Mathias Frank got safely through a long, wet first day as race leader in the Bayern Rundfahrt. With the GC being very close, he expects that a hard and exciting time trial will decide the race.

The Tour of Bavaria has been well watered.  Once again, rain followed the riders around for most of their 237 km stage on Friday.  And the 7 degrees Celsius that the thermometer measured at the start line tested the endurance of more than one rider. 

This did not stop Jens Voigt (42 years young) from giving a lesson in courage by spending nearly 220 kilometers off the front.  The German veteran was foiled in the end with the sprint victory going to Daryl Impey (Orica GreenEDGE).  

Surrounded by all his teammates, Mathias Frank retained his yellow jersey.  Nevertheless, Heinrich Haussler still had enough in the tank to take part in the sprint and come away with an excellent 5th place for the stage. 

Calm after his podium presentation, Mathias Frank spoke of the bad weather and his predictions for the coming two stages. 

“We all really struggled today.  The rain and cold have not left us alone since Wednesday.  Our bodies are really worn down by the efforts we have to make in these sorts of conditions. 

"Today, the guys succeeded in performing all the tasks they had to do all the time.  Stefan Denifl and Dominic Klemme worked their hardest to control the race, as did Marcel Wyss, Johann Tschopp and Roger Kluge.  And we achieved our goal of protecting the jersey.  I stayed out of the wind as much as possible and I have not suffered from my fall yesterday. 

"Now the truth will be told by the time trial.  I’ll need to ride full gas for 27 kilometers.  I would have preferred a course with a climb in it, but we’ll all be facing the same challenge. 

"It will be suspenseful right up until the finish because the time gaps in the overall are very small.  Every outcome is possible, especially when riders like Léopold König, Geraint Thomas and Romain Bardet are lining up, not to mention Thibault Pinot, who was surprisingly strong in the Tour of Romandie time trial.”