Easter Monday was an important day for Team MTN-Qhubeka and Gerald Ciolek who got a rare chance to race on German soil at the Rund um Köln. The team animated the race with Jay Robert Thomson before Ciolek sprinted to a solid third place.

Considering the German riders and staff on Team MTN-Qhubeka p/b Samsung, the Rund um Koln was seen as somewhat of a home race for the team and therefore an important event on the race calendar. The motivation was obviously really high in the Team MTN-Qhubeka p/b Samsung camp before the race and this would be carried over into the race.

A massive crash occurred inside the first few kilometers of the race resulting in split in the peloton, this incident would dramatically affect the race. 40 odd riders were in the front split and they pressed on ahead of a splintered peloton of riders. A huge chase followed before finally 50 riders in the second group joined the lead group after around 80km’s.

Just before this catch was made though, Jay Thomson from Team MTN-Qhubeka p/b Samsung attacked the leading group and quickly opened up a 30 second lead. Thomson would later be joined by Tim Gebauer (Stolting) and Gregor Muhlberger (Tirol) and the 3 riders rode themselves into a 1’30″ lead. This would not be enough to hold off the chase from the peloton but it was just enough for Thomson to go on and claim the King of the Mountains and Points competition, scoring the most points in both competitions by being the fastest in the break.

The usual late attacks came after the Thomson group was caught with 15km to go but nothing would stick as Team MTN-Qhubeka p/b Samsung as well as Team Belkin were keen on setting the stage up for their sprinters. In the charge to the line though, it was Team NetApp-Endura’s Irishman, Sam Bennett who would take the sprint victory just ahead of Barry Markus (Belkin) and Gerald Ciolek from Team MTN-Qhubeka p/b Samsung.

"The legs felt great today and I know my time will come to get the win but today was one super team effort," Thomson said "I’m really looking forward to the next couple of races that lie ahead for me now.