This year, the 20th edition of the Vattenfall Cyclassics was organised. The start was given in Kiel, the finish was in Hamburg after a race of 221.3 kilometres. The riders had to tackle the Waseberg three times in the final 70 kilometres.

Four riders set up a break: Barta, Bono, Mortensen and Dowsett. At about 40 kilometres from the finish they were caught and after that there were some new attempts to escape, it actually never stopped. Especially on the final ascent of the Waseberg a few riders tried to get away to avoid the expected bunch sprint.

But no one was able to make a big gap. Also at the end there were a few late attempts but a bunch sprint was coming up, due to the good control of the sprint teams.

André Greipel was the best after again a very nice performance of him and the team. Kristoff finished second, Nizzolo third. It’s already the fifteenth victory for the Gorilla this season, he is still in a great shape, just like during the Tour de France. But it’s his first win in the Vattenfall Cyclassics, the only WorldTour race in his homeland.

“We already tried it a few times to win this race, I’m so glad it finally worked out. Although, the race didn’t start so well. I crashed in the beginning of the stage. I wanted to take a sanitary stop, but a guy behind me didn’t see me and hit me in the back. It was without speed, but still painful. Also Greg [Henderson], Jens [Debusschere] and Jürgen [Roelandts] hit the ground. For the finale we were four guys down. But I could still rely on Lars Bak, Tiesj Benoot and Marcel Sieberg,” André Greipel said to the Lotto.

“As usual it all came down to the last ascent of the Waseberg, that’s crucial for the difference between winning and losing. We controlled as much as we could and all maintained a good position on the climb. Before the sprint I talked to my teammates, it was really important to be in a good position with three kilometres to go. I trusted them to help me. Sibi put me on the wheel of Kristoff and I was happy to have the legs to pass him by.

"This is the first time I won a one-day WorldTour race, so this is really special. Certainly because it’s in my home country. I won’t compare it to winning a Tour stage for example, I’m just very proud I could win this race."