Ramon Sinkeldam (Giant-Alpecin) made it a big day for Giant-Alpecin in their home race Garmin Velothon Berlin when he emerged as the fastest in the bunch sprint that decided the race. In the battle between the fast men, he held off an in-form Sam Bennett (Bora-Argon 18) to take the win while his teammate Zico Waeytens made it two Giant-Alpecin riders on the podium by taking third.

For the 2015 season, Giant-Alpecin have changed home country. Originally a Dutch team, the squad is now registered in Germany and so they place huge emphasis on the few remaining German races on the calendar.

A few weeks ago John Degenkolb won two stages in the Bayern Rundfahrt and today they had another chance to shine on home soil. The Garmin Velothon Berlin is a relatively new event and as it takes place in the German capital, it is a prestigious affair.

Marcel Kittel has already won the race twice for the German team and as it has always been decided in a bunch sprint, it is a perfect event for the squad which is known as one of fast men. This year the leadership role was given to Ramon Sinkeldam and he did everything right in the expected bunch sprint to take a third victory for Giant-Alpecin in the race.

The race was held on a 174.7km course that was completely flat. After an opening section on the outskirts of the German capital, the race ended with 7 laps of an 8.8km circuit in the city.

The riders had nice sunny conditions when they gathered for the start and the many continental teams were keen to shine on the big scene. After lots of early attacks, Jonas Rickaert (Topsport), Max Walsleben (Stuttgart), Benjamin Edmüller (Heizomat) and Marco Mathis (Rad-Net) got clear and they were allowed to build an advantage that reached 5.15 after 50km of racing.

A small crash briefly split the field but there was no drama as the peloton was still not in chase mode. At the 68km mark, the gap was still 5 minutes while Mathis fought his way back to the front group after a puncture.

The chase gradually got organized and as they crossed the finish line for the first time, the gap was only 2.25. Walsleben was dropped from the front group but the front trio continued to press on.

With 36km to go, they still had an advantage of 1.20 but Giant-Alpecin, MTN-Qhubeka, Cult and Bora-Argon 18 were now chasing hard. At the penultimate passage of the finish line, it was all back together and it was Cult who had taken control.

In the end it came down to the expected bunch sprint and here Sinkeldam proved his speed as he held off big favourite Sam Bennett to take his win. Giant-Alpecin dominated the sprint completely as lead-out man Zico Waeytens took third.

With the Garmin Velothon Berlin done and dusted, Giant-Alpecin have to wait a long time before they again get the chance to race in their home country. The next major German race is the Vattenfall Cyclassics in August.