His first race in Katusha shirt was a big success for young rider Nils Politt. The German trainee of Team Katusha was very active in the fourth and last stage of the Tour de l’Eurométropole. In the 155 km stage from Mons to Tournai, Politt started immediately by attacking in the first kilometers of the stage. In the final of the race he was again attacking.

“Five other riders joined him in the beginning of the stage. Later they were caught, but Politt surprised us by attacking again in the final of the race. It was not so easy there. The riders had to tackle the Croix Jubaru seven times but it did not stop our young guy from showing the Katusha shirt to the fans and TV viewers. He was in a break of ten in the last 10 kilometers. At three km from the finish he tried again solo but he was caught. Anyway it was a nice acquaintance with this guy, always having a very positive attitude. Overall I am happy with this stage race. We had here just five riders but we took many top ten places with Rudi Selig. Moreover Anton Vorobyev had a nice return to the top after his injury period,” said team director Torsten Schmidt.

Despite the many attacks in the final, the race ended with a bunch sprint won by Swedish rider Jonas Ahlstrand (Cofidis) who won ahead of Sondre Holst Enger (IAM) and Raymond Kreder (Roompot Oranje Peloton). Rudi Selig, in his last race for Team Katusha, finished tenth.

Anton Vorobyev finished tenth overall. In the Overall Classification Alexis Gougeard (AG2R La Mondiale) was the best. Martijn Keizer (Roompot Oranje Peloton) was second overall, Jurgen Roelandts (Lotto Soudal) third.