Today’s opening stage in the 2.HC-ranked Bayern-Rundfahrt was a rainy affair. In the end Garmin-Sharp’s Alex Rasmussen prevailed in the mass sprint.

On the way from Pfaffenhofen an der Ilm to the finish in Mühldorf am Inn, the peloton faced two categorized climbs, although the 193 km stage wasn’t expected to lead to any gaps.  But a short 14% climb on the final laps in Mühldorf, to be climbed three times, could have thwarted the sprint teams’ efforts.

After only 8 km, Henning Bommel (Rad-Net Rose), Grischa Janorschke (Nutrixxion-ABUS) and Javier Megias (Team Novo Nordisk) broke away; Alexander Grad (Team Heizomat) subsequently bridged the gap. The four worked together well in the rain, and their advantage grew to 11 minutes after 85 km. Janorschke and Megias contested the mountain sprints, and the German will wear the white mountain jersey tomorrow.

On the second half of the stage, the peloton started chasing seriously, led by Team Sky and FDJ. After a long day in the saddle, the sprinters’ teams eventually got the upper hand, cutting the gap seriously on the last 50 km. Janorschke kept on going on the final laps after his companions had resigned, but was finally caught on the last lap. Stefan Denifl (IAM Cycling) tried to attack, but couldn’t get away. Sky drove the field into the last km, but in the end Ben Swift was beaten by Alex Rasmussen (Garmin-Sharp) in the Dane’s second stage race after his comeback from a suspension due to whereabouts violations.

Result:

1. Alex Rasmussen (GRS)

2. Ben Swift (Sky)

3. Juan-Jose Lobato del Valle (EUS)

4. Gerald Ciolek (MTN)

5. Davide Cimolai (LAM)

6. Nikias Arndt (ARG)

7. Andreas Schillinger (TNE)

8. Geraint Thomas (SKY)

Alex Rasmussen, obviously, leads the general classification.