.t.
115	Robert Sweeting	In-n-Out p/b Carrefour	s.t.
116	Alexandre Aulas	In-n-Out p/b Carrefour	s.t.
117	Alexandr Braico	Team UBS	s.t.
118	Pieter Jacobs	Team UBS	s.t.
119	Alfredo Balloni	Karcher-Adira	s.t.
120	Wojciech Pszczolarski	Arrinera	s.t.
121	Juan Pablo Wilches	Control Team	s.t.
122	Willi Willwohl	Wiesenhof - Andrtiz	s.t.
123	Jan Barta	Novatek-Panarmenian.net	s.t.
124	Pierre Rolland	Generali - AXA	s.t.
125	Stefano Pirazzi	Aeropostal Venezuela Ciclismo	s.t.
126	Boy Van Poppel	Spotify - Haglöfs	s.t.
127	César Vaquera	Azteca - NBCSN	s.t.
128	Kedir Seid	Compal - Merida	s.t.
129	Ruslan Tleubayev	Compal - Merida	s.t.
130	Chan Jae Jang	Compal - Merida	s.t.
131	Ryan Gibbons	Team Telkom for Africa	s.t.
132	Parno Parno	Indosat - ANZ	s.t.
133	Fabien Taillefour	Generali - AXA	s.t.
134	Danilo Wyss	Team UBS	s.t.
135	Hersony Canelon	Azteca - NBCSN	s.t.
136	Jukka Vastaranta	Valio - DeLaval	s.t.
137	Fabrice Jeandesbosz	Generali - AXA	s.t.
138	Samuel Coronel	Azteca - NBCSN	s.t.
139	Emanuel Buchmann	Wiesenhof - Andrtiz	s.t.
140	Bambang Suryadi	Shimano - Siam Cement	s.t.
141	Cleberson Weber	Coldeportes	s.t.
142	Yousef Mirza Banihammad	Indosat - ANZ	s.t.
143	Nazir Jaser	Euskaltel	s.t.
144	Steve Morabito	Team UBS	s.t.
145	Freddy Cruz	Aeropostal Venezuela Ciclismo	s.t.
146	Kevin Predatsch	Wiesenhof - Andrtiz	s.t.
147	Filipe Cardoso	Aeropostal Venezuela Ciclismo	s.t.
148	Delio Fernandez	Euskaltel	s.t.
149	Matti Manninen	Valio - DeLaval	s.t.
150	Nick Clesen	Flores - Ceitec	s.t.
151	Nidush Nirantha Fernando	Meiji - JR East	s.t.
152	Risto Aaltio	Valio - DeLaval	s.t.
153	Pim Ligthart	Hugo Boss	s.t.
154	Chequan Richardson	Azteca - NBCSN	s.t.
155	Troels Vinther	Valio - DeLaval	s.t.
156	Daniel Paulus	Wiesenhof - Andrtiz	s.t.
157	Yauheni Hutarovich	VisitUkraine p/b Nemiroff	s.t.
158	Marc Codrington	Azteca - NBCSN	s.t.
159	Dion Smith	In-n-Out p/b Carrefour	s.t.
160	Mustafa Carsi	In-n-Out p/b Carrefour	s.t.
161	Marcel Barth	Karcher-Adira	s.t.
162	Maciej Ulanowski	VisitUkraine p/b Nemiroff	s.t.
163	German Anibal Orue	Azteca - NBCSN	s.t.
164	Dylan Page	Team UBS	s.t.
165	Bruno Santos	Karcher-Adira	s.t.
166	Luis Pulido	Azteca - NBCSN	s.t.
167	Christophe Laporte	Ayubowan!	s.t.
168	Amith Udaya Kumara	Ayubowan!	s.t.
169	Roman Lutsyshyn	VisitUkraine p/b Nemiroff	s.t.
170	Royner Grover Navarro	Coldeportes	s.t.
171	Daniel Eduardo Silva	Karcher-Adira	s.t.
172	André Cardoso	Karcher-Adira	s.t.
173	Tushantha Rajapakshage	Ayubowan!	s.t.
174	Murilo Affonso	Coldeportes	s.t.
175	Matala Seboka	Eritel - Sonatrach	+ 3'34
176	Dadley Corwin	Azteca - NBCSN	+ 4'08
177	Krists Neilands	Valio - DeLaval	+ 6'30
178	Bernhard Eisel	Valio - DeLaval	s.t.
179	Roy Goldstein	Generali - AXA	s.t.
180	Krzysztof Marchewka	Generali - AXA	s.t.
181	Thomas Vedel Kvist	Spotify - Haglöfs	s.t.
182	Szymon Rekita	Karcher-Adira	s.t.
183	Mario Costa	Karcher-Adira	s.t.
184	Sten Stenersen	Spotify - Haglöfs	s.t.
185	Micael Isidoro	Control Team	s.t.
186	Roger Randrianambinina	VisitUkraine p/b Nemiroff	s.t.
187	Sachin Dulanjana	Ayubowan!	s.t.
188	Christos Loizou	In-n-Out p/b Carrefour	s.t.
189	Nihal Silva	Ayubowan!	s.t.
190	Madushanka Perera	Ayubowan!	s.t.
191	Matti Breschel	Valio - DeLaval	s.t.
192	Mihran Avetisyan	Novatek-Panarmenian.net	s.t.
193	Adrian Nitu	VisitUkraine p/b Nemiroff	s.t.
194	Oleksandr Polivoda	VisitUkraine p/b Nemiroff	s.t.
195	Jakub Skala	VisitUkraine p/b Nemiroff	s.t.